The roads along West Lake are fascinating.

Enjoy the colorful panorama of West Lake.

With a lakeside road length of approximately 17km, the roads around West Lake have long been an attractive destination for Hanoi residents. Not only are they beautiful, cool, and convenient, but many of them also offer impressive sightseeing, entertainment, and culinary experiences. Along roads like Thanh Nien, Nguyen Dinh Thi, and Trich Sai, in the afternoons, you can easily spot people jogging, cycling, swimming, and boating. This shows that the West Lake road is not just a place to enjoy the breeze, but also a place deeply connected to the rhythm of life, a place for recreation and gathering, suitable for all ages and all seasons of the year.

During summer days like these, the roads along West Lake are often ablaze with flowers such as flamboyant trees, cassia fistula, and butterfly pea, all in full bloom. Not to mention, this is also the best time of year to watch the sunset; the vibrant colors of the flowers and foliage combined with the sunny, breezy evenings lead many to jokingly say, "Going through the summer heat without ever watching the sunset at West Lake is a waste of a lifetime." It's also a popular spot for young people to take photos and "check-in," or for photographers to capture the beautiful sunset over West Lake through their lenses.

Beyond its breathtaking sunsets, West Lake captivates visitors with its magnificent beauty at every moment of the day. From early morning, West Lake takes on a unique charm, evoking feelings of tranquility, serenity, and profound emotion. At night, West Lake transforms, shimmering with the city lights reflecting on its vast surface. Whether day or night, West Lake offers every visitor a special and unforgettable experience.

Developing public transportation to serve tourism.

Not only does West Lake attract residents and workers in the capital, but it is also a favorite destination for both domestic and international tourists visiting Hanoi . The role of the roads surrounding West Lake in tourism development is clearly crucial. Besides its natural beauty, the area also offers a diverse range of cultural and recreational activities.

Located along West Lake are ancient villages such as Nhat Tan flower village, Quang Ba flower village, Nghi Tam kumquat village, Yen Thai traditional paper-making village, Ngu Xa bronze casting village... along with a rich system of historical and cultural relics such as Van Nien Pagoda, Tao Sach Pagoda, Kim Lien Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, Ba Danh Pagoda... Particularly, on the peninsula and islands on the eastern side of West Lake, two famous relics, Tay Ho Palace and Tran Quoc Pagoda, are still preserved intact, attracting a large number of tourists to visit, admire the scenery, and worship.

However, currently, the famous craft villages of Tay Ho district have not attracted many tourists, affecting the promotion of traditional craft values ​​and brands to domestic and foreign visitors. The temples and shrines around West Lake mainly attract local people for worship and sightseeing, with few tourists visiting to explore and study the historical and cultural relics. Similarly, food establishments have not yet gained a strong appeal to tourists from afar, primarily catering to domestic and neighboring provinces.

These limitations stem partly from the inconvenient transportation around West Lake. For residents of Hanoi, it's easy to use personal vehicles to explore West Lake and visit various attractions. However, for tourists, especially international visitors, this is extremely difficult, leading to a situation where the number of domestic tourists visiting Tay Ho District is significantly higher than that of international visitors.

Faced with this situation, Hanoi has focused on developing public transportation along the West Lake area in recent years, considering it a crucial factor in improving the living environment and developing tourism in the region. Since 2018, Hanoi has launched its first pilot program of open-top double-decker buses (City Tour) to serve the development of tourism in the capital. With a commentary system in 10 languages ​​(Vietnamese, English, French, etc.) based on GPS, the content about historical landmarks and streets along the route has helped participants learn more about the history and culture of Hanoi, a city with a thousand years of history. Starting from the Hanoi Opera House, the City Tour route passes through a series of famous city attractions, including the opportunity to visit Tran Quoc Pagoda and Thanh Nien Street to explore and enjoy the beauty of West Lake.

The City Tour bus gives visitors the opportunity to admire the scenic routes around West Lake. (Source: City Tour)

Recently, on November 18, 2023, Hanoi added City Tour Route 03, "Thang Long Scenic Spots," using small, open-top, single-decker buses with a capacity of 20 seats, equipped with a multilingual automatic commentary system. These buses transport passengers to visit and explore historical sites and famous scenic spots within the Old Quarter and the capital city of Hanoi. The choice of buses with a maximum capacity of 20 seats overcomes the shortcomings of the two previous City Tour routes, which could not navigate the narrow streets of the capital, while these streets offer ample space and many beautiful landmarks.

Notably, City Tour 03 has a different route from the previous two City Tours. City Tour 3 includes many stops at cultural sites around West Lake such as Tran Quoc Pagoda, the seaplane dock, Vong Thi Temple, Tao Sach Pagoda, and Kim Lien Pagoda. In particular, the route almost completely circles West Lake, giving visitors the opportunity to admire the lakeside roads such as Yen Phu, Thanh Nien, Nguyen Dinh Thi, Trich Sai, Lac Long Quan, Ve Ho, Nhat Chieu, Sen Tay Ho, and To Ngoc Van.

For Hanoi residents, the sight of the distinctive red single-decker and double-decker buses carrying tourists through the capital's streets has become familiar over time. It's no exaggeration to call them one of the capital's "tourism specialties," an impressive highlight for many visitors to Hanoi. Furthermore, City Tours are very flexible, offering various ticket prices and time slots, as many tourists can choose to visit a particular attraction and then catch another bus later, catering to their diverse exploration needs.

Thùy Linh (24 years old, from Bắc Ninh) said she had been to Hanoi several times but never had the chance to visit West Lake, partly because West Lake is so vast she didn't know where to go to see it, and partly because getting there was inconvenient. This time, upon arriving in Hanoi and learning about the new City Tour route, which was reasonably priced, she bought a ticket to experience it. “My first trip to West Lake was amazing. I got to travel along roads I had only heard about but never had the chance to visit. It was a little disappointing that I took the evening bus and couldn't explore the famous tourist attractions. However, I had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of West Lake at night from a stunning elevated vantage point. The bus even had charming conical hats for tourists to take photos with; I think this is a great way to promote Vietnamese tourism. If I have the chance to return to Hanoi, I will definitely take this bus route again. Next time, I will choose the 4-5 pm trip to watch the sunset over West Lake,” Thuy Linh shared.

Besides the City Tour buses, tourists can also choose public bicycle services in the capital at a very reasonable cost. Furthermore, there are 79 stations with 1,000 bicycles in 6 inner-city districts, making transportation convenient for visitors. In particular, Tay Ho district is one of the 6 districts piloting the service, and using public bicycles to explore West Lake promises to be a fun and memorable experience for tourists during their trip to Hanoi.

The picturesque Quang An Street – one of the streets along West Lake – has made it into Time Out's top 30 most interesting streets in the world in 2024. Quang An Street, over 1km long, runs along West Lake and boasts many interesting restaurants and cafes. Despite its bustling atmosphere thanks to the surrounding shops and the Quang An night flower market, the street still offers a relaxing and peaceful feeling to visitors due to its prime location next to West Lake. Furthermore, this street is close to many famous landmarks and cultural relics in Hanoi such as Kim Lien Pagoda, Hoang An Pagoda, Pho Linh Pagoda, and Tay Ho Palace.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thu-vi-nhung-con-duong-ven-ho-tay-post517123.html