Day 1: lake and colonial streets
Morning: Hoan Kiem and Ngoc Son. Afternoon: one Old Quarter direction (Dong Xuan → Hang Ma / Hang Dao). Dusk: French Quarter exteriors only. Skip mausoleum, West Lake and Beer Street tonight; a puppet show replaces French dusk — do not stack all three.
Day 2: Ba Dinh morning
Morning only: queue for the mausoleum (open days and security follow the site/official notice; often closed Tue/Fri). Short stops at the stilt house and One Pillar; close at Flag Tower or citadel. Cover shoulders and knees. No Beer Street or Train Street that evening — one meal near your hotel and stop.
Day 3: West Lake or south
Pick one full day: West Lake (Tran Quoc + shore cafés, no Old Quarter binge) or south (Literature temple + fine arts / Thong Nhat). Halong/Ninh Binh replace this whole day — not a half add-on. West Lake night = one shore meal; south night may return for one bia hơi round only — no Train Street.