Hanoi for The Slow Weekenders: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Walk half the lake and sit; the benches are well placed under the trees, and the turtle pagoda on its islet glows by half past five.

Up through a silk shop and a courtyard to a balcony over the lake; the egg coffee is sweet and thick, and the view is the best in the quarter.

A villa courtyard with stalls from each region of Vietnam; choose three dishes and be in bed by ten.

A sixty-minute massage in the Sofitel Legend Metropole's spa, in a colonial setting with a pool; book a day ahead.

A long lunch in a French-quarter house: five small dishes of refined Vietnamese cooking and a garden to sit in until three.

The one sight of the day: five courtyards under old trees, quiet in the late afternoon and with benches enough for a rest.

The oldest pagoda in the city on a small islet in West Lake; walk the causeway and sit among the lotus pots and the brick stupa.

A lakeside table for fried prawn cakes wrapped in lettuce; a slow lunch with the water in view and a pot of tea.

The 15:00 show is a short, gentle, funny hour in a cool hall with the lake's legends told in water.

A Taoist temple of the 11th century with a huge black bronze statue of Xuan Wu; the courtyard is shaded and nearly empty.

A well-lit museum with benches in every gallery and a café; spend forty-five minutes here and no longer.

A last bowl of pan-fried beef phở before the airport; sit in the shade and ask for a little extra broth.