5 Things to See in Huế, Vietnam
exploring the former imperial capital
Hello, friends! Happy Sunday afternoon! I hope this post finds you reveling in the innate joy that is a cozy wintery Sunday. I’m dropping by these parts for the briefest of interruptions to share my latest travel guide with you: 5 Things to See in Huế, Vietnam! In case you missed it, Husband and I spent two weeks eating our way around northern/central Vietnam back in September, and it was great! Over the course of our trip, we hit Hanoi - tourist guide here, and foodie guide here -, Hội An, and Huế, spending four days in each. I have a complete guide to Hội An coming in the near future, but today’s post will deal exclusively with the historic imperial capital of Huế! Shall we dive in?
Huế was maybe the only stop on our trip that I literally had no idea what to expect from. Hanoi and Hội An are staples on the Vietnam first-time visitors route, but Huế kind of slips under most peoples’ radars — and that’s exactly the reason I was interested in visiting! Thankfully, this foray into the relative unknown paid off; Huế really surprised me! I loved the laid back vibe to the city, especially when compared with Hanoi, and was very pleased to discover many a wonderful meal here!
Everything I know and love about Huế is detailed below, divided into the following sections for ease: getting there / where we stayed / 5 things to see. It’s my short yet sweet, photo journal, ode to the city, and I really hope you like it.
Enjoy!
getting there
Huế was the third and final city of our Vietnamese explorations, and we made our way there from Hội An. At the end of our trip, we also made our way from Huế back to Hanoi for our flight back to Ireland. Here’s how we navigated everything:
from Hội An, we opted to take a private car transfer to Huế, which we organised through our hotel. The drive took 3-ish hours - vie the Hải Vân Pass, but more on that below! - and cost €50 in total for the two of us. A little pricey for travel within Vietnam, but for door-to-door service in a comfy air-conditioned car it was 100% well worth it. If you’re wondering about public transport, there’s a bus between the two cities that takes 3-4 hours and only costs €7 each; more info on that here.
four days later, on our return journey from Huế to Hanoi, we opted to fly. Again, we hired a private driver organized through our hotel to get to Phú Bài airport - but I’m not sure if there’s any public transport options? Regardless, our drive from the city centre took 30-minutes.
for the flight, we went with Vietnam Airlines, and our 1-hour 20-minute journey to Hanoi’s Nội Bài airport was very pleasant! If you’re looking to get public transport, there is a direct bus between the cities, but it takes 14-hours… more info on that here.
where we stayed
TTC IMPERIAL HOTEL
OUR RATING: 7/10
ADDRESS: 08 Hùng Vương, Phú Hội, Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế
NEARBY FOODIE STOP: Nina's Cafe-Vietnamese Restaurant, a fantastic spot for both breakfast and lunch, is a leisurely 5-minute stroll away! (Huế foodie guide coming soon!)
Not the hotel we’d initially planned to stay in, but after having our previous booking cancelled on us less than 24-hours before we arrived in the city, I’m so glad TTC Imperial had availability for our last minute booking! We opted for a ‘Deluxe City View Room’, and it was exactly the respite we needed after the panic scramble to find new accommodations. Our 11th floor room had a great view of the Perfume River, it was clean, and the staff were friendly!
PROS: the hotel has a cafe, a restaurant, and a sky-bar with panoramic city views; all of which were extremely convenient when the thunderous rains & tropical storms stopped us from venturing out! The location was wonderful, within walking distance to the main tourist spots in the city. Soundproofing in our room was great, we didn’t hear another soul the whole of our stay. Breakfast was included, and there was a good variety of western/Asian favourites. Staff at the hotel were very helpful, but the concierge, Mr. Van Duc, went especially above and beyond to help us organize trips and make us feel welcome, even giving me a sweet mooncake on Moon Festival night!
CONS: the hotel, while impressively huge and dripping with that feeling of old-world opulence, looks a little outdated in places. The sky-bar interior is the first place that jumps to mind - akin to a tired and devoid airport lounge from the ‘70s - but the problem disappears if you can sit outside in good weather.
5 things to see in huế
hải vân pass
— OUR RATING: 12/10
— ADDRESS: Đà Nẵng - Thừa Thiên–Huế
An insanely picturesque road connecting the cities of Đà Nẵng and Huế. I didn’t actually realise that we’d be traveling along this route as we made our way from Hoi An to Huế, but I’m so glad we did — it! was! so! cool! Winding through the Annamite Mountain Range, the Hải Vân Pass is a fantastic 160km stretch of road with many a hairpin bend, crazy steep inclines, and incredible panoramic views.
Aside from the jaw-dropping coastal and mountainous views, other fun things spotted on our drive include:
My Khe Beach, Đà Nẵng // a seemingly endless stretch of gorgeous white sand and palm trees. Think Miami, but in Vietnam!
Dragon Bridge, Đà Nẵng // a huge dragon shaped bridge crossing the Han River. We obvz missed this because we drove by it in the morning, but apparently the dragon puts on a fire-breathing/water-spraying show every Saturday and Sunday night; what fun!
