After a one hour and a half flight to Da Nang international airport and a two hours and a half drive to the North, you can reach the beautiful city of Hue for a wonderful long week-end in this central region of Vietnam.
Hue is well known in Vietnam for its ancient city and citadel as it has been an imperial city for many years.
Here is a little guide of the main interests of the city.
The perfume (Huong) river crossing the city is a nice place to hang out in the evening in front of the beautiful old colonial Saigon Morin hotel along the nice “walking street”. You can also embark for a little half-hour cruise to the Thien Mu pagoda.
Thien Mu pagoda ( pagoda of the heavenly lady)
This Buddhist sanctuary was built in 1601 on the river bank. Its tower is made of 7 storeys. You get nice views of the river from the temple.
Mausoleum of King Khan Dinh
Khan Dinh was the penultimate emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. Built on the side of a high mountain, the mausoleum is made of 5 terraces. At the top, the temple is housing colourful mosaics made of ceramics.
Mausoleum of King Tu Duc
Located 7 km south of the city, it is the mausoleum of the 4th king of the Nguyen dynasty. King Tu Duc reigned between 1847 and 1883. A nice park with a romantic lake surrounds the temples and buildings of the mausoleum.
The imperial city
This is a walled fortress and palace in the former capital of Vietnam. Thirteen kings of the Nguyen dynasty reigned on Vietnam and lived in the citadel. Its construction started in 1362 and lasted more than 200 years.
The imperial city is housing the enperor’s residence, palaces and temples. The alters of these temples are still worshipped by the descendants of the royal family. The old buildings were mainly made of wood and most of them have been destroyed by the heavy bombings of the Americans and the French.
Dong Ba Market
I love discovering markets throughout Asia. This one is a big one. You can find there fish, meat, grains, fruits and vegetable stalls which are my favorite.
This is a delightful experience to discover this explosion of colours and perfumes.
But there are also a lot of clothes, and fabrics to make the traditional Vietnamese dresses in many colours.
Handicraft
On the markets, you will discover many handicrafts. One of the most beautiful souvenir to me is the lacquerware made with coconuts.
Also, santal wood, lemongrass and cinnamon incense sticks are one of the handmade specialties in Hue.
I hope you enjoyed this little guide of Hue. I have also prepared two other inspirational getaway guides in Vietnam:
If you like Asia, discover all my Inspirational getaways posts in the getaways category. I have also prepared a very useful and free printable travel journal and planner that you can use to prepare your next trip.
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