Hanoi Sky Lotte Observation Deck Admission Ticket

Hanoi Sky is the observation deck on the 65th floor of the Lotte Center, and it gives you the capital in one piece — the lakes, the dense grid of the old quarter, the river, and the newer city spreading out beyond it.

The deck runs around the top of the building, so you get every direction rather than one aspect. Hanoi is a low city for the most part, which means that from this height almost nothing blocks the view, and you can follow individual streets across it.

There is a glass floor section for anyone who wants to test their head for heights, and it is a genuine test — sixty-five floors of nothing directly beneath your feet.

Sunset is when the deck is busiest and it is worth the crowd: the light goes gold across the whole basin and then the city switches on beneath you. The Sky Lounge Bar & Cafe on the same level is where most people settle afterwards.

Go up on a clear day — haze is common over Hanoi and it flattens the view. For sunset, arrive a good half hour before, both for a place at the glass and because the best light comes before the sun actually goes. Anything you eat or drink at the Sky Lounge is paid for there.