Traveling to Hanoi? Find your next read and your next travel memory in Hanoi’s best bookstores, literary cafés, and libraries.
Whether you’re a bookworm seeking rare finds, a café lover looking for a quiet reading nook, or just curious about Vietnam’s literary heritage, Hanoi offers a surprising wealth of bookish hotspots.
La Siesta Classic Hang Thung
This luxury boutique hotel in Hanoi’s Old Quarter features a ton of elegantly decorated rooms, a rooftop restaurant, and (most notably for fellow bibliophiles out there) an on-site book bar called Library Lounge. With marble floors, trippy art pieces, and an entire wall lined with books, it promises a stay that is both soothing and extravagant.
The hotel as a whole, including the Library Lounge, offers a nice mix of both contemporary and Vietnamese inspiration in its design, so travelers can experience an authentic taste of the local culture while still enjoying the comfort of modern amenities.
Location: 21 Hang Thung St. Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Nhà sách Mão
Fellow avid readers will surely have heard the term “packed to the rafters” before, and Nhà sách Mão is one bookshop where the shelves are quite literally lined up to the rafters’ highest peak. Founded over 30 years ago, this was the first bookstore to open on Đinh Lễ Street, and can be found tucked away in an alley and up a set of stairs. The interior is two stories of books galore, with sea green bookshelves and a beautiful spiral staircase giving it a distinct flair.
While the book collection is entirely in Vietnamese, it’s still worth a visit to experience one of Hanoi’s oldest bookstores.
Location: 5 Đinh Lễ, Tràng Tiền, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Bookshelf Hanoi
Nhà sách Mão might be Vietnamese-only, but just a few short blocks away, you can find English-language titles in spades at the Bookshelf Hanoi. This bookstore keeps a curated selection of new releases, classics, and a broad range of nonfiction topics such as business, travel, and Vietnamese culture.
The shop is praised for its friendly staff, who write book recommendations to help customers pick out the right title for them.
Location: 8 Nguyễn Chế Nghĩa, Hàng Bài Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hanoi Library
Next stop is a public library with a sleek, modern design, offering over 480,000 documents and around 20,000 materials on Hanoi’s local history. Both inside and out, Hanoi Library features a quiet, airy space for reading, studying, and research. Its children’s section is particularly charming, with creatively designed bookcases and columns.
The library is also multicultural, including an entire room dedicated to Korean culture. You need to register for a reading and/or borrowing card to enter, but it starts very affordably at roughly US$1 per year.
Location: 54E Trần Hưng Đạo, Hàng Bài Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
The Wiselands Coffee
The Wiselands Coffee is a serene book café filled with lush greenery and thousands of free-to-read books. Many are in Vietnamese, but there’s also a decent selection of English titles to choose from. Colored in earthen tones and featuring an artistically asymmetric design, the space provides a peaceful escape for book lovers in Hanoi.
This book café has two locations, both of which are worth a visit. Each menu features a delightful range of herbal and fruity teas, frothy cappuccinos, light pastries, and desserts.
Location: 17 Ng Xóm Hạ Hồi, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
National Library of Vietnam
At an impressive seven stories tall, the National Library of Vietnam strikes an imposing figure with its classical French architecture. Established in the early 1900s, it features arched windows, grand staircases, and an expansive garden. Its collection is huge, holding books, newspapers, and magazines in Vietnamese and several other languages.
Unlike most libraries, no one is particularly strict about keeping voices down, and with the building being so close to the road, some visitors say it can get noisy. Still, it hosts many exhibitions, conferences, and cultural programs, and plays an important role in spreading knowledge in Hanoi.
Location: 31 P. Tràng Thi, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tranquil Books & Coffee
Coffee lovers might want to give Tranquil Books & Coffee a try. This book café boasts specialty Vietnamese coffee, an extensive book collection, and events at least twice a week, including movie showings, open mic nights, and live music performances.
As promised by its name, the café has a very calming, low-key vibe where extended stays are encouraged. The bookcases against the wall also make for a perfect backdrop for either relaxation or study.
Location: 5 Nguyen Quang Bích, Cua Dong, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Goethe Institut Hanoi
For a dash of Germany in Vietnam, head to the Goethe Institut Hanoi. This cultural institution is dedicated to fostering cultural exchange between Vietnam, Germany, and Europe in general. It organizes a wide range of cultural activities to present German culture in Asia, including German language courses and workshops. Its book collection includes both Vietnamese and German volumes.
The building itself is also quite beautiful, particularly its café and outdoor area, which are bursting with plant life. The café offers German cuisine, slightly adjusted to suit local tastes.
Location: 56-58-60 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Dien Bien, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, Vietnam
Bluebird’s Nest
Tucked in a quiet alley on Dang Dung Street, Bluebird’s Nest is a multi-level café filled with books, a leafy rooftop garden, cozy seating, and two resident cats. It’s especially popular with book lovers and remote workers, serving up both great coffee and reliable Wi-Fi.
