Explore the citadel and royal tombs of Hue

What the experience is

Hue was the capital of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. The day divides in two. The morning is spent inside the Citadel, a fortress about ten kilometres round, in the Imperial City at its heart. The afternoon goes to the tombs of the emperors, each a walled park of lakes, courts and pavilions in the countryside to the south.

The Imperial City

Enter by the Meridian Gate, built in 1833, and cross the lotus pond to the Thai Hoa throne hall, where the thirteen Nguyen emperors were enthroned. From there, walk west to the The Mieu temple and its nine bronze urns, cast in the 1830s and engraved with the rivers, mountains and animals of the country, and on to the Dien Tho residence of the queen mothers. Fighting in 1947 and 1968 destroyed most of the 160 buildings that once stood here. The empty ground of the Forbidden Purple City, at the centre, is slowly being rebuilt.

The tombs

See three, in this order. Minh Mang is formal and symmetrical, laid out on one long axis between lakes. Tu Duc, built between 1864 and 1867, was the emperor’s retreat in his lifetime, with a pavilion over a lake where he wrote poetry. Khai Dinh, finished in 1931, is a steep concrete monument whose inner hall is covered in mosaics of porcelain and glass. The contrast between the three is the point.

When to go

February to late April is the best time. June and July are very hot, and from about August to January there is heavy rain, with a risk of flooding in the autumn. Start at opening time in any season.

Good to know

The tombs lie several kilometres from the city and from each other. A car and driver is the simplest way to link them. A bicycle suits the two nearest, and boats on the Perfume River reach Minh Mang’s tomb and the Thien Mu pagoda with its seven-tiered tower. A combined ticket covers the Imperial City and the main tombs. Wear shoes that are easy to remove, and bring water and a hat: there is little shade in the courts.

Why OKYTO recommends it

Hue is the only place in Vietnam where a royal capital can be read as a whole: the walls, the throne hall, the family temples and the tombs, all sited by the same rules along one river. The ruins and the rebuilding are part of the story.