Exploring Hue’s Imperial Citadel
Imagine arriving in a new, unfamiliar city at 7:00 in the morning. You were on the sleeper bus for the past twelve hours and slept maybe one hour, tops. You know you look awful. All you want is a nap, but the hostel won’t let you check in for a few hours, and it’s cold, gray and rainy.
It doesn’t sound like the beginning of a great day, does it?
Well, it was. My boys and I knew we were only spending one day in Hue, Vietnam, so we were determined to make the most of it!
And we did that with a visit to Hue’s Imperial Citadel, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here are the best photos of the Citadel:
Talk about a dramatic entrance!
The day may have been gray, but the colors here were remarkable.
These killer fish were absolutely insane and would jump on top of each other to get the bread we tossed in.
Who says all statues have to be upright?
I loved imagining the people who lived at the height of the Nguyen Dynasty in this palace.
The colors, the decay…beyond beautiful.
You have no idea how hard it was not to bang that drum!
Hue isn’t quite as interesting as Vietnam’s other cities, but it’s definitely worth spending a day to check out the Citadel.
After our visit, I rewarded myself with a big bowl of pho bo and a nice, long nap.
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At age 26, I quit my job to travel the world alone. I spent six fantastic months in Southeast Asia and turned my travel blog into a full-time business. Today, I travel full-time, going anywhere that sounds wacky or beautiful or interesting. My goal is to show YOU how you can travel the world on your own -- easily, safely, and adventurously. 
Crazy that you posted this today! I literally just came over from Steph’s Twenty-Something Travel blog, where she posted about Hue, too! You guys both touched on the decay being beautiful there. Very interesting.
I know! I guess that’s the point where our Vietnam posts cross! We already crossed each other in path…
Love the pictures, the colors are quite striking. I also agree with the idea of a bowl of pho, I miss having good pho.
We loved exploring the Citadel for a day, we had boiling hot sunshine – great pictures but we were melting by the end!
Beautiful place
Agreed. Hue is great for a one day trip, or maybe 2 days max. The colors at Citadel look nicer in rainy days, at least compared to when I visited it in bright daylight 1,5 yrs ago.