Hue City Tour From Hoi An

Hue located 130 km northern of Hoi An, was the capital of Vietnam, the feudal sovereignty, from 1744

when the Nguyen lords controlled all of southern Vietnam from the city. The dynasty of the Nguyen family

lasted (in theory) from 1802, when Nguyen Anh defeated rebels to control the city, until 1945, when the last

emperor abdicated. The city was severely damaged in the 1968 Tet offensive during the American war, when

house-to-house fighting lasted for weeks, but many architectural gems remain and are well worth a visit.

Hue is divided between the older fortified Citadel, containing almost everything interesting and the

new, smaller sprawl that has developed across the river. The new side contains most of the facilities, the

hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and banks. People come to Hue to see the old Imperial complex, the

Citadel and the Forbidden city, the pagodas, and the many tombs of the emperors that lie a few kilometers

south of the city. Each tomb is a walled compound containing temples, palaces and lakes.

Hue is a quiet, relaxing city, big enough to be interestingbut small enough to bicycle around. The