Hue - The Ancient Citadel

Hugging the banks of the Perfume River, the royal city of Hue retains a regal air, despite the ravages of both war and time on its ancient palaces and other historic buildings. Once the capital of Vietnam, and home to imperial dynasties and the ruling mandarin elite, the town itself was witness to all of the horrors of the American-Vietnamese war when it was over run by communist forces during the Tet offensive of 1968, and it took American and South Vietnamese forces over a month to evict them from their refuge in the ancient citadel. The unfortunate result of these actions was near-total destruction and demolition of the citadel and most of its associated buildings.

Street to street fighting also took its toll on the large, French colonial villas that dot the town, and although some buildings remain - both around town and within the citadel walls - the overall effect is massively diminished today. More recent international intervention in the form of UNESCO recognition and the development of the World Heritage Road project has resulted in the reconstruction and repair to more of the citadel itself and the royal tombs.

However, Hue remains an attractive destination. Its streets are quiet and can easily be explored on foot or rented bicycle or motorbike. A boat trip along the Perfume River, taking in stops at the famous eight-tiered pagoda and various imposing mausoleums of long dead emperors, plus an impromptu lunch, often prepared and cooked on board, is a favourite excursion, as is a motorcycle tour of the city and its environs

Accommodation, as usual in the more visited tourist destinations, is wide ranging, although standards are not as high at the top end as in the capital or Saigon. Small guest houses are plentiful and cheap and a distinct backpackers' area is developing around 34 Nguyen Tri Phuong Street where rooms can be had for around US$8 with air-con and satellite TV.

Dining out and sampling local variations on the Vietnamese cuisine is one of the delights of a stay in Hue, and the city's "Royal" or "Imperial" dishes are famous throughout the country. There are also a few foreign owned (or at least inspired) restaurants around town although choice is pretty limited and quality can be inconsistent.

Nightlife in Hue is very low key, limited to around four or five actual "bars" and a few garden or travellers' cafes. For this reason alone, most visitors will find themselves in bed and asleep long before midnight.

Geography
Thua Thien-Hue Province is located in Central Vietnam. It is next to Quang Tri Province to the north, Danang to the south, and Quang Nam Province to the south-west. This province leans up against the Truong Son mountain range and is washed by the East Sea, along its 120km seashore.

Climate: The weather is submitted to tropical monsoon climate divided into four distinct seasons: fresh spring, very hot summer, mild autumn and windy, cold winter. The dry season lasts from March to August. It is hot with temperate rarely reaches to 39.5ºC. The rainy season lasts from September to February. It is quite cold with average temperature is 19.7ºC, but sometime down to 8.8ºC. In this time, it rains a lost, sometime lasts all day. If tourist would to avoid rainy, they come to Danang City, 108km from south of Hue. In the mountain area, the weather is cool with the annual temperature is between 9ºC and 29ºC. The most convenient time to visit the area is from November to April.

Dinning & Restaurant

Dining out in Hue

Dining out in Hue is a nice and interesting experience. Beside many international food restaurants, you can try a plenty of royal food in most of the big restaurants or hotels. A royal dinner (all wearing colourful royal costumes) will make you an unforgetable memory. The traditonal Mid--Vietnam dishes with Hot chili taste are also special......
*click to see some restaurants in Hue

How to get there

Transportation by train, road, air and water routes is very convenient.

Road: Thua Thien-Hue Province is 658km from Hanoi, 1,080km from Ho Chi Minh City, 108km from Danang. The province has the National Highway 14 that links Hue with Central Highlands. It is also on the National Highway 1A that connects Hanoi and Ca Mau.

Train: The Thong Nhat Express trains from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh stop at Hue Railway station. The local trains come to some other provinces.

Air: Phu Bai Airport serves flights: Hue - Ho Chi Minh City and Hue - Hanoi.