Tours in Huế

Start on the Perfume River in the early evening. The Citadel side is quiet, the far bank has the cafés and the walkers, and the water turns the colour of weak tea as the light drops. Huế is a slow city, and it asks you to match it. Nobody here is in a hurry, least of all the cyclo drivers.

The Imperial City is the reason most people come, and it deserves more than a morning stroll. You cross the moat, pass through the gate, and the noise of the street simply stops. Inside, there are courtyards, long covered walkways, gates that open onto more gates, and patches of grass where whole halls once stood. It rewards a guide, because much of the story is in what you cannot see. Ask about the rooms, the ranks, and who was allowed to walk where.

Outside the walls, the royal tombs are spread along the river, each one more like a country retreat than a grave. Tu Duc's is the one people tend to linger in, with its pines, its ponds and its pavilions. It is a place to sit rather than hurry through. A boat down the river takes you up to Thien Mu Pagoda, its tower standing above the bank, and on the way you pass the dragon boats tied up at the shore.

Then eat. Huế's food is its own thing, small and spicy and served in many little dishes. Dong Ba Market is a good place to start, and a better one to get lost in. If you want to see the Khai Dinh tomb, the Minh Mang tomb, or the covered bridge in the countryside, a local guide can build a day around them.