Hue’s Imperial Enclosure is a citadel-within-a-citadel, and our UNESCO site number 3 of this trip. It costs 120,000d to enter.
We had one full day in Hue so after breakfast we set off (in full rain gear) across the bridge and into the citadel. You don’t need to pay to get into the citadel, but you do to get into the Imperial Enclosure, which is a citadel-within-a-citadel, and our UNESCO site number 3 of this trip.
Buying tickets
You can buy a ticket from one of the two huts outside the main gate in the southern wall. The ticket costs 120,000d (4.53 EUR) and it’s a one-time entry so we were prepared to spend more than half a day inside to make the most of it. Once inside there are plenty of (free) toilets, shops to buy water and snacks (and souvenirs) and some cafes dotted around, mainly in little pavilions perched on the water.
Information within the Enclosure
When you buy your ticket you don’t get any leaflet or audio guide, and inside there are only a few boards (in English) to tell you what you’re looking at. We found it useful to have some more information in the LP with us to read as we were going around. There are some maps dotted around the site but not very regularly so we found it handy to take a photo at the start. Since the start of 2018 there’s also a virtual reality centre inside, but when we visited it was closed.
Hue dining
We left the Imperial Enclosure at about 2pm and had a late lunch at Bistro 34 which was cheap and excellent. After a rest at our hotel we went out again to take pictures of the flagpole and gates lit up at night. And we stopped at Lau Bo Ba Nghe for beers and food. There was no English menu but some pictures so we pointed at a few things and it worked out well – something like sausages wrapped in vine leaves (and dipped in chilli sauce) and then tender pork fried with morning glory.
Enough of the talking – the pictures of Hue’s Imperial Enclosure do it better justice.