Most tourists use Hué as their base to visit the DMZ and other war memorials. Our hotel had a "menu" of tours provided to us at the check-in by the reception. But we skipped those and went for half-day sightseeing before taking a transfer to Hoi An.

First stop was the Imperial City, which was very impressive. Ivan noted the overall structure was similiar to the Forbidden City in Beijing he visited recently, though obviously a tad bit smaller. There's a ticket booth on the left of the main walls, after you pass the bridge through the Perfume River. I remember it was quite pricey, 200- or 300 000 dongs per person if I remember correctly. However it is worth it as the whole area is huge with many different colourful buildings: palaces, theatre, library, temples and pavilions - one even in the shape of swastika. Everything has obviously been restored: the colours are vibrant, the place is well signposted, the lawns are taken care of. As recommended by previous reviewers, it's almost completely empty after the Royal Palace itself, the more to the side or to the back you get, the less people there are. As we went the early morning, there was almost nobody in the back. Oh, and I really enjoyed the colourful exit gate.

After that we took a taxi to the Thien Mu Pagoda. That was quite crowded, despite the rain. There are some nice views over the river and the park around the pagoda is lovely. Another taxi ride took us to the Tomb of emperor Tu Duc. I did not expect to see such large grounds, parks, a lake. Everything was very picturesque, despite the persistent rain. From what I understood, the Emperor used it as his park to have walks around and to contemplate, even hunt on the island in the middle of the lake. However, he was not burried on the grounds, but at an undisclosed location in Hue. So there's that.

Of course the inscription contains many other objects, including an altar similiar to one at Vinh Luc and if you have more time, go and have a look. Hue is a lovely place to stay, the lively centre on the other bank of the Perfume River than the Citadel has nie hotels and loads of bars, some even run by expats.