Vietnam — Nhà Hát Lớn Hà Nội (Hanoi Opera House), 1 Tràng Tiền, Hoàn Kiếm, Thành Phố Hà Nội, Hanoi, Vietnam

A stunning French-Colonial building

September 2015

Vietnam was a French colony for more than 60 years from the late 1880s, and you can still feel and find a French influence in the country and its architecture.

A classic example of French architecture is the Nhà Hát Lớn Hà Nội (Hanoi Opera House), 1 Tràng Tiền, Hoàn Kiếm, Thành Phố Hà Nội, which was built between 1901 and 1911. The Opera house was in immaculate condition (at least on the outside, I couldn’t get inside the building), and on the busy hot streets of Hanoi, it did look strangely out of place both in time and location.

The Hanoi Opera House was stunning. And even if I hadn’t known it was built by the French, I would have guessed it was a French design. It had a very French feel to it. The Hanoi Opera House is modelled on the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris.

Compared to the rest of Hanoi, the opera house is totally out of place.

Foursquare: Hanoi Opera House