Marble Mountains // a cluster of five mountains, rising up out of nowhere in the middle of a totally otherwise flat area. To illustrate this point, please allow me to direct you to the above photo, taken on medium format film by my father-in-law back in 2002. Pretty neat, ey?
Lady Buddha // a ginormous statue overlooking the city of Đà Nẵng! According to the quick Google search I just conducted, the statue stands at a towering 67-metres tall, which is the equivalent of a 30-storey building!!
Lập An Lagoon & Lăng Cô Beach // home to oyster farms and wooden houses on stilts! We stopped here for a hot minute to stretch our legs, and it was pretty cool watching the oyster farmers at work.
huế historic citadel
— OUR RATING: 10/10
— ADDRESS: Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế
— ENTRANCE COST: ₫200,000 per adult
— NEARBY FOODIE STOP: Cà Phê Muối, the OG home of the city’s salt coffee(!), is just a 5-minute walk from the Imperial City’s North Gate, Hòa Bình Môn. (Huế foodie guide coming soon!)
Huế Historic Citadel - which, btdubz, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! - is one of the city’s most famous spots. Built in the early 19th century, the citadel was once the political, cultural, and religious heart of the Nguyễn Dynasty, as is evident by the sheer size of the place, it’s huge! There’s the citadel itself, which is secured on four sides by a moat & huge 10-kilometre long walls, and within that is the Imperial City, also moat-ed and walled, and within that is the Forbidden City - it’s crazy! There are so many different spaces to explore, but Husband & I probably spent the most time wandering around the Kiến Trung Palace, which was home to the last two Nguyễn emperors.
Fun fact: in 1968, the population of Huế was ~140,000, and half of all those people lived within the Citadel! Told you it was huge!
thiên mụ pagoda
— OUR RATING: 10/10
— ADDRESS: Huế, Hương Hòa, Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế
— ENTRANCE COST: free!
Thiên Mụ Pagoda, which apparently translates to Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady, is the oldest and largest in Huế — the complex dates back to 1601, and the 7-storey Phước Duyên pagoda is a neck-stiffening 21-metres tall! Sitting atop - yes, that is the first time I’ve ever used the word ‘atop’ - the Hà Khê Hill, the pagoda has become an unofficial symbol of Huế. We explored the complex early in the morning before the tour buses arrived, and it was so peaceful! There was incense burning, chanting monks somewhere within, and perfectly manicured gardens with koi ponds.
Fun fact: the car of Thích Quảng Đức, the Buddhist who self-immolated in protest over the persecution of Buddhists in the ‘60s in Vietnam, is housed at the pagoda in memory of his sacrifice.
night walking street
— OUR RATING: 10/10
— ADDRESS: Võ Thị Sáu, Phú Hội, Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế
— ENTRANCE COST: free!
— NEARBY FOODIE STOP: Why Not? Bar & Restaurant was our spot of choice for a beer, only 1-minute away! (Hue foodie guide coming soon!)
Aka: the beating heart of Huế’s nightlife scene! We stumbled across this area by chance on our first night in town and our minds were blown — it was hopping! On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from 6pm, they close this street off to vehicles and let the energy from the curbside bars & restaurants spill onto the whole street. It was such a fun thing to see! The streets were heaving with people having a good time, dancing, drinking etc.
Pro tip: there is actually a second night walking street in the city - on Chu Văn An! - but we didn’t make it to that one. Next time!
cầu trường tiền & perfume river
— OUR RATING: 10/10
— ADDRESS: Phú Hoà, Huế, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
— ENTRANCE COST: free!
A really very cool bridge! It reminded me of the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne, except muchhhh longer! Apparently this bridge is 123 years old, and it stretches all the way across the city’s Perfume River. We strolled across it en route to the Citadel and it made for a really nice walk, offering stunning views over the river below. We also enjoyed watching the bridge go technicolor after nightfall, which I accidentally captured in the above timelapse taken during cocktail hour at our hotel. How fortuitous!
Also, apologies for the absolute lack of photos! The scaredy-cat in me was petrified of a. falling into the river and/or b. dropping things in the river while we crossed it, so I didn’t dare take my camera out. Oh well!
bonus: moon festival
Obviously not something everyone that visits Huế will have a chance to experience, but it just so happened that the dates of our visit aligned with the Moon Festival! We had no idea there was going to be a festival of any sorts, so it was a very happy coincidence that we were able to watch the above performance from the comfort of our hotel room window! Aside from the above, we also spotted a few other festival performances around town over the course of our visit: traditional dances, gymnastic shows, and locals dressed in traditional dragon costume. Fun!
Fun fact: the festival, which is also known as Children’s Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, is a special event in Vietnamese culture that symbolizes the unity and togetherness of families!
And there we have it! A short but sweet post covering 5 Things to See in Huế, Vietnam! Have you visited the former imperial capital? If so, what did you think of the city? Hit me up using the comment box below, I’d love to hear from you!
Huế foodie companion guide coming soon!
Hugs,
Vicki xo
*Date of trip: 15th - 19th September, 2024*
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