scorecard
  1. Home
  2. tech
  3. news
  4. Hanoi shut down its Instagram-famous 'train street' cafes because they were overrun with selfie-taking tourists. Here's how it go to this point.

Hanoi shut down its Instagram-famous 'train street' cafes because they were overrun with selfie-taking tourists. Here's how it go to this point.

Brittany Chang   

Hanoi shut down its Instagram-famous 'train street' cafes because they were overrun with selfie-taking tourists. Here's how it go to this point.
Tech1 min read

  • Vietnamese government officials asked cafes along Hanoi's Instagram-famous "train street" to shut down by October 12.
  • The tourist hotspot is known for its single train track that runs perilously close to local homes and cafes.
  • It drew so many tourists that the government called it a hazard, necessitating the shutdown of the tourist-friendly cafes.
  • Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Hanoi, Vietnam is shutting down its infamous "train street" in the city's Old Quarter.

The Hanoi municipal government and its local transit authority had ordered cafes strewn alongside the train tracks to close on October 12, CNN reported.

The area has a still-functioning 117-year-old railway track that divides a street full of homes and cafes on either side, according to Reuters. But as of late, the now Instagram-famous street has become a hub for selfie-obsessed tourists looking for the perfect social media photo post.

Read more: A picturesque car-free village in the Netherlands is being overrun by tourists and 'nuisance perpetrators'

The cafe closure announcement was made on October 6, one day after a train had to make an emergency stop and be rerouted because there were too many tourists on the train tracks.

"Though the railway cafes attract tourists, they are, in fact, violating some regulations," Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu told the media on October 9.

Check out "train street" during its heyday, full of cafes, camera-wielding tourists, and people standing dangerously close to moving trains:

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement