Ancient House
Ancient House
4
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM
About
This house in the Old Quarter was restored in 1999, as an example of an ancient Hanoian home. It represents the architecture of the Old Quarter, and is decorated to reflect ancient houses of Hanoi.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
514 reviews
Excellent
206
Very good
206
Average
84
Poor
12
Terrible
6
Tc Vagabond Foodhound.
32 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
The hours vary from what’s posted here, and they close for lunch, which isn’t clear from hours posted on the building (daily open except for lunch). We went by twice during the day on a Sunday (once simply to check the hours) and it was open.
Enjoy the architecture and the gentle melding of inside and outside, as well as the integration of memory of ancestors into daily life.
Enjoy the architecture and the gentle melding of inside and outside, as well as the integration of memory of ancestors into daily life.
Written April 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
omega132857
Chichester, UK1,962 contributions
Mar 2020
We have travelled to many places in different countrys. and always see at some point how they lived. Mostly around the 18th centurys and many long before that.It is a joy to cast your mind back and think what sort of life they must have had. Simple, but hard working is the most I get from these visits. Like most places we travel, it is imperitive that you have a guide.
Written July 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
helenr0gers
Emerald, Australia10 contributions
Sep 2024 • Couples
Wet weather activity in Old quarter. Catch Grab taxi to May May lane. Gorgeous merchant house from 19th century - full of light and air - practical feng shui.
Written September 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kathryn b
Los Angeles, CA17 contributions
Aug 2024 • Friends
The hotel is beautiful, comfortable and safe. The staff are warm, friendly and provide good information about the Hoi An area.
The breakfast buffet is completely amazing. We were spoilt for choice of fresh foods and drinks.
Staff welcomed us back to the hotel each time we were out with cool towels and as much chat as we wanted. Our rooms were comfortable and restful. We enjoyed lazy days by the pool as well as learning in-house their old art of making rice paper and rice noodles.
We were given all the information we could ask for about the local area visiting some good tailors and shoemakers as well as other local sights. I highly recommend the cooking class.
The breakfast buffet is completely amazing. We were spoilt for choice of fresh foods and drinks.
Staff welcomed us back to the hotel each time we were out with cool towels and as much chat as we wanted. Our rooms were comfortable and restful. We enjoyed lazy days by the pool as well as learning in-house their old art of making rice paper and rice noodles.
We were given all the information we could ask for about the local area visiting some good tailors and shoemakers as well as other local sights. I highly recommend the cooking class.
Written September 4, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carolyn O
Bath, UK80 contributions
Apr 2014 • Family
We stopped in here while on a walking tour of the Old Quarter with HanoiKids. As many others have commented, it is not very large, and there are items for sale in almost every room - it's maybe a 10-15 minute proposition, including time for reading some of the information posted in the lounge. Nonetheless, we were glad that we called in and got a glimpse inside one of these 'tube' houses that one sees everywhere in Hanoi. If you are interested in regional architectural styles, it's worth having a look; rooms are separated by floor-to-ceiling shutters that can be closed for privacy or left open to encourage air flow; thresholds are quite high (hard for bad luck to follow you in, which was also a belief in other Asian cultures). This house was a typical merchant's house, with the business in front and the living quarters in back and upstairs. Owners were taxed on width of street frontage - hence the long, narrow buildings. The rooms are supposed to be decorated as they would have been when a merchant and his family were living there, with typical furniture and decorative objects, which are not in the best condition but are nonetheless interesting, and mixed in with these are items for sale with a salesperson standing by. We liked the open air courtyard on the 2nd floor best if all - so nice to have a small, private 'garden' in the middle of a townhouse. It is worth stopping in if you are passing by, but I wouldn't make it the final destination of my trip; you are likely to see very similar items in other venues throughout your stay.
Written April 21, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Backmansinhanoi
Uppsala, Sweden130 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
This was my second visit and something had happen. The old and genuine was kind of gone. Not gone, but hidden behind all the stuff they had put up for tourists to buy, and it wasn´t old stuff to match the house. No, it was just the crap you can buy in all the other shops for tourists.
They probably want to survive and earn more money like all the other businesses. But to what cost? The first time I was there it was a pretty genuine house with only interior and furniture's from way back and the staff talked about the house and everything else in the house. Now the staff talked about the authenticity of the merchandises - "oh no, this place mat is real silk and it´s made by hand, you can see this by looking at the stitches". Bah! - I didn´t go there to get a lesson about pillowcases, place mats, table cloths and silver necklaces made by their fellow men´s down the road. I want to see how it looked like 200-300 years ago.
