Note : You are on Page 2 of Hue. Start with Page 1.

• Page 1- Useful Info (Hotels, Transport…)
• Page 2- What to Visit
  • Hue – Maps – Orientation
  • What to Visit in Hue ? 
    1. City Center + River + Market
    2. The Imperial City
    3. Thien Mu Pagoda
    4. The 3 tombs
    5. The little bridge
    6. The beach
  • Organised Excursions

Hue – Orientation – Maps

Map – The Center of Hue :

Look at the following Map :

Interactive Map : Tourist attractions + Transport + Center

1. Points in Green : Airport + Train Station
2. Points in Red : City Center
3. Points in Blue : Tourist Attractions

What to Visit in Hue ?

City Center + River + Market + around Imperial City

Let’s look again at the Map :

Your hotel is probably in the city center, below the river. There is nothing interesting here at day time, except your hotel.

1.Start by crossing one of the bridges, probably the bridge at the most right side (Cầu Trường Tiền). This bridge was designed by the Eiffel company.

Take a look at the river (Perfume river) and the little boats with a dragon (you will probably be in one of them, the next day).

2. At the other side of the river, on the right, there is the Dong Ba market, which is very chaotic. It is not a nice market.

but it could be interesting.

Especially if you are vegetarian like me :

This item, which is sold in the market, is a little bit confusing for tourists. It is false money used in the ceremonies in the shrines. It looks like real money. Sometimes you see one of these papers on the street and you think you have found 100 US dollars. You have not.

3. Then cross a gate towards the ancient citadel area (don’t enter inside the imperial city, you will do it the next day, you need a ticket).

It is a vast area, with parks

4.There is a small war museum, with some old airplanes

And tanks. The outside area is free.

Just walk around the canal, in the park.

5. You can drink a coffee in front of a beautiful gate

Yes, there is a Highlands branch, in front of the right gate of the Imperial city.

The Imperial City

A must visit in Hue, of course.

It is an area of about 2 Km by 2 Km, surrounded by a rampart and a water canal.

It was constructed about 250 years ago, by the Nguyen dynasty. More historical details in Wikipedia.

Entrance ticket is 150,000 Dong, there is also a combo ticket, with the tombs sites. If you arrive with an organised tour, the entrance is usually included.
Do visit the corners of the (huge) imperial city, don’t just stay in the central part, there are beautiful gardens and palaces around.

There are holy sites, inside the complex, so remember to dress adequately.

There is a place where it is possible to be photographed as an ancient queen.

You can also buy these traditional clothes.

On some holidays, like the Tet (new year), Vietnamese are visiting in big numbers the national sites, they are dressed in traditional beautiful kimonos and also playing games.
The entrance is usually free for Vietnamese, during feasts.

Some pavilions with antique furnitures :

Shops with interesting items :

There are areas where it is possible to participate in handicraft creation :

There is a place with multimedia. The simulator with VR glasses is really nice, you “fly” above the imperial city :

Impressive old buildings :

Beautiful Gates :

And more gates :

And more gates :

And more gates :

And more gates :

No. It is not the same gate (they are all beautiful, and there are much more of them, in the Imperial city).

How to get there ?

The Imperial City is located just on the other side of the river, in front of the city center. See location on the interactive Map, above.

Option 1  Walk:
You can walk from your hotel, it is just 1 or 2 Km from the city center.

Option 2 – Organised Tour :
There are many organised tours for a full day or half day. With the tour you visit the imperial city, the Thien Mu Pagoda and the 3 tombs (or at least 2 of them). The tour includes usually: The entrance fee to all the sites, lunch, all the transports from your hotel, a sail in a boat (with a dragon at the front !) and a guide that speaks some sort of english. The disadvantage of a tour is, as always, that you are not staying in each site the time you would like to.

You can book an organised trip to Imperial city online.

Option 3 :
Taxi, Grab Taxi (car or motorbike), rented motorbike

Thien Mu Pagoda

The pagoda is located beside the river, about 6 Km from the city center (see later how to arrive).

Built in 1601 by the Nguyen dynasty. More historical details in Wikipedia.

It is not a huge area like the Imperial city, you would probably stay here just half an hour.

