If your idea of a good holiday involves eating your way through a region, circle 20-25 November 2026. Bắc Ninh province, just north-east of Hanoi, is staging a six-day Culinary Tourism Festival at the city's Cultural and Exhibition Centre, and the food list alone is worth the trip.

The event is organised by the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism together with the province's tourism promotion centre, and — notably — it pulls in five neighbouring provinces: Thái Nguyên, Phú Thọ, Cao Bằng, Tuyên Quang and Lạng Sơn. The idea is to build a tourism network across this stretch of northern Vietnam through 2030, so expect stalls and flavours from well beyond Bắc Ninh itself.

Roughly 100 booths split into two zones. Zone A's 20 stands are the home-team showcase: Bắc Ninh City's signature products, agricultural goods, dried snacks, drinks made by local cooperatives, plus tourism routes and tours you can actually book. Zone B is the big one — 80 booths serving regional delicacies, and the roll call is long and gloriously specific. Think Vạn An rice cakes with crab soup, Mão Điền steamed rice rolls, Kế rice crackers, Hoàng Vân square sticky rice cakes and five-colour pastries from Thị Cầu.

Then there are the quirkier bites. Đình Bảng's "husband-and-wife cakes" (a traditional wedding treat), Trang Liệt peanut brittle, ash-lye rice cakes, thorn-leaf sticky rice cakes and steamed pyramid dumplings from Đáp Cầu. Savoury fans get grilled pork rolls from Liên Chung, fermented pork rolls (including a rare fermented horse meat version), and a local phở variant from Đáp Cầu topped with crispy pork liver. Đình Tổ fermented soybean sauce and Bản Ven green tea round it out.

It's not just about the plate. Every evening at 8pm there are art, music and dance performances tied to local heritage, with special folk-art shows — Bắc Ninh is famous as the birthplace of quan họ, the haunting call-and-response singing style recognised by UNESCO — on 23 and 24 November.

Why bother? Bắc Ninh sits within easy reach of Hanoi and most travellers skip it entirely, heading for Ninh Bình or Ha Long instead. This festival is a rare chance to taste hyper-local specialities — many made by craft villages that don't market themselves to foreigners — all in one place, with the provinces of the northern borderlands represented too. If you're planning a Vietnam trip for late 2026, timing it around 20-25 November would let you pair Hanoi sightseeing with a genuinely local food event. Come hungry, bring cash for the stalls, and leave room for the evening performances.