Lantern Thu Phượng

Thu Phượng is a family-run lantern shop where you can buy ready-made lanterns or sit down and make one yourself – for free. Thu herself walks you through the whole process, helps you pick your size and design, and has the patience of a saint with kids and first-timers alike. The whole thing takes about 25 minutes, which is the right amount of time.

The lanterns fold flat for packing, which solves the obvious problem of getting them home without checking a fragile bag. Prices are straightforward – around 60,000-90,000 VND for off-the-shelf pieces – and nobody is pushing you toward the expensive option.

It sits just around the corner from Citadel restaurant, away from the thickest part of the tourist crowd on Nguyen Hoang. The shop is attached to Thu’s home, so the whole experience feels more like visiting someone’s house than a transaction.