I started with a long list of things to do in Huế, Vietnam, when I arrived in this ancient capital city. I soon discovered that some of the items were real standouts, places I’d be happy to return to again and again — while others left me feeling less inspired. If you’re looking to plan a visit of your own, here are my impressions.

Things to do in Huế: What I Loved

Imperial Heritage

The Royal Tombs

I could write a whole love letter to the royal tombs of Huế, built by seven emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty between 1802 and 1945. These were not just burial grounds; each emperor designed his own tomb complex as a place to live out his days and then spend his entire afterlife. To this end, the emperors consulted feng shui experts and set their tombs within elegant gardens dotted with grand outbuildings.

Tu Duc’s Tomb

Emperor Tu Duc reigned longer than any other Nguyen monarch, so he had plenty of time to develop — and enjoy — his tomb complex. This was a realm as much for living as for the dead, with palace buildings for his many wives and a lake for boating pleasures.

Today, you can stroll by the lake and then through the woods, admiring buildings and bridges as you walk along. It’s a gentle, quiet place, one of my favorites for its solitude until the tour buses arrive.

Khai Dinh’s Tomb

If Emperor Tu Duc’s tomb boasts quiet restraint, Emperor Khai Dinh’s oozes opulence. To reach the central palace, visitors climb a steep, grand staircase. Then you step inside the central palace, and your jaw just drops.

It may be smaller than the other imperial tombs of Huế, but this building has to be the most lavish. You’ll find decorations everywhere you look, from the dragon-painted ceiling to the mosaic-studded walls. I loved everything about its baroque artistry.

Minh Mạng‘s Tomb 

You walk into Emperor Minh Mạng’s tomb complex as if peeling back the layers of power: first you move through the public area, then past temples and administrative buildings, and then into the gardens where only royalty and religious officials would have been granted entry.

The final area, the emperor’s final resting place, was a hill ringed by a lake that no one could visit (not even modern-day tourists). It’s a beautifully staged place for one’s final remains.

One of the greatest attractions of this tomb complex is the semicircular central lake, which glimmers with reflections in the sunshine. If you’re going for the water, check with your hotel or driver before you head out — as of spring 2026, the whole thing was muddy and brown due to a maintenance project. But even though the lake wasn’t central to my visit, I found myself fascinated by such an orchestrated progression from public to private.

The Imperial City

The home of Huế’s Nguyen emperors is so impressive that it’s hard to remember that what you see today is a pale shadow of the citadel’s former glory.

Imagine bustling pathways filled with everyone from court officials to royal gardeners, making their way from building to building through multi-story gates. The first Nguyen emperor based this complex on Beijing’s Forbidden City, and the central royal enclosure soon became known as the Purple Forbidden City.

Unfortunately, many of the palace buildings were burned when the Việt Minh seized the citadel in 1947, and the complex endured even more damage in the 1968 Battle of Huế. It then entered a period of abandonment and neglect. But the Imperial City — as one element of the Complex of Huế Monuments — was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1993. Restoration efforts have been ongoing, and it’s amazing to see the results: richly decorated structures, manicured gardens, and painted arcades all enclosed in long yellow walls.

For more on these amazing spaces — and a closer look at their artistic details — read my post on the art of Imperial Huế.

Huế Today

The Perfume River at Night

The Perfume River wends its way lazily through Huế, and a walk along its banks during the day can be a sweltering and desultory affair. But at night, it comes alive. It feels like the entire city population comes out to exercise, hang out at riverfront cafes, and enjoy the light shows.

I’m not sure I ever felt cool enough to kick a shuttlecock or pick up a badminton racquet, but I loved watching the city take on a whole new shape along the riverside.

Traditional Crafts

While crafts in Huế did not inspire me to pull out my wallet, they always caught my attention. They’re not your usual fare; for example, it’s not every day that you see large bundles of incense in striking shades of pink, purple, yellow, and green.

You’ll also find paper flowers, rumored to have been developed as long-lasting altar offerings in a land of harsh rains and heat. Now, they serve as decorations during Lunar New Year and beyond.

Unless one of these craft forms especially interests you, I would not necessarily go out of my way to visit craft villages, where the experiences feel highly curated for the tourist trade. But the good news is that you can see plenty of crafts — and even watch them being created — as you wander around town.

Driving Through the Countryside

The hustle and bustle of Huế turns into sun-washed countryside in a matter of minutes, with rice fields and river views providing a true balm for nature lovers.

Roadside Markets

If you want to see how residents of a place really live, look at what they buy every day — and where they buy it.

