Temple of Literature, Hanoi

The Temple of Literature, Van Mieu in Vietnamese, is Hanoi’s most beautiful historic site and a calm escape from the traffic outside. It was founded in 1070 as a temple to Confucius, and a few years later the Imperial Academy, Quoc Tu Giam, opened beside it as the country’s first national university, educating the sons of the elite and, later, the most gifted scholars of the kingdom. The complex is laid out as a series of walled courtyards, entered through tiled gateways and linked by paths between old trees and lotus ponds. The most famous feature is the garden of doctoral stelae: rows of stone tablets, each carried on the back of a stone turtle, engraved with the names and birthplaces of those who passed the royal examinations. Beyond them lie the Dai Thanh hall, the main sanctuary dedicated to Confucius and his disciples, and the rebuilt academy buildings at the back. Students still come here before exams to pray for luck, and graduates pose for photos in gowns. It is an easy, rewarding visit for anyone interested in Vietnamese history and culture.

How it works: the entrance is on Quoc Tu Giam Street, at number 58, in Dong Da, a short taxi ride west of the Old Quarter and close to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area. The site opens every day from 8:00 to 17:00, and tickets are sold at the gate for a small fee, with free entry for children under sixteen and reduced rates for some groups. On Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, a night tour from 18:00 to 22:00 shows the courtyards lit up, with storytelling about the old examination system.

What to expect: allow about an hour to walk through all the courtyards. The first two are gardens, the third holds the Well of Heavenly Clarity and the stelae, the fourth the Dai Thanh hall and its altars, and the last the academy buildings. Signs are in Vietnamese and English. Visitors are asked not to touch the stelae or walk on the lawns, and smoking is banned on the site.

Making the most of it: go when it opens to have the courtyards quiet and the light soft, or try the evening tour for a very different mood. Dress respectfully, as the sanctuaries are still places of worship. Around Lunar New Year and graduation season the site is very busy, but also at its most festive, with calligraphers writing good-luck characters outside.