Hanoi

More than a thousand years ago, an emperor sailing the Red River saw a golden dragon rise into the sky. He took it as a sign, set his capital on the spot, and named it Thang Long, "Ascending Dragon." That city is now Hanoi.

The year was 1010, and Hanoi has been a capital, on and off, ever since. It stayed Vietnam's main royal capital until 1802, and got its current name, meaning "inside the rivers," in 1831.

In 1070, the city built the Temple of Literature to honor Confucius. Six years later it added Vietnam's first university, where scholars studied for centuries to become royal officials.

Hanoi's most beloved spot is Hoan Kiem Lake, the "Lake of the Returned Sword." Legend says a hero named Le Loi was given a magic sword by a golden turtle, used it to drive out a Chinese army, then watched the turtle surface and take the sword back.

In the 1800s, France took over and made Hanoi the capital of its Indochina empire, lining the streets with grand colonial buildings.

The biggest moment came on September 2, 1945. Standing in Ba Dinh Square before a vast crowd, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam independent, borrowing words from the American Declaration of Independence. Decades of war followed before the country was finally reunited.

Wander the Old Quarter, a tangle of 36 ancient streets each once devoted to a single trade, from silk to silver to paper. Catch a water puppet show, a Vietnamese art performed on a pool of water.

Visit the Temple of Literature, then walk around Hoan Kiem Lake at dawn, when locals gather to practice tai chi.

Eat a steaming bowl of pho and try bun cha, grilled pork with noodles, the dish Anthony Bourdain shared with President Obama here in 2016. Finish with egg coffee, a rich, custardy drink invented in Hanoi during a 1940s milk shortage.