ITINERARY IN DETAILS
Hue was Vietnam’s last feudal capital. Today, you will get an insider’s view of the highlights of this nostalgic city. Your first stop is a visit to Tu Duc Tomb, located near the quiet Thuy Bieu Village, 6.5 km from the city center. It’s a sprawling compound centered on a lake and several waterways, and includes numerous memorials connected by attractive walkways. Next, you’ll visit a local garden house where your host will welcome you with hand-made ginger jam and tea. After that, you can enjoy an easy