After an amazing night train ride I arrived in Hue. One thing I have to say: I only stayed one day in Huế. Although Huế was recommened in several travel guides I had read as a well worth sightseeing stop on the usual tourist trail from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Somehow I had expected more or at least something different. Here’s why.
The citadel of Hue is the main tourist attraction of the city. Perhaps I’m not enough of a history geek. But Huế with its citadel didn’t touch me at all. Although the entrance fee of 150.000 Dong (approx. 6,20€) is already very high for Vietnamese standards, the visitors can’ t expect much. A lot of the buildings were damaged or destroyed in the Vietnam war decades ago and the restoration work only started a few years back. It still hasn’t finished, so probably things are going to change a bit in the next years. But when I was there I had a hard time getting information about the several buildings as there were hardly no signs or information, let alone in English.
Eventually I found a TV in a corner of the main building, where a small simulation of the layout of the Imperial City back in the days was shown. That was something.
Unfortunately, I went to the Imperial City by noon and the sun was burning! There is hardly any shade, so I definitely recommend going there early and avoid the sun. I still managed to some nice impressions though, but somehow I didn’t click at all with Hue and the Imperial City, so I left the next day.
If you like costume games, you can also have yourself photographed in one of the buildings in an emperor’s outfit on a throne and all sorts of glamorous decorations:
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Information:
Citadel and Forbidden City, Huế, Vietnam
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Link to Wikipedia
Location on Google Maps
Admission 150,000 VND (approx. 6.20€), as of April 2015
Avoid lunchtime when the weather is hot!
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All blog posts on my travels to Vietnam:
- Halong Bay: 2 Day Boat Cruise from Hanoi
- The Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam
- Hoi An – A vietnamese paradise
- Traffic in Hanoi: a survival guide
- Train travel in Vietnam: From Hanoi to Hue by night train
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