Hue: Traces of Vietnam’s Past Imperial Splendor

March 7, 2018

Hue is the former imperial capital of Vietnam and many of its monuments speak of its past royal splendor and the grandeur that the emperors of the Nguyen dynasty wanted to achieve. The main attraction is the grand Imperial City, a complex stretching over 4 square kilometers, containing temples, gardens, pavilions, gates and even a theater.

A bit outside the city, but worth the short car or scooter ride, are 3 tombs of former emperors. Each of them is more grand than you may imagine when you hear the word “tomb”, since they are actually whole complexes of buildings. Two of them contain also big gardens, so you have to be prepared to walk a lot when visiting them. On the good side, this allows you to get away from the tourist crowds and certain areas of the parks are really quiet and relaxed.

Tomb of Minh Mang:

Tomb of Khai Dinh:

Tomb of Tu Duc:

Finally, we also visited the Thien Mu Pagoda, which has become a symbol of Hue and is nicely located on the shore of the Perfume River that flows through the city.

Highs and Lows

Highs:

  • In general, hotels in Vietnam are extremely good value for money and the service has been consistently excellent in all the hotels we stayed in. But our hotel in Hue, Hotel La Perle, although it was not luxurious, gets the price so far for the friendliest staff and the best value for money. It had a free fresh fruit and smoothie bar, meaning all-you-can-eat fresh fruit and all-you-can-drink fresh fruit juices! I was seriously afraid I might get a fruit overdose while staying there, whatever that may be… :)

Lows:

  • Both Daniel and I have been feeling somewhat tired these days. Maybe because it’s our last month of travelling and we’re already thinking of going home. We’re becoming a bit jaded and don’t appreciate the beautiful places we see as much as we did in the beginning of our trip. I suppose that’s normal and bound to happen at some point, even though we try to consciously fight it and we keep reminding ourselves that we are still on an amazing trip, which we shouldn’t take for granted.

Next Stop: Da Nang

Da Nang is Vietnam’s fastest growing city, but not a very touristic one, since it doesn’t have any major attraction. We’re curious to see it though and are hoping to get a better view into a modern Vietnamese city’s life, so we’re planning to spend 2 days there and then continue south to Hoi An.

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2 comments

  1. Comment by Juan

    Juan March 11, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    If you say “Hue” in Spanish it sounds like “Oh, my freaking God”… and that’s exactly what I’ve said when I’ve seen these buildings. Unbelievable.

    • Comment by ilinca

      ilinca March 12, 2018 at 5:50 am

      Haha that’s so funny 😀 They’re very impressive indeed!

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