Travel With The Greens

Hue (pronounced Hway) in central Vietnam and was once the capital of Vietnam. We had a fascinating visit here and the whole family enjoyed the history and of course the food traditions in Hue.

The Citadel

The main attraction in Hue is the Imperial City. The walled palace within the citadel in Hue is a place where you can spend hours exploring every corner. On entering the citadel there is a lake filled with fish. We were all fascinated at how seemingly hungry these fish were for the food we were feeding them. It was like nothing I have seen before and the kids spent quite a while watching the hundreds of fish. The citadel itself is spread over a very large area which you are free to wander through. There were many buildings that were used as a palace and the intricate details were amazing. There was not many signs written in English and we didn’t have a guide but it was lovely just to walk around.

Exploring Hue

The weather was rainy when we were in Hue, which did put a dampener on our plans. We had wanted to take a boat trip down the Perfume River and also visit the Pagodas but the weather really stopped us doing this.

We enjoyed walking around the large market area which we walked to from the Citadel. Hue is a lovely city to walk and enjoy the local people and culture.  We had an amazing dinner eating food that is unique to Hue.

Eating like a local

Like in any Vietnamese region, each area has its own unique cuisine. Hue was has the most delicious food and we tried many of the local dishes. The best place we found to eat like a local (with local prices) was at Hanh Restaurant. The seafood was fresh and the spring rolls were some of the tastiest we have ever had. The kids loved the lemongrass skewers of pork that they then wrapped in a crispy pancake.

Hotel La Perle

We chose to stay at the Hotel La Perle which was a great location to all that we wanted to see in Hue. The hotel has recently been renovated and the rooms were very clean and modern. The breakfast was filling and made to order and was unlimited. The fresh fruit and smoothies were available for free all day. The hotel also booked our train ticket to DaNang without charging a booking fee.

Travelling to Hue

We had the best view travelling along the coastline from DaNang to Hue and then back again. The trip was a little over 2 hours. The train cost about $5 each adult and the kids were about $3. It seemed cheaper for the hotel to organise the tickets that what I could find online. The trains are very clean and the seats are numbered so there isn’t a mad rush to claim a seat. There is food for sale on the trains and we did take a few snacks with us. Eating and drinking on the train is perfectly acceptable.

Even though we seemingly didn’t get up to much in Hue we filled in our two days there easily and had a lovely time exploring the Old Capital of Vietnam.

For other wonderful tips and adventures in Hue head to this blog here.

You can read more of our Vietnam adventures:-

• Cat Ba Island and Halong Bay
• Hanoi
• Saigon
• Staying in a Homestay on the Mekong
• Why we didn’t love Hoi An
• Preparing for a Vietnam Holiday