There are some gardens, around the Pagoda :

And shrines :

And turtles :

How to get there ?

The pagoda is located about 6 Km from the city center, beside the river, to the south. See location on the interactive Map, above.
Option 1 :
An organised tour, as mentioned before. This pagoda is always included in a tour.

Option 2  – Small Boat:
Along the river promenade, in the city center there are many small boats who will address you for a tour. Negotiate the price.

Option 3  
Taxi, Grab Taxi (car or motorbike), rented motorbike, Rickshaw, by foot.

The 3 tombs sites

They are the top attractions of Hue (beside the Imperial city and the Pagoda).

1. Tu Duc tomb
2. Khai Dinh King tomb
3. Minh Mang tomb

These are 3 different sites (see how to arrive later on).
The sites have beautiful gardens and structures around.
The second site, “Khai Dinh King tomb”, is the most visited. The site is compact in size (just a few stairs) and so there are many organised tours bringing buses with tourists. The two other sites are bigger in the area with many beautiful gardens.

I have ordered the 3 sites by the closeness to the city center :

Site 1 :  “Tu Duc tomb” :

On the way to the site I saw many “regular” tombs :

Entrance to the site :

Many gardens, and lakes :

Statues and gates :

Fish in ponds :

The site was built by the Emperor Tu Duc, a monarch of the Nguyen dynasty, ruling from 1848-1883. He planned his tomb here, but finally was buried in another secret place.
More historical details about the place, in Wikipedia.

Site 2  : “Khai Dinh King tomb”

The most visited of the three sites :

The entrance, has a few stairs :

Very nice statues. Tourists like to make photos beside them :

At the top, there is a structure, with the tomb :

The site was built for Khải Định, the twelfth Emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. Built around 1930. More historical details about the place, in Wikipedia.

Western and Eastern architecture.

Site 3 :  “Minh Mang tomb”

This site is relatively close to Khai Dinh King tomb (the second site), just 2.5 Km between them.

There are many gardens :

And lakes with fish:

You can buy fish food from a special box :

A tomb area, which is closed to the public :

The tomb was planned during Minh Mang’s reign (1820–1840) but built later. You can read historical details about Minh Mạng in Wikipedia.

How to get there ?

The tombs sites are located between 6 to 10 Km from center Hue, to the south, beside the river. See location on the interactive Map, above.

Option 1 :
An organised tour, as mentioned before. 1 or 2 or 3 of the tombs are included.

You can book an organised trip to the tombs online.

Option 2 :
Taxi, Grab (car or motorbike), rented motorbike or car, bicycle (yes, some are doing it by bike).

The little wooded Bridge – Thanh Toan Bridge

A beautiful small decorated bridge, made from wood, about 300 years old, restored several times.

Located in Thanh Toan village.

Locals and tourists like the bridge :

Especially in feasts :

The rural area around the bridge is nice.

I walked around and made encounters :

I was curious, and they were curious, it was reciprocal:

It is a pleasant neighborhood to live :

Nice to be there at sunset :

Here I return back to the city, on the rented moto :

How to get there ?

Located about 6 Km (aerial distance) from the center. Towards the east (not in the zone of the 3 tombs). See location on the interactive Map, above.
You can get there by :
Taxi, Grab (car or motorbike), rented motorbike. Some private tours.

Beaches

There is no real reason to arrive to these beaches, unless you are living in Hue for a long time or you absolutely must see the water.

It is not specially beautiful, not developed and it is relatively far from the city (visit the sea while you are in Hoi An, instead).
The area near the beaches, looks like that :

On a road parallel to the beaches, I saw impressive tombs.

How to get there ?

The closest beach is located about 12 Km (aerial distance) from the center. See location on the interactive Map, above.
You can get there by :
Taxi, Grab (car or motorbike), rented motorbike.
There is a rumour that there is a public bus from Hue to the beaches.

Organised Excursions in Hue

There are a lot of organised excursions from Hue. For example :

• Hue City Full-Day Tour
  
• Hoi An To Hue or Hue To Hoi An By Private Car Sightseeing Via Hai Van Pass -Golden Bridge(Ba Na Hill)
  

See more tours from Hue.

Return to Page 1 of Hue

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If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.