France’s “Le Nouvel Observateur” (The New Observer) newspaper has published a two-page article praising Hanoi’s beauty on its 1,000th birthday.

Entitled “1,000-year-old Hanoi”, the article stated that Vietnam ’s capital city is considered by some to be the most beautiful and charming city in Southeast Asia , as it incorporates both Vietnamese and French styles and architecture.

Besides the old quarter, the “ideal” city was been built from around 1882 with many trees, pagodas and beautiful villas imbued with an architectural style that can be sometimes seen in France’s Cote d’Azur region.

According to the writer, the best way to enjoy Hanoi is to wander about the streets to discover the hidden charms of Asian and European styles.

Tourists can also admire Ho Guom (Sword Lake) or Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of the city with Ngoc Son Temple connected to the lakeside by a red bridge called The Huc, said the article.

The author wrote that tourists should not miss the chance of experiencing Hanoi at dawn, with many elderly people doing morning exercises, pupils going to school and adults hurrying off to work. After witnessing the animated atmosphere of the early morning, they can go to a “pho” (noodle soup) restaurant to enjoy this special dish.

The article also praised Hanoian cuisine, saying that the city is home to many intriguing restaurants, uniquely decorated and with friendly service.

Single and multi-destination itineraries are on offer as well as comprehensive trans-Vietnam tours, by bus or air, to citie

The capital city of Hanoi will turn 1,000 years old in 2010, so Saigontourist has prepared cultural itineraries to the city of Hanoi for overseas Vietnamese who will start their journeys from HCMC.

Saigontourist’s customers will have the chance to enjoy the beauty of Halong and Nha Trang bays and the southern islands, as well as experience Vietnamese cuisine, Tet celebrations and the windy, sunny Central Highlands.

A series of dances imbued with traditional Cambodian culture opened for the Cambodian Culture Week 2009 kicked off in Hanoi on December 23.

The event, the second of its kind in Vietnam, aims to strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries by helping Vietnamese people better understand Cambodian people and their customs.

As part of a bilateral cooperation agreement on culture and arts for 2009-2011, the weeklong event is jointly held by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Scheduled are art performances with Cambodian and Vietnamese songs and dances along with Cambodian art and film exhibitions.

In her opening speech, Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said the millennium anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi is an important event of the country.

“We believe that with the strong contingent of more than 1,000 journalists and a network of bureaus in all 63 provinces and cities nationwide and 27 foreign countries, the website will be an effective and special information channel that diversifies forms of promoting the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and timely provides all-in information on the capital city as well as the whole country,” she said.

VNA Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Loi said, “the advantage of having four languages, which no other e-paper in Vietnam has, will make an important contribution to implementing the goal of promoting news for foreign service as part of the media campaign on the millennium celebration in particular and the capital city of Hanoi in general.”

He affirmed that VNA will actively improve the content of the website in order to make it more plentiful and useful to readers.

Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Tran Chien Thang and VNA leaders together clicked the button to launch the Thang Long-Hanoi website.

The website is designed and managed by the VNA’s e-paper Vietnam Plus.

Apart from information about Hanoi and activities to mark the 1,000th celebration of Thang Long-Hanoi, the website gives detailed information about the capital relating to its history-geography, administration, culture, artisans, craft villages, gastronomy, among much else. It also provides useful details on the city’s entertainment venues, tourist sites, hotels and entrepreneurs for the benefit of both tourists and companies seeking business opportunities in Hanoi.

To date, nearly 900 entries in the Vietnamese language and hundreds of others in other languages have been posted on the website.

The photo albums include rare photos of the ancient quarter of Hanoi, Long Bien Bridge and collections of maps of Hanoi from the 19th century.