Son Tay Citadel
Looking for Son Tay citadel car hire? How to find low cost, cheap, private transfer from Hanoi to Son Tay citadel? What’s best rental cars for Son Tay Hanoi day tour? We have a wide range of cars, SUV, MPV, and mini vans to rent out at affordable rates, offering you the chance to explore this attraction with ease.
Map
Son Tay citadel
Son Tay Citadel is located in Son Tay town, about 40km from Hanoi city center. It was an ancient military rampart built with laterite.
Son Tay Citadel was erected in 1822. It had a style of Vauban architecture with a square shape, 400m in length and 5m in height. The citadel’s wall was 4m in width and there were many holes at the top of the wall for the soldiers to hide inside the citadel to shoot or attack their enemies using spears or broadswords.
The Son Tay citadel had four gates facing east, west, south and north, namely the Front (Tien), the Back (Hau), the Right (Huu) and the Left (Ta). Each entrance has a guard tower. In the past, the citadel was surrounded by a 20m-wide, 2,000m-long moat that connected to the Tich Giang River at the southwestern corner of the rampart. The major architectural axle linked the Front and Back Gates.
Far from the citadel was La Thanh – the outside wall – which was built with mud, 3.5m high, in the shape of pentagon. It was surrounded by a spine of bamboo hedges and had four entrances facing four directions. Part of the remaining La Thanh is now La Thanh Road.
Inside the citadel were important structures that were built symmetrically on the central South-North axle. In the middle was Vong cung nu where the king could rest and mandarins in the area annually organized offering rites or bowed from a distance when they received the royal decrees.
In front of Kinh Thien Palace was a large brick-paved courtyard. Outside the entrance was a screen built with bricks and engraved with the image of “long van khanh hoi” (dragons and clouds). Next was Doan Mon with three gates looking to the Ky dai (flagpole), 18cm high, built on a large laterite platform.
To the west was Vo Mieu built to worship those who laid down their lives to protect the citadel. At the four corners of the citadel were four square wells, 6m in depth, that have steps built by laterite leading to the wells’ bottom. Nearby were residential buildings and the law courts of the provinces’ mandarins. In the east, there was a prison, a food store and the residences of the wives of the soldiers in the citadel.
In his reminiscences written in April 1884, Charles Edouard Hocquard, a French military doctor, described in detail the architecture of the Son Tay Citadel. He wrote: “…In the middle of the citadel was an 18m high flagpole. The remaining part was the royal corridors, residential buildings of the provinces’ mandarins and a food store. In front of the flagpole were two large square cisterns with their surroundings built with bricks with handrails. Many people said that one of the cisterns had been used to contain water for soldiers and the other for raising fish to serve as a food.”
In 1884, the French military army occupied the citadel and in 1924, Martial Henri Merlin, Governor-General of French Indochina, issued a decree to rank the ancient citadel as a relic. In December 1946, the Government of Vietnam Democratic Republic held an important meeting in the citadel.
After nearly 200 years, most of the Son Tay Ancient Citadel has been destroyed by wars and time and only a few relics are left, including some stretches of the citadel walls, the citadel gates, guard towers, Kinh Thien’s Palace grounds, wells and two cannons.
How to get to Son Tay citadel?
There are several ways for getting to this attraction from downtown Hanoi. You can book a private car with driver; take a local bus; take a bike ride; take a motorbike tour; or just seat on the back of a bike (motor-taxi)…You have many choices depending on your personal interest and budget. At vietnamcarhire.com we only provide the following options.
- Rent a private car with driver.
Car hire Son Tay citadel
The following car rental packages are only samples we design for travelers to visit Son Tay citadel from Hanoi. These packages include a private car with driver for return transfer from/to downtown Hanoi.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Son Tay citadel from Hanoi?
The distance from downtown Hanoi to this tourist attraction is approximately 45 km.
What is the best way to get to Son Tay citadel from Hanoi?
The best way to get to Son Tay citadel is to hire a car and driver. Because the public transport is slow and busy, drop off place will be far from the site.
Hanoi car rental with driver
At Vietnam Car Hire, we offer a big variety of car types for you to explore this tourist site as well as its surroundings. Options includes economy, compact, full-size, van/minivan, SUVs, MPV, and coaches. Whether you look a 4 Seater Sedan or a 45 Seater Coach for a half day, or one day trip out of Hanoi, we can arrange the transport for you.
Booking a car for a day trip to Son Tay citadel is very simple at vietnamcarhire.com. You can browse the car rental packages above, select the package that suits your needs the most, then proceed to the booking. You can also let us know your car rental requirements by filling this form in, our car hire agent will contact you back with a free quote.
Why rent a car from Vietnam Car Hire?
- We offer low cost, budget, cheap car rental rates.
- Take your pick from a wide selection of vehicles, makes and models. We have a large number of sizes to suit any requirement.
- Obtain a free car hire quote for a half day or a full day trip to Son Tay citadel.
- If you require extra information, contact our 24/7 customer support.
- Take advantage of our additional services, including Son Tay citadel rental car insurance, baby seats and boosters…
- Search and Rent a Car at the airport or from hotel pickups and transfers.
- If payment is required, we accept Mastercard, Visa, and Debit Cards.
