Hanoi is my favorite city in Vietnam. I wasn’t so sure after our first trip from two years ago, but a recent month-long stay made it clear.

Among the cities we’ve visited, we found Hoi An to be the most charming and Saigon to have the best food, but Hanoi is the most liveable. It’s a big city, much bigger than Hoi An so there’s more to do, but it doesn’t swallow you up like Saigon. It’s home to about the same population size as Ho Chi Minh City but it feels more intimate and inviting.

In fact, we plan on living from city to city in the near future and Hanoi will probably be our first stop. It’s one of our favorite cities so far and one we can really see ourselves living in.

Spend a few days exploring its tree-lined neighborhoods with crumbling but charming French colonial buildings, and you may understand why.

Da Nang marks the halfway point between the capital in the north, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. It’s the fourth largest city in Vietnam. Apart from some shopping highlights and historical sights, the main reason for most travellers staying here is its proximity to the well-known My Khe Beach, Lang Co Beach, Hoi An and My Son.

Lang Co Beach is lined with palm trees, the water of the nearby ocean crystal-clear and enticing, lapping onto white sand. It is a peninsula with a sparkling lagoon on one side, and the beach on the other. The area is fairly under-developed, although recent years have seen many new hotels opening.