Wake up and enjoy a morning stroll to the placid banks of Hanoi’s West Lake. A popular place for Hanoi’s local residents to socialize and enjoy performing early morning exercises, time spent here provides unique insight into local life. Here we visit a small local pagoda rarely frequented by Westerners and take a break for a traditional Vietnamese coffee with locals before visiting a lacquer school run by local artist Tran Anh Tuan.

The school, opened by famous lacquer painter Saeko Ando, provides visitors with an excellent opportunity to discuss, learn and explore one of the most difficult art subjects with a foreign lacquer painter. As lunchtime approaches guests make their way to Seasons of Hanoi. This legendary dinning establishment is housed in a beautifully restored French villa on a picturesque tree lined street between the Old Quarter and the West Lake.