A good advise to the manager:
Instead of getting an income from selling "new" things and ruin the authenticity of the place, they should rice the 10.000 VND (½ USD) entrance fee. I would gladly pay 5 times more (maybe even more) to see an authentic house. And I think I speak for others too.
But still, if you look beyond the merchandises, it´s a pretty cool place. I want one...
They probably want to survive and earn more money like all the other businesses. But to what cost? The first time I was there it was a pretty genuine house with only interior and furniture's from way back and the staff talked about the house and everything else in the house. Now the staff talked about the authenticity of the merchandises - "oh no, this place mat is real silk and it´s made by hand, you can see this by looking at the stitches". Bah! - I didn´t go there to get a lesson about pillowcases, place mats, table cloths and silver necklaces made by their fellow men´s down the road. I want to see how it looked like 200-300 years ago.
A good advise to the manager:
Instead of getting an income from selling "new" things and ruin the authenticity of the place, they should rice the 10.000 VND (½ USD) entrance fee. I would gladly pay 5 times more (maybe even more) to see an authentic house. And I think I speak for others too.
But still, if you look beyond the merchandises, it´s a pretty cool place. I want one...
Written May 9, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vikas Singh
Ghaziabad, India4,140 contributions
Nov 2013 • Family
This communal house on 42-44 Hang Bac Street was built by the street’s first inhabitants who had come from the village of Trau Khe (in Hai Duong province) and who were specialised in the smelting of silver ingots. Legend has it that in 1461, Emperor Le Thanh Tong allowed his minister Luu Xuan Tin, from the village of Trau Khe, to set up a royal mint in Hanoi. That led to many inhabitants from that village settling in Hanoi, on Hang Bac Street, where they set up a number of coin making and currency exchange establishments. In the 19th century, this mint activity declined. However, the exchange activity was to continue into the colonial era, whence the name “rue des changeurs” given to it by the French. It was also at that time that the inhabitants of the village of Dinh Cong, specialised in silversmith work, migrated to Hanoi and set up on Hang Bac Street. The communal house of Kim Ngan was built by the inhabitants of Trau Khe in honour of the legendary founder of the trade, Hien Vien. Originally, this was where the silver was melted and cast in moulds and where currency exchange was conducted. From the end of the 19th century through to the 20th century, the house became a centre for craftsmen in the street to meet up and for training to take place. For several decades , twenty families occupied the building that was in an advanced state of decay. Only the place of worship and a meeting room still remained open to the public. In 2004, the City of Hanoi made the decision to restore this historic building with support from the City of Toulouse and to re-house the families in more decent residences. The restoration was achieved at the beginning on 2011.
Written July 13, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jana C
Prague, Czech Republic4,623 contributions
Oct 2013 • Couples
We have taken quite a bit of time trying to find this house only to find something resembling a ruin. There was a tiny sign saying it has been close for restorations until 2014. What a disappointment.
Written October 24, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sme0284
Washington DC, DC69 contributions
Jul 2013 • Couples
I wanted to like this, I really did. It should be an interesting depiction of life in the old quarter. Instead of finding a curated historical home, I found an over priced souvenir shop. So, in addition to paying the entrance fee there is nothing to see other than things for purchase. The house itself is nice and well maintained, and that is the only reason this gets two stars. However, for a real treat on life in a traditional home visit the Ethnography museum.
Written September 16, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gregory Athanasius
Singapore, Singapore155 contributions
Jun 2023 • Family
One of the Old Quarter’s best-restored properties, this traditional merchants’ house is sparsely but beautifully decorated, with rooms filled with fine furniture set around two courtyards. Note the high steps between rooms, a traditional design incorporated to stop the flow of bad energy around the property. There are crafts and trinkets for sale here, including silver jewellery, basketwork and Vietnamese tea sets, and there’s usually a calligrapher or another craftsperson at work too.
How to get there
The ancient house sits at 87 Ma May, a popular Hanoi Old Quarter street. You can easily walk there for less than 10 minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake.
Useful Information
Location: 87 Ma May Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Best for Family, couples, solo
Entrance: 20,000
Hours: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Distance to city centre: 2.1km (1.3 mi)
How to get there
The ancient house sits at 87 Ma May, a popular Hanoi Old Quarter street. You can easily walk there for less than 10 minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake.
Useful Information
Location: 87 Ma May Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Best for Family, couples, solo
Entrance: 20,000
Hours: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Distance to city centre: 2.1km (1.3 mi)
Written June 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
i am not too sure as i did not take notice but i believe it should be from 8am to 5pm.
Written March 2, 2017
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