SWORD LAKE

Sword Lake or Lake of the Returned Sword is known as the heart of Hanoi, placed right in the middle of the city center, surrounded by Dinh Tien Hoang street, Hang Khay street and Le Thai To street.
The lake has been around for a long time, about several thousand years ago, but before it was officially named Hoan Kiem, the lake had many names associated with different stories such as the name Luc Thuy Lake because the lake's water is colored blue all year round, or Thuy Quan Lake because this is where the royal court used for naval military parades.

The name "Sword Lake" was first used in the early 15th century, derived from the legend of King Le Thai To returning the magical sword to the Turtle God after defeating the Ming invaders, ascending to the throne, and establishing the Le dynasty.
As the legend recounts, when Le Loi stood up to lead the Lam Son uprising in Thanh Hoa against the Minh army, he unexpectedly captured the Thuan Thien sword. With the help of the sword, Emperor Le Loi won numerous battles, became king then established the Le dynasty.
One day, while boating on Luc Thuy Lake with his courtiers, a golden turtle suddenly appeared. When the king drew his sword and pointed at it, the turtle immediately captured it with its mouth then dived to the bottom of the lake and never surfaced again. Loi thought the sword had been lent to him by the will of Heaven to help him defeat the enemy, and now that peace had been restored, the turtle had come to reclaim it. From that day on, the lake was renamed Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Returned Sword).

However, during the end of the 16th century, the Trinh Lords divided the lake into two parts, the left part called "Ta Vong" and the right part called "Huu Vong." In 1884, the French colonists backfilled Huu Vong Lake to expand the capital city, leaving only Ta Vong Lake, which is what's now known as Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake).
Address: Hang Trong ward, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi. Surrounding the lake is Dinh Tien Hoang street in the East, Le Thai To street in the West, Hang Khay street in the South.
Opening time: Every day of the week.
Ticket price: Free