Apartments for rent in Cầu Giấy (Cau Giay), Hanoi

Cầu Giấy, west of the old centre, is Hanoi's education hub, home to Vietnam National University's main campus, major tech companies and the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. New towers stand beside old artisan villages, giving it a busy, youthful, practical feel.

With a population of roughly 300,000, Cầu Giấy mixes office towers, apartment blocks and the lanes of former villages. Its many universities and specialist schools draw thousands of students each term, creating a small economy around student life, and several cafés are centred on the music of Trịnh Công Sơn.

Big employers such as FPT, Viettel, VNPT, MobiFone and CMC are based here, and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra has its headquarters on Cầu Giấy Road. Green space is limited: as of 2024 the whole area was served by just two parks, Cầu Giấy Park and Nghĩa Đô Park.

Landmarks

• Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (Bảo tàng Dân tộc học Việt Nam): Opened in 1997 on Nguyễn Văn Huyên Road, covering Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, with full-size traditional houses outdoors.
• Vietnam National Museum of Nature: A free natural history museum at 18 Hoàng Quốc Việt. It opens to the public only on some days of the week, so check its website before you go.
• Hà Temple (Đền Hà): An old village temple, where Hanoi's revolutionaries met on the evening of 15 August 1945.
• Cầu Giấy Park (Công viên Cầu Giấy): One of only two public parks serving the area as of 2024.

Shops, health and schools

• Supermarkets: GO! Thăng Long (formerly Big C Thăng Long) is at 222 Trần Duy Hưng.
• Cafés and dining: Student life around the universities supports a small economy of shops and cheap eats, and several cafés are themed around Trịnh Công Sơn's music.
• Gyms and sport: Elite Fitness Xuân Thủy is on level 4 of The Loop shopping centre, 241 Xuân Thủy.
• Healthcare: Tâm Anh has a clinic at 265 Cầu Giấy; its main hospital is across the river in Long Biên.
• International schools nearby: The Korean International School in Hanoi is on the extended Lê Đức Thọ road in Mai Dịch; Nguyễn Siêu School also teaches an international curriculum. Across the Mỹ Đình border are the Japanese School of Hanoi and Vietnam-Australia School.

Getting around

• Metro Line 3's elevated section, opened on 8 August 2024, has National University, Chùa Hà and Cầu Giấy stations here.
• Cầu Giấy Road runs east–west towards National Route 32 and is crossed by Ringway 2, 2.5 and 3.
• The Láng Road–Cầu Giấy junction is a well-known rush-hour bottleneck, and Láng Road carries far more traffic than it was designed for.

Good to know

• Many residential 'streets' in the old villages are alleys only 1–1.5 metres wide, too narrow for fire engines, so it is worth checking access before choosing a home.
• Parking is scarce and parking on footpaths is common.
• A new US embassy compound is under construction on Phạm Văn Bạch street; ground was broken on 15 April 2023.