Showtimes
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre Showtimes & Schedule
Seven shows daily Monday to Saturday, eight on Sunday, all year at Hoan Kiem Lake — when to show up and which slots sell out first.
See water puppet dates on GetYourGuide ↗Weekly Show Schedule
| Day | Showtimes |
|---|---|
| Mon-Sat | 1:45PM · 3:00PM · 4:10PM · 5:20PM · 6:30PM · 8:00PM · 9:15PM |
| Sunday | 9:30AM · 1:45PM · 3:00PM · 4:10PM · 5:20PM · 6:30PM · 8:00PM · 9:15PM |
Where to find it
The theatre sits at 57B Dinh Tien Hoang Street in Hoan Kiem District, on the northeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake — the small lake at the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter. That location matters for planning: it's an easy add-on to an evening lakeside walk, and it sits within walking distance of most Old Quarter hotels. Look for the theatre building facing the lake directly, rather than searching for it down a side street. If you're using a map app, search the street address rather than just "water puppet theatre," since a few other tour operators list similarly named venues elsewhere in the city, which can send you to the wrong door.
The daily lineup
Monday through Saturday, the theatre runs seven performances: 1:45PM, 3:00PM, 4:10PM, 5:20PM, 6:30PM, 8:00PM and 9:15PM. Sunday adds an extra morning show at 9:30AM, bringing the day's total to eight. That's a tight turnaround between performances — roughly an hour each time — so the theatre runs like clockwork most of the year. The schedule holds across all 365 days of the year, including public holidays, though the exact times can shift seasonally or around Tet, Vietnamese New Year. Treat the times above as the standard pattern rather than a fixed guarantee, and confirm the current lineup for your travel dates before you book.
How long you'll be sitting
Each performance runs about 50 to 60 minutes with no intermission, which makes it one of the easiest cultural shows in Hanoi to fit around a packed itinerary. There's no interval to plan around, and no real risk of missing a section if you arrive right at showtime — though you should still aim to be seated before the lights go down, since latecomers can disrupt other guests once the pool-stage performance is already underway. The compact runtime also makes an early evening slot easy to pair with dinner beforehand, or a lakeside walk afterward, without eating up your entire night out.
Book around the sell-out slots
Not all seven, or eight, showtimes fill up at the same rate. The 6:30PM and 8:00PM performances are consistently the first to sell out, since they suit both after-work locals and tourists looking for an evening activity that doesn't compete with dinner plans. If your schedule is flexible, an afternoon show is generally your easiest bet for last-minute availability, especially on a weekday. If evening is your only realistic option, treat booking it as a priority rather than something to sort out on the day, particularly during busier travel periods.
Confirm before you commit
The theatre operates 365 days a year, but a standing daily schedule doesn't mean an unchangeable one. Showtimes can shift around Tet and other periods, and individual slots occasionally get added or dropped without much notice. Because this guide reflects the standard year-round pattern rather than a live feed, confirm today's exact schedule at the point of booking — whether that's on the theatre's own listings or through whichever platform you use to buy tickets. It takes a few seconds and avoids the frustration of turning up for a 6:30PM show that's actually running at 6:00PM that particular week.