Hue: Inside Vietnam's Imperial City
For 140 years, Hue was the capital of a unified Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty. The imperial citadel, royal tombs and refined cuisine it left behind make it one of the most rewarding cities in Southeast Asia.
Hue sits on the Perfume River midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and it wears its history with an unusual dignity. The last Vietnamese dynasty — the Nguyen — ruled from here between 1802 and 1945, building a complex of palaces, temples and fortifications modelled on the Forbidden City in Beijing. Much was damaged in the American War; much has since been restored. What remains is still magnificent.
The Imperial Citadel
The citadel is a city within a city — a walled complex of 10 square kilometres containing palaces, temples, gardens and the Forbidden Purple City where the emperors actually lived. Enter through the Ngọ Môn Gate (Noon Gate), the most photographed structure in Hue, where the last emperor Bảo Đại abdicated in 1945. Allow a full morning and hire an audio guide or local guide — the history is rich enough to justify the time.
The citadel is best explored early morning before the heat peaks and tour groups fill the courtyards. The Thế Miếu (temple of dynastic ancestors) and the Điện Thái Hòa (Palace of Supreme Harmony) are the architectural highlights.
The Royal Tombs
Seven Nguyen emperors are buried in elaborate mausoleums scattered across the hills south of the city. Each is a self-contained complex of temples, ponds, pavilions and burial chambers, and each reflects the personality of the emperor who built it. The three most visited are:
- Tomb of Minh Mang — the most symmetrical and formal, set in a landscape of lakes and pine trees
- Tomb of Khai Dinh — the most unusual, a fusion of Vietnamese, Chinese and French baroque architecture completed in 1931 and covered in mosaics of broken porcelain
- Tomb of Tu Duc — the most romantic, set in a garden of frangipani trees around a large lake where the emperor used to write poetry
Rent a bicycle and ride to the tombs along the Perfume River — the route is one of the most scenic half-day rides in Vietnam.
Thiên Mụ Pagoda
The seven-storey Phuoc Duyen Tower has appeared on every travel poster about Hue for decades, and the reality doesn't disappoint. The pagoda sits on a promontory above the Perfume River, 5 km from the city centre. The car associated with the monk Thich Quang Duc — who drove to Saigon in 1963 and burned himself to death in protest against the South Vietnamese government — is preserved in the grounds.
The Food
Hue is considered Vietnam's most sophisticated culinary city, shaped by imperial court cooking traditions. The emphasis is on small, beautifully presented dishes rather than large, rustic servings:
- Bún bò Huế — the city's signature soup: rich lemongrass broth, round noodles, braised pork knuckle and beef. The definitive bowl.
- Bánh khoái — small, crispy rice-flour crêpes with shrimp and bean sprouts, eaten wrapped in mustard leaf
- Cơm hến — cold rice with tiny river clams and a dozen accompaniments: the quintessential Hue breakfast
- Bánh lọc — translucent tapioca dumplings filled with shrimp and pork, steamed in banana leaf
Give Hue two full days. Day one: the citadel in the morning, Thiên Mụ Pagoda in the afternoon, dinner in the Dong Ba market area. Day two: bicycle to the royal tombs and back along the river, stopping at a countryside com hen stall for breakfast.
