Things to do in Hué
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Mandarin Café
A magnet for travellers, the cheerful owner, Mr Cu, speaks English and French and serves big dollops of travel advice along with pho, BLTs, salads and pancakes.
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Citadel
Most of Hué's sights and a sizeable chunk of its population reside within the 2m-thick, 10km-long walls of its Citadel on the north bank of the river. Begun in 1804 on a site chosen by Emperor Gia Long's geomancers, it was originally made of earth and later strengthened with brick.
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Ngo Co Nhan
Raised up on stilts in a quiet Citadel street, this open-sided dining platform serves excellent grilled seafood and crates of beer to its mainly Vietnamese clientele.
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DMZ Bar & Cafe
Long the leading late-night spot, the beer flows into the night, the tunes match the mood and there is a popular pool table in the middle of things.
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Café on Thu Wheels
Immensely popular cycling and motorbiking tours around Hué with a large dose of laughs.
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Minh & Coco Mini Restaurant
Run by two lively sisters, this humble joint is a fun place to get an inexpensive feed.
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Vietnam Getaway
- Vietnam, Hué, World
- Tours › Short break
4 days (ex Hue Citadel/Rural Tour)
by Intrepid
See the ornate pagodas of the Forbidden Purple City, Share a meal with local Buddhist nuns, Help in a local community garden before dining on its bounty, Take a…Not LP reviewed
from USD$335 -
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National School
One of the most famous secondary schools in Vietnam, the National School was founded in 1896 and run by Ngo Dinh Kha, the father of South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem. Many of the school's pupils later rose to prominence in both North and South Vietnam. One of them was General Vo Nguyen Giap, strategist of the Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu and North Vietnam's long-serving deputy premier, defence minister and commander-in-chief.
Pham Van Dong, North Vietnam's prime minister for over a quarter of a century, and the secretary-general and former prime minister Do Muoi also studied here.
Even Ho Chi Minh attended the school briefly in 1908.
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National School
One of the most famous secondary schools in Vietnam, the National School was founded in 1896 and run by Ngo Dinh Kha, the father of South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem. Many of its pupils later rose to prominence: General Vo Nguyen Giap, strategist of the Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu and North Vietnam’s long-serving deputy premier, defence minister and commander-in-chief; Pham Van Dong, North Vietnam’s prime minister for more than a quarter of a century; and Do Muoi, former Communist Party secretary-general and prime minister. Ho Chi Minh attended the school briefly in 1908.
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Thai Hoa Palace
Built in 1803, Thai Hoa Palace is a spacious hall with an ornate timber roof supported by 80 carved and lacquered columns. It was used for the emperor's official receptions and other important court ceremonies, such as anniversaries and coronations. During state occasions, the emperor sat on his elevated throne and his mandarins paid homage.
Nine stelae divide the two-level courtyard into separate areas for officials in each of the nine ranks of the mandarinate; administrative mandarins stood to one side while the military mandarins stood to the other.
reviewed
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Chua Ong Pagoda
Founded by Hué's Fujian Chinese Congregation during the reign of Vietnamese emperor Tu Duc (1848-83), Chua Ong Pagoda was severely damaged during the Tet Offensive when a nearby ammunition ship blew up. A gold Buddha sits in a glass case opposite the main doors of the sanctuary. The left-hand altar is dedicated to the goddess of the sea, Thien Hau Thanh Mau, who is flanked by her two assistants, 1000-eyed Thien Ly Nhan and red-faced Thuan Phong Nhi, who can hear for 1000 miles.
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Museum of Royal Fine Arts
The beautiful hall that houses the Museum of Royal Fine Arts was built in 1845 and restored when the museum was founded in 1923. The walls are inscribed with poems written in nom (Vietnamese script). The most precious artefacts were lost during the American War, but the ceramics, furniture and royal clothing that remain are well worth the visit. The outside courtyard has interesting ceremonial cannons, stone court sculptures and large brass bells and vats.
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Forbidden Purple City
Behind the palaces, in the very centre of the Imperial Enclosure, the Forbidden Purple City is a citadel-within-a-citadel-within-a-citadel. Reserved solely for the personal use of the emperor, the only servants allowed into this compound were eunuchs who would pose no threat to the royal concubines. It was almost entirely destroyed in the wars, and a large part is now draped in green foliage. Take care as you wander around the ruins as there are some gaping holes.
