VietNamNet Bridge – Hanoi has been rated as the best destination for city life in Vietnam by Lonely Planet Traveller, the world’s leading tourist magazine.

The magazine said Hanoi is a “millennium-old capital of crumbling pagodas and labyrinthine streets, now undergoing a werewolf-like transformation into a 21st-century Asian metropolis.”

The city’s Old Quarter, which has some 1,000 old houses covering nearly 100 hectares is extremely valuable to local people, commerce, culture and arts. Its old buildings reflect the city’s different architectural styles during each period of its history.

Besides Hanoi, the magazine picked Sapa in northern mountainous Lao Cai Povince as the best place for walking. Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage site in northern Quang Ninh Povince, was selected as best for coast; Hoi An, a World Cultural Heritage site in the central region, as best for food; and the Mekong Delta in the south as best for river life.

Earlier, Hanoi and Hoi An also were listed among the 2012 top 10 attractive destinations in Asia, by Smart Travel Asia, a Hong Kong online tourist magazine.

VNN/VNA