Tet Festival

In the days before Tet, mornings and late afternoons fill with shopping for flowers, food, and home offerings, especially around the Tet flower markets and central streets. By afternoon, the Old Quarter and the Hoan Kiem Lake area take on a dressed-up holiday feel, with people stopping for photos under seasonal decorations and carrying gift boxes or branches of blossom home. New Year's Eve brings the busiest temple and pagoda visits, more incense, more formal dress, and a stronger sense of anticipation in central Hanoi. During the first one to three days of Tet, the tone turns more family-centered: ancestral offerings, reunion meals, short visits to pagodas for blessings, and quieter commercial streets because some shops close or keep reduced hours. Later in the holiday, the city opens up again for strolling, park outings, and unhurried evenings by the lake.

Tet eating in Hanoi is tied to the home table as much as the street, so this is the moment to look for holiday foods that appear in family meals, gift trays, and tea visits rather than chasing everyday snacks alone. Around the New Year period, you will see sticky rice cakes prepared for offerings, preserved sweets set out for guests, and tea poured during rounds of family calling.

Must Try:
• banh chung
• gio lua
• xoi gac
• mut Tet
• tra sen

Prices around Tet can jump for flights, rail tickets, and well-placed hotels near the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, especially for the nights around New Year's Eve and the first days of the holiday. Staying a little farther out on a main taxi route or near a metro connection can save money, but you will trade that for slower trips into the Old Quarter when streets are busy or restricted. Food spending can be uneven: some family-run places close, while hotel dining and open tourist-area restaurants become the easier fallback.

Treat Tet as a sequence of different moods rather than one big outing. Go to the flower markets in the lead-up days, save an evening for the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, and make time for a respectful pagoda visit early in the holiday. Carry small cash for market buying and offerings, and do not assume your favorite cafe, shop, or restaurant will be open on the first days of Tet. If you want photos of decorations without the thickest crowds, head out in the morning; if you want the fullest holiday atmosphere, go back after dark.

The main issues during Tet are crowding and transport disruption rather than anything unusual. Flower markets and central shopping streets get packed during peak buying hours, temples and pagodas can be smoky and tight on the first days of Tet, and the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake area can be hard for taxis or rideshares to reach in the evening. Keep valuables close in busy market lanes, expect slow travel across the city, and give yourself extra time if you are heading to a station, airport, or intercity bus during the holiday.

Tet Festival matters because it reflects traditions, artistic identity, or public rituals that local residents still recognize as part of the character of Hanoi and the wider region. Even when the event now draws international visitors, the local layer is still what gives it weight.

Tet Festival is a strong travel pick for visitors who want a festival that shapes the trip instead of sitting on the edge of it. • Quick Facts • Location: Hanoi, Vietnam • Season: February • Current edition dates: 2026-02-17 to 2026-02-23 • Atmosphere: immersive, high energy, and place connected

Festival window: 2026-02-17 to 2026-02-23 • Opening stretch: from 2026-02-17 • Peak period: usually the main public celebration window in the middle of the event • Closing stretch: through 2026-02-23