The Hanoi Train Street, closed last month over safety concerns, is listed among the Top 8 destinations that were over-tourist in the last decade.
US travel magazine Insider, which compiled the list of over-tourist sites, said the railway was built in the Vietnamese city in 1902 by the French. Over the years, cafes cropped up alongside the tracks, but before social media, it was more of a hidden gem than a tourist destination.
The Train Street is formed by railway tracks running alongside Dien Bien Phu and Phung Hung streets in the heart of the Hanoi’s Old Quarter, with residential buildings just a few feet away on either side.
With the advent of social media, especially Instagram, the street became a global hit, attracting hordes of selfie hunters, Insider said. The boom in visits prompted the Vietnamese government to close down the cafés along the Train Street and prevent the entry of tourists, with barriers set up at junctions.