2 Best Sights in The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Nearby, Hanoi

The Temple of Literature, or Van Mieu, is a treasure trove of Vietnamese architecture and a monument to the importance of education and Confucianism to Vietnam's national identity. Loosely modeled on the temple at Confucius's hometown in China, the nearly 1,000-year-old compound features five manicured courtyards surrounded by the Lake of Literature. Highlights of the Temple of Literature include giant stone turtles, the Constellation of Literature pavilion (a symbol of modern Hanoi; you'll see it on the street signs), and the Imperial Academy—Vietnam's first university—which was founded in 1076. It is tradition for students to touch the stone turtles for luck, so don't be surprised to find this place packed with university students. The temple is in the process of implementing night tours, but the project hasn't quite taken off yet.

The French destroyed this pagoda on their way out in 1954. It was reconstructed by the incoming government and still commemorates the legend of Emperor Ly Thai Tong. It is said that the childless emperor dreamed that Quan Am, the Buddhist goddess of mercy and compassion, seated on a lotus flower, handed him a baby boy. Sure enough, he soon met and married a peasant woman who bore him a male heir, and in 1049 he constructed this monument in appreciation. The distinctive single pillar is meant to represent the stalk of the lotus flower, a sacred Vietnamese symbol of purity. The pillar was originally a single large tree trunk; today it's made of more durable cement. An ornate curved roof covers the tiny 10-square-foot pagoda, which rises out of a square pond. Steps leading to the pagoda from the south side of the pond are usually blocked off.

Just a few yards from the One-Pillar Pagoda is Dien Huu Pagoda, a delightful but often-overlooked temple enclosing a bonsai-filled courtyard. A tall and colorful gate opens out onto the path leading to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, but the entrance is opposite the steps to the One-Pillar Pagoda.