The café is also known for its friendly staff, great coffee, and, of course, cats. The book collection offers a good mix of Vietnamese and English titles, mostly fiction, and is quite LGBTQ+ friendly.
Location: 27 Đặng Dung, đối diện ngõ 20 Đặng Dung, Ba Đình, Hanoi, Vietnam
Bookworm Hanoi
Bookworm Hanoi has a broad offering of books in multiple languages, including English, French, and Vietnamese, covering a wide range of genres and topics. It has both new and secondhand volumes, some of which are quite old and rare. The store itself has a very authentic Vietnamese ambiance, with colorful, eclectic décor.
The bookshop also has a café inside, serving coffee and tea. It hosts various events throughout the year, including a workshop on making Vietnamese coffee.
Location: 44 P. Phạm Hồng Thái, Trúc Bạch, Ba Đình, Hanoi, Vietnam
Vietnam Museum of Literature
This cultural landmark opened in 2015 and puts Vietnam’s rich literary heritage on display for the world to see. Featuring both indoor and outdoor exhibits, a tour through the museum will show you statues of literary figures, thousands of artifacts, and numerous displays highlighting famous poets, writers, and more from as early as the 10th century onward.
The museum is open every day of the week, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a 1.5-hour break at noon. While the displays are mainly in Vietnamese, a good chunk has English translations added.
Location: 275 Đ. Âu Cơ, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hanoi, Vietnam
Nha Sach Fahasa (Aeon Mall Long Bien)
Curious to visit a Vietnamese bookstore chain? Nha Sach Fahasa just so happens to be one of the most popular in Hanoi, and its outlet in Aeon Mall Long Bien features a particularly dazzling design. With a sleek white walkway winding through the store, visitors can browse books in Vietnamese, English, and Japanese.
Aside from books, the store also offers stationery and educational materials that cater to all ages and interests.
Location: TTTM Aeon Mall, 27 Đ. Cổ Linh, Long Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam
East West Books Library Café
Owned by Dong Tay Culture Company, the East West Books Library Café is both large and beautiful, boasting a second level with a graceful, iron-wrought indoor balcony. It’s a popular go-to for students and remote workers, thanks to its abundance of outlets.
Its bookshelves hold thousands of books on topics like humanities and culture, available for patrons to read in between sips of coffee, smoothie, or other beverage of choice. The collection seems to be entirely in Vietnamese, including some Vietnamese translations of foreign novels.
Location: House N11A, Unit 3, Dich Vong, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
National Economics University Library
Step into Vietnam’s most modern library at the National Economics University. Spanning 10,000 square meters, it features themed floors, digitized resources, and a café-style creative space. The design blends natural wood and whitespace for eye-catching results, peppered with subtle touches of postmodern flair for flavor.
The library houses tens of thousands of books, including many foreign economic titles, plus a heaping help of electronic resources. (Wouldn’t be modern if it didn’t!)
Location: 207 Đ. Giải Phóng, Đồng Tâm, Hai Bà Trưng, Hanoi, Vietnam
Biblio Book Cafe
Biblio Book Cafe is a chain of book cafés in Hanoi, blending traditional Vietnamese elements with modern design. The Thanh Xuan branch, for example, features both Western-style tables and chairs, but also a section with low tables and floor seating. It also has a spacious interior with lots of natural wooden furnishings that give it a grounded, natural atmosphere.
The book collection ranges from children’s books to fantasy novels to academic texts in Vietnamese. Meanwhile, the café menu offers a colorful array of snacks in addition to coffee.
Location: 79 P. Ngụy Như Kon Tum, Nhân Chính, Thanh Xuân, Hanoi, Vietnam
VAC Library
Far away from Hanoi’s busy city center, you’ll find VAC Library, a unique outdoor library and urban farm built and designed by a company called Farming Architects. The library itself consists of a huge wooden cubic structure built to be a sort of geometric jungle gym for kids to climb and play on. Interspersed inside the structure are cube-like bookshelves filled with Vietnamese children’s books.
The library also features a climbable wooden structure housing books, a garden, a fish pond with Koi carp, and a chicken coop. All are connected through aquaponics and solar panels that power the whole system, a kind of living example of how resources can be effectively used, renewed, and recycled, even in an urban setting.
Location: XPHV+VH9, Ỷ La, Hà Đông, Hanoi, Vietnam
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K Lou
K. Lou is a writer born in the U.S. who found her way to Japan through a spiritual calling—or, more precisely, better access to tea. She writes about travel, culture, and the occasional creative piece, inspired by her enduring love of books. This love began in high school when K. Lou carried books around to avoid seeming odd while lost in thought. Once she started reading, she never stopped. With zero regrets, she continues to explore the written word and invites others to join her in celebrating its varied forms.
