Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Sights & Activities
Most of Hue's principal sights reside within the moats of its Citadel, including the Imper-
ial Enclosure. Other museums and pagodas are dotted around the city. All the principal
royal tombs are some distance south of Hue.
Inside the Citadel
Built between 1804 and 1833, the Citadel (Kinh Thanh) is still the heart of Hue. Heavily
fortified, it consists of 2m-thick, 10km-long walls, a moat (30m across and 4m deep), and
10 gateways.
The Citadel has distinct sections. The Imperial Enclosure and Forbidden Purple City
formed the epicentre of Vietnamese royal life. On the southwestern side were temple com-
pounds. There were residences in the northwest, gardens in the northeast and in the north
the
Mang Ca Fortress
(still a military base).
Imperial Enclosure
(admission 105,000d; 7am-5.30pm)
The Imperial Enclosure is a citadel-within-a-citadel,
housing the emperor's residence, temples and palaces and the main buildings of state
within 6m-high, 2.5km-long walls. Today much of it is in ruins. What's left is only a frac-
tion of the original - the enclosure was badly bombed during the French and American
wars, and only 20 of its 148 buildings survived. Restoration and reconstruction of dam-
aged buildings is ongoing.
We've organised the sights inside the Imperial Enclosure as you'll encounter them in-
side the compound, beginning at the Ngo Mon Gate entrance and moving anticlockwise
around the enclosure.
HISTORIC SITE
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