With only a few days left until Halloween (on October 31) season 2023, Hanoi's downtown toy streets are filled with colorful playthings and masks, hats, mannequins, skeletons, and scythes, providing selfie photo opportunities for many young people.

Hang Ma Street

Hang Ma Street is a street in Hanoi that is the go-to spot during the Halloween season. A month ahead of the festival, Hang Ma Street is brightly and magically decorated with a series of mannequins, masks, clothes, colorful lanterns, and scary toys.

These days, it is packed with people shopping, taking selfies, and savoring the lively environment. Hang Ma Street is an ideal backdrop for photography on this occasion.

Hang Ma Street in the Old Quarter is the go-to spot to take pictures and buy Halloween-related items. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Ho Guom Pedestrian Street

Every Halloween, young people often turn the wide pedestrian street into a fashion runway where they show off their bizarre costumes and unique makeup.

There are also many interesting activities such as dressing up, mask painting, exciting magic shows, or street performances. Don't worry if you haven't prepared a makeup class for yourself yet, because there will be many makeup and face painting services available for this occasion.

Decorative Halloween-themed items are varied. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Yen So Park

Yen So Park is one of the largest parks in Hanoi, an ideal place to immerse yourself in the world of horror.

If you visit Yen So Park on Halloween, you will be immersed in a spooky space where ghosts are omnipresent, promising to bring surprising emotions. In Yen So Park, there are not only activities and games related to the theme of evil, but also modern dance, DJ performances, magic shows, and singing, and visitors can take photos with many exciting backgrounds. For families with small children, Yen So Park is also a great place to play, with a large outdoor area.

Ho Tay (West Lake) Water Park

Ho Tay (West Lake) Water Park has been preparing for Halloween since the beginning of October to bring the best experience to both capital residents and tourists. This place is considered by many young people as the most attractive place during Halloween.

The park offers colorful masquerades, dramatic games such as the Death Wheel and the Blood Road, visits to haunted houses, and especially exploring the mysterious and scary tunnel. You can also test your courage with scares and eerie sounds in ghost houses.

Halloween toys filled the street. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Shopping Mall

Young people dress up as their favorite anime characters at The Garden Shopping Mall, Hanoi.

Art performance

The Sun Symphony Orchestra will present a unique concert entitled "Devil's Last Dance" on October 31, offering a wide variety of music whose themes fit the Halloween season.

After a cool brass quintet version of the mysterious "Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky", the concert features a very important musical and theatrical work born out of the difficulties Igor Stravinsky faced after World War I. "L'Histoire du Soldat" (The Soldier's Tale) stars two actors, a dancer, and seven musicians in a story about a soldier's greed and misfortune when the devil tricks him into thinking he can get rich quickly. It's a story about humility that combines different art forms in a very special way for the audience's enjoyment.

The concert will also incorporate some chilling music from the classic Hitchcock film Psycho, as well as other Halloween classics such as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, made famous by the film Fantasia.
Audience members are encouraged to dress up as witches, pumpkins, or anything else they feel like. The show will take place at the Vietnam Academy of Music, 77 Hao Nam Street, Hanoi.