Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [211]
La Residence 5 Le Loi 054/383 7475, www.la-residence-hue.com. See map "Hué". Formerly the French governor’s residence (hence the name), and overlooking the Perfume River, this intensively renovated hotel blends early-twentieth-century Art Deco design with excellent services. US$76–150
Phu An 42 Nguyen Tri Phuong 054/382 1168, phuanhotel@dng.vnn.vn. New, towering mini-hotel that is a hub of traveller activity due to its popular communal area downstairs that doubles as a restaurant and tour service. Rooms range from cheap with fan only to large fully equipped ones with balconies. US$10 and under
Saigon Morin 30 Le Loi 054/382 3526, www.morinhotel.com.vn. Hué’s most famous French-era hotel has been painted pink and renovated to four-star standards, but still retains some of its colonial charm, not least in the garden courtyard. The rooms are a good size, if a little bland, and kitted out with all the equipment you’d expect, including mini-bar, bathtub and hairdryer. There’s a rooftop bar, two restaurants, a small pool ($5 to non-residents), internet access and so forth. Prices reflect the standard of service and location. US$76–150
Sports Hotel 15 Pham Ngu Lao 054/382 8096, www.huestays.com. The most amiable budget hotel on Pham Ngu Lao sports large and newly furnished rooms, all of which have a/c and cable TV; some have excellent views over the surrounding area. US$11–20
Thai Binh I 10/9 Nguyen Tri Phuong 054/382 8058, ksthaibin@hotmail.com. Spotlessly clean, friendly and popular hotel with a good range of well-equipped rooms, down a quiet alley beside Binh Minh I. US$11–20
Thanh Noi 57 Dang Dung 054/352 2478, thanhnoi@dng.vnn.vn. See "Hué". One of the few hotels north of the river, near the citadel, offering a touch of character in its Imperial-style decor and nice outdoor setting with pool and garden. US$21–30
The central provinces | Hué |
The citadel
Hué’s days of glory kicked off in the early nineteenth century when Emperor Gia Long laid out a vast citadel, comprising three concentric enclosures, ranged behind the prominent flag tower. Within the citadel’s outer wall lies the Imperial City, containing administrative offices, parks and dynastic temples, with the royal palaces of the Forbidden Purple City at its centre. Though wars, fires, typhoons, floods and termites have all taken their toll, it’s these Imperial edifices, some now restored to their former magnificence, that constitute Hué’s prime tourist attraction. Apart from one museum, there are no specific sights in the outer citadel, but it’s a pleasant area to cycle round, especially the northern sector where you’ll find many lakes and the prolific gardens for which Hué is famed.
In accordance with ancient tradition the citadel was built in an auspicious location chosen to preserve the all-important harmony between the emperor and his subjects, heaven and earth, man and nature. Thus the complex is oriented southeast towards the low hummock of Nui Ngu Binh (“Royal Screen Mountain”), which blocks out harmful influences, while to either side two small islands in the Perfume River represent the Blue Dragon’s benevolent spirit in balance with the aggressive White Tiger. Just in case that wasn’t protection enough, the whole 520 hectares are enclosed within seven-metre-high, twenty-metre-thick brick and earth walls built with the help of French engineers, and encircled by a moat and canal. Eight villages had to be relocated when construction began in 1805, and over the next thirty years tens of thousands of workmen laboured to complete more than three hundred palaces, temples, tombs and other royal buildings, some using materials brought down from the former Imperial City in Hanoi.
The central provinces | Hué | The citadel |
The flag tower and the sacred cannons