Hanoi, Vietnam

The charming Vietnamese capital is different than other Asian capitals as a graceful collage of cultural influences from the French and Chinese, yet still retaining local Vietnamese ways. It’s aged well, with the well-preserved Old Quarter, a maze of streets more than 1,000 years old set between the city’s famed Hoan Kiem Lake, the Red River and the few walls that remain of the Hanoi Citadel along with monuments and colonial architecture sitting alongside modern developments. Hanoi has not forgotten its past, as the only city in Southeast Asia with an embalmed leader on display – the body of Ho Chi Men lies preserved in a mausoleum, against his own wish to be cremated. Pretty parks, lakes, shady boulevards and more than 600 temples and pagodas add to the appeal of Hanoi, which can easily be explored by taxi.