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Flag Tower
At the centre of the wall facing the river, the 37m-high Flag Tower is Vietnam's tallest flagpole. Erected in 1809 and extended in 1831, it was knocked down in 1904 by a typhoon that devastated the city. It was rebuilt in 1915 only to be destroyed again in 1947. Two years later it was erected once again, in its present form. During the VC occupation in 1968, the National Liberation Front flag flew defiantly from the tower for 3½ weeks.
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General Museum Complex
Formerly a school for princes and the sons of high-ranking mandarins, this exquisite, albeit somewhat rundown building, is now part of the General Museum Complex, a hodgepodge of small, dissimilar museums. There’s a pagoda devoted to archaeology, a small Natural History Museum and a building about anticolonial resistance in Thua Thien Hue province. Out front are war relics from the 1975 battle when Hue fell to the North.
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Imperial Enclosure
The Imperial Enclosure is in fact a citadel-within-a-citadel, housing the emperor’s residence and the main buildings of state within 6m-high walls that run 2.5km in length. The enclosure was badly bombed during the French and American wars, and only 20 of its 148 buildings survived. Restoration of the least-damaged sections and the complete rebuilding of others is ongoing, but a large part of it languishes in ruin.
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Dieu De National Pagoda
The entrance to Dieu De National Pagoda, built under Emperor Thieu Tri's rule (1841-47), is along Dong Ba Canal. It is one of the city's three 'national pagodas', which were once under the direct patronage of the emperor. Dieu De is famous for its four low towers, one to either side of the gate and two flanking the sanctuary. There are bells in two of the towers; the others contain a drum and a stele dedicated to the emperor.
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Chieu Ung Pagoda
Founded by the Hainan Chinese Congregation in the mid-19th century, Chieu Ung Pagoda was rebuilt in 1908. The pagoda's sanctuary retains its original ornamentation, which is becoming faded but has been mercifully unaffected by the third-rate modernistic renovations that have marred other such structures. The pagoda was built as a memorial to 108 Hainan merchants, who were mistaken for pirates and killed in Vietnam in 1851.
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Japanese Restaurant
There's no prizes for guessing the cuisine on offer. What's more surprising is the heart-warming story behind it. An initiative of Michio Koyama, the first Japanese to be granted citizenship of Hué, it's designed to given training in Japanese cuisine and employment to some of the adolescents his Japanese Association Supporting Streetchildren (JASS) supports. The food's excellent and the service exceptionally polite.
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To Mieu Temple
On the other side of the courtyard is the long, low, red and gold To Mieu Temple itself. Inside are shrines to each of the emperors, topped by their photos. Under the French only the seven liked by the colonial power were thus honoured - Ham Nghi, Thanh Thai and Duy Tan were only added in 1959. The temple is flanked on the right by a small robing house and on the left by a shrine to a soil god.
reviewed
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Dien Tho Residence
The stunning, partially ruined Dien Tho Residence (1804) once comprised the apartments and audience hall of the Queen Mothers of the Nguyen dynasty. The audience hall houses an exhibition of photos illustrating its former use, and there is a display of embroidered royal garments. Just outside is their Highnesses' enchanting pleasure pavilion, a carved wooden building set above a lily pond.
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Imperial Enclosure
Housing the emperor's residence and the main buildings of state, the Imperial Enclosure is a citadel-within-a-citadel, with 6m-high walls that are 2.5km in length. The enclosure was badly bombed during the French and American wars, and a large part of it is still park-like ruins. Restoration of the least damaged sections and the complete rebuilding of others is an ongoing project.
reviewed
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General Museum Complex
The General Museum Complex is housed in an exquisite building once a school for princes and the sons of high-ranking mandarins. It combines, in an odd juxtaposition, a pagoda devoted to archaeology, a small Natural History Museum and a building devoted to the 'movement of revolutionary struggle and anti-French colonialism resistance war'. There's a tank collection out front.
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Spiral Foundation Healing the Wounded Heart Center
This social enterprise sells a wide array of handicrafts made by 40 disabled artisans. Many of the items are eco-friendly or made with recycled materials, and make good souvenirs. Sales proceeds go towards paying fair salaries and medical insurance for the disabled employees, and funding heart surgery for children in need through the Hue College of Medicine and Pharmacy.
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Royal Theatre
The Royal Theatre began in 1826 and has been rebuilt on its former foundations. During the imperial period it hosted classical opera (tuong), dance and music (nha nhac) performances for the emperor and his guests; today these traditional art forms are performed by the Theatre of Hue Traditional and Royal Arts.
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