There’s nothing like a roadside market to show you what might be for dinner tonight — not at the restaurant where you’re likely to be eating, but in a real home. I never buy anything at these markets (unless I happen to have a kitchen), but I love walking by and seeing what’s on offer.

Coffee Culture

Vietnamese coffee is a distinct beast, and Huế has its own variety: salt coffee. This delicious treat comes in layers of dark-roasted coffee, sweetened condensed milk, and salted cream. When you take a sip, the salt, sweet, and bitter all come together in something that works amazingly well.

I also love whiling away time in coffee shops, and I found myself spoiled for choice in Huế. I had a great time chatting with other tourists over my salt coffee at PhinHolic. And no matter how hard I tried to resist, Cộng Cà Phê called to me nearly every day. I love everything about the coconut mung bean, a nutty sort of smoothie that provides exactly the refreshment you might be craving on a hot afternoon.

Staying at Azerai La Residence

This isn’t just any hotel — this is the chance to stay in a historic Art Deco building with all of the modern touches your heart can desire.

Constructed nearly a century ago as part of the residence of the French Résident Supérieur, the original building has been expanded, but the new wings hew closely to the 1930s Art Deco vision. The moment you step onto the property, you feel like you’ve walked into another era.

A quick note: you may see this hotel advertised as “riverfront,” but the story goes that the government has gifted the hotel’s erstwhile palm-lined view to a new, multi-story complex. So you won’t see the river from the pool (instead, you’ll see the hotel’s one downside: some rather unattractive fencing).

Things to do in Huế: What I Didn’t Love Quite So Much

Imperial Heritage

An Dinh Palace (And Having to Beat the Instagrammers Everywhere)

I wanted to love An Dinh Palace. I arrived the minute the ticket booth opened. I marveled at the neoclassical facade, so different from anything else I’d seen in Huế.

But then I took a few steps and almost stumbled over a photographer’s black bag. Inside, I found people posing everywhere — sitting in window frames, standing in front of painted walls, lined up all along the double staircase. An Dinh has clearly made it to Instagram and wedding photo must-do lists, because I could barely get down the length of a hall without having to mutter “excuse me” (or xin lỗi) to get past.

This problem is not unique to An Dinh, but this palace is so small and tight that it’s particularly noticeable here. I would skip this spot unless you’re ready to navigate the photo shoots.

Huế Today

Tourist Shopping

I tried making two shopping forays — one to Dong Ba Market and another to Walking Street — and came away loving neither.

Dong Ba Market is in many ways the more interesting of the two: it’s sprawling, it’s warren-like, and it seems to have a little bit of everything. Need nails, shoes, bolts of fabric? Dong Ba has you covered. But from a tourist’s perspective, I found the wandering-to-opportunity ratio too high for my liking. There just wasn’t all that much for me to buy.

Walking Street presented a far different proposition: it’s a single street lined with restaurants and small shops. But I didn’t find anything that especially interested me, and aside from a few silk scarves that I had custom-made at a local tailor, I went home with a suitcase empty of souvenirs.

Urban Architecture

Not having done very careful homework, I thought the streets of Huế would be lined with buildings from the Imperial era. A bit of simple research would have taught me about the ravages of the Vietnam War (often called the American War by the Vietnamese) and the month-long Battle of Huế. A major part of the Tet Offensive, this was one of the longest and most intense urban battles of the war, and it ripped the city apart.

Today, with a few notable exceptions, buildings in Huế are blocky and low-rise. So as a tourist, there’s not much to draw your eye. It’s not a pretty city.

Riverboat Cruise

I was looking forward to a relaxing sunset cruise down Huế’s wide Perfume River. It sounded bucolic, especially as I admired the dragon-headed boats shining in the fading sunlight.

I had been warned not to choose a boat operator who sounded too pushy, but that ended up being easier said than done. It felt like everyone advertising boat services was willing to follow me down the river to close a sale.

Even when I found what I thought was a nice boat, the captain stopped in the middle of the trip to reveal a display of souvenirs that she wanted me to buy. My refusals were met with persistence, then even more of the same when she asked for a tip at the end. The whole thing felt emotionally exhausting — and nothing in the trip itself was interesting enough to make up for that.

Would I Return to Huế?

Oh, how I loved the tombs and Imperial City.

If I go back, I’ll get a driver and spend even longer exploring the UNESCO-listed sites and the countryside that surrounds them.

That said, I won’t be rushing back. Huế didn’t quite hang together for me. I think a lot of that had to do with my own expectations, which had me dreaming of the peaceful wanderings of Hoi An or even the crumbling traditional architecture of Hanoi. Huế offers neither of those things, and that changes how I would approach it in the future: on its own terms.