Hue Day Tour - Tu Duc Tomb and the Citadel

The taxi tour is priced at 7 USD/pax and included 2 stops: Tu Duc Tomb, and the Citadel.

Goofing inside the Citadel 

Tu Duc Tomb

Shoe-ing scenes behind Tu Duc's Tomb

Tu Duc Tomb Theater Hall

Tu Duc Tomb was built for Emperor Tu Duc, the emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty to have reigned the longest. The tomb took three years before it was completed in 1867.

Tu Duc Tomb's Lake

It is divided into a temple area and a tomb area. Having many wives and concubines, Emperor Tu Duc was unable to father a son, and so he adopted a son, Kien Phuc, who took over him after his death in 1883.

Xung Khiem Pavilion

Inside the Hoa Khiem Temple

Since he was unable to father a son, he wrote his own epitaph which was then inscribed on the stele in the pavilion located East of his tomb. This is the largest stele of its type in Vietnam and had to be brought from a quarry over 500 km away --- taking it around 4 years before it was delivered at its present location. Tu Duc, however, was not buried here, and the exact location of his tomb is still kept a secret up to this day.

Stairs to the Stele House

Salutation Court

Entrance fee is priced at 80,000 VND. Recommended length of stay: 1-2 hours.

The Citadel

The Citadel's Map

Entrance to the Throne Palace

The pride of the former imperial Vietnamese capital, the Imperial City is a walled fortress which houses the Purple Forbidden City, the Emperor's home.

Ngan Gate - Citadel

In front of one of the Citadel's libraries

The construction of this fortress is very interesting such as the person who ordered its construction, Gia Long, consulted with geomancers, who decide which locations are suitable sites for building palaces. The city was built facing the Huong River to the east.

One of the Citadel's Gardens

A Lake inside the Citadel

Out of the original 160 buildings, only 10 major sites remain because of the battles that took place in Hue. The city became a UNESCO site in 1993.

What's left of the Purple Forbidden City

Entrance fee is priced at 105,000 VND for foreigners, and slightly cheaper for Vietnamese tourists. Recommended length of stay: 2-3 hours.

Hien Nhon Gate

From the Citadel, we had our taxi drop us off at the Dong Ba Market where we bought different dried sweets priced at around 30,000 to 50,000 VND/half kg, depending on the fruit/vegetable. It is pretty difficult to haggle with the vendors though, so be prepared to buy overpriced goods.

Lac Thien dinner

We then proceeded to a restaurant that is popular for both locals and foreigners, Lac Thien or Lac Thanh, located on Dinh Tien Hoang Street near Thuong Tu Gate. This place is famous for banh khoai (Hue Pancake).

We had a scrumptious dinner here for only 50,000 VND/pax. Be on the lookout because this restaurant is pretty easy to miss.

Truong Tien Bridge

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and hired a cab to take us to the train station for our night trip to Da Nang.

At Hue Railway Station