Hoan Kiem Lake is the heart and soul of Hanoi; there is a local saying that "you haven't visited Hanoi if you haven't been to Hoan Kiem Lake." At night, the lights of the tourists restaurants and bars in the French Quarter reflect off the surface of the lake.

The white structure (right) is a pagoda known as the Tortoise Tower, located on a small island in the middle of the lake. This tower was built to honor the legend that gave the lake its name, which means "lake of the restored sword."

In the early 1400's, King Le Loi was on a boat on the lake when a tortoise appeared and asked for him to return the sword that he had used to lead the Vietnamese people to victory over the Ming Dynasty invaders from China. The tortoise took the sword and dove to the bottom of the lake, keeping it safe for the next time the Vietnamese people might need it. It seems that the tortoise might have been tempted to offer up the sword during the American War in the 1960's, but in the end they triumphed even without its help.