Vietnam is a beautiful country with a rich history and fascinating culture. Not everyone can afford to visit it—sometimes it’s not about money, but health or lack of time. If a trip to this stunning, exotic land is out of reach, visit the so-called little Hanoi right in our capital. You definitely won’t regret it. At the Sapa Market you’ll feel the true Vietnam.
A few years ago, Sapa Market was considered a place for low-quality goods and an unappealing ghetto. Now, everything is different. Today it’s a space where you can enjoy excellent Vietnamese food and, looking out the window, feel as if you’re right in Hanoi.
Sapa Market is more than just stalls
Don’t take the label “Sapa Market” too literally. Otherwise, some of you might miss a great experience—and here’s why. Sapa Market (for clarity, we’ll keep using this name) is a different, small world. The complex spans more than 250,000 square meters, and you’ll find not only shops (around 800) with a wide range of goods, but also a kindergarten, a school, a Buddhist temple, a language center, a martial arts school, doctors, editorial offices of Vietnamese magazines, lawyers, insurance companies, cultural halls, and restaurants and bistros. More than 1,000 people work in Sapa Market! So the idea that it’s just rows of stalls with clothes, vegetables, or anything else is mistaken.
Sapa Market is an ideal place to get to know Vietnamese culture and taste Vietnamese cuisine. They say you won’t find better spring rolls, Bún chả or Pho than in Sapa. Besides these famous dishes, you’ll find many other specialties you won’t easily try elsewhere.
If Vietnamese cuisine wins you over and you want to cook your new favorite dish at home, you can buy all the ingredients you need right at Sapa Market! Spices, seafood, exotic fruit and vegetables—none of that is a problem. Everything is fresh and tasty.
Sapa Market isn’t only about Vietnam
It isn’t strictly a Vietnamese market, so you’ll also find shops and restaurants offering goods and dishes from other Asian countries. With just a few steps you can go from Vietnam to China—via shops with Chinese goods and Chinese restaurants—or to Korea, thanks to Korean grocery stores and Korean cosmetics. Most of the “residents” of Sapa Market are still Vietnamese, so the nickname “little Hanoi” isn’t going away anytime soon.
Looking at the many shops, which make up a substantial part of Sapa Market, you can find almost everything: clothing, jewelry, groceries, drugstore items, household goods, toys, carnival and party supplies—both wholesale and retail. There are also several boutiques with the traditional Vietnamese dress Ao Dai, not only for Vietnamese women.
Sapa Market also offers many services—from manicure, hairdressing, advertising agencies and financial services to a kindergarten and a travel agency. As mentioned, there’s a Buddhist temple on site, carefully tended by a genuine Buddhist monk. Did you know Buddhism is the most widespread religion in Vietnam?
A visit to Sapa Market is more than shopping
Your visit to Sapa Market won’t be just about buying a variety of goods and services in large halls and small shops or sampling street-food specialties. You’ll also be at a venue for many interesting cultural events, usually tied to Vietnamese culture. Vietnamese people in the establishments located within Sapa Market often celebrate birthdays or host lavish wedding banquets—typically in the large halls of the Dong Do or Hoang Thanh restaurants.
If you prefer someone to set up a program, guide you, and don’t want to wander aimlessly around Sapa Market, we recommend exploring the SapaTrip experience in our catalog at Stips.cz. The SapaTrip project was founded by Mai Ngoc Minh and Nguyen Manh Tung to bring Vietnamese culture closer to the wider public. Guides will take you systematically through the entire complex and show you the most interesting spots and options, so you won’t have to worry about where to go first or fear missing anything noteworthy.
It’s pretty clear that spring and summer are ideal for visiting Sapa Market. You can stroll around at your leisure and see whatever catches your eye without being chased away by cold or snow. Of course, if you’re only going to a restaurant, the season or weather won’t limit you at all.
