We had the best part of a full day left in Huê before our last sleeper train took us to Hanoi. After visiting the Mausoleums it was only right that we should also see where the Emperors spent most of their living time: The Imperial Citadel.
We crossed the river into the centre of Huê and a few streets in came to the walled part of the city. Small gates are still the only way in, each one only large enough for a single lane of cars and no pavements; getting through was a bit of a dangerous squeeze!
Once in we crossed the large pedestrianised plaza to reach the entrance. There we paid our entrance fee of 100,000vnd ($5) and made our way inside.
The citadel itself is modelled on Beijing’s forbidden city. It housed concentric rows of government buildings and offices, centred around the Forbidden Purple City, which was the area strictly for just the emperor, his family, concubines and eunuch servants.
The site nowadays is unfortunately quite sparse and, thanks to the long history of war in Vietnam, very few of the buildings still stand. We found the prettiest buildings around the outer sides of the complex, including the Royal Theatre which is still in use to this day. The outer edges also seemed to be much quieter than the centre. Most of the annoying day-trippers just seemed to walk up and through the centre and back out again.
At the very back, the Forbidden Purple City remains as just concrete outlines of the buildings which once stood, although there are some explanatory plaques dotted around telling you what it used to be like.
We came back around the far side where the pagodas stand and made our way out of the complex thinking about lunch!
For lunch we stopped at a restaurant close to the city walls called ‘Lac Thien’. Not only do they employ members of the deaf and dumb community but the food is excellent. We got noodle soups, nem lui (pork skewers you roll up with salad and peanut sauce) and bahn beo (steamed rice cakes) and they were all great. To top it off, as an extra bonus, if you order a beer they will make a bottle opener and give it to you as a souvenir! (An excellent excuse for a beer at 2pm too!)
With our bellies full all that was left was to return to collect our bags and make our way to the station for our train. I’m sure Huê could hold more sights for a longer stay but we were happy with our 2 days and excited for our next stop: Halong Bay!