Trang Tien Plaza

Trang Tien Plaza is Hanoi's landmark department store, at 24 Hai Ba Trung in Trang Tien Ward, Hoan Kiem District, on the southeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake near the Opera House in Vietnam. The building is French colonial, opened in 1901 as the Godard store and later rebuilt as a luxury mall. Six floors carry international fashion and beauty houses, Vietnamese designer labels, watches, leather goods and a top-floor restaurant level. The mall sits at the upper end of the market, with anchor tenants in luxury and premium fashion, and it differs from the market streets by offering authentic branded goods with warranty and receipts, so the risk of replicas is minimal. Prices are fixed, with bargaining not part of the culture, and range from about 500,000 VND for smaller items to tens of millions of dong for luxury goods. Payment is by cash or major credit cards, which are widely accepted. Visitors wishing to claim a VAT refund on eligible goods should ask the store for a tax-refund invoice at the time of purchase, and refund eligibility depends on the current Vietnamese scheme and the traveller's status, so checking with the store is advisable. The atmosphere is quiet, air-conditioned and unhurried, with a formal shopping tone that contrasts sharply with the Old Quarter markets, and the building is one of the coolest refuges in the centre during the summer heat. Food options are on the top floor and around the building, from casual restaurants to cafes, and the surrounding French Quarter has many more choices. The building is worth seeing for the architecture alone, and the ground floor cosmetics and accessories halls are the busiest. Visitors mainly interested in Vietnamese designers can look for the local-label section, where clothing and accessories are priced below the international houses but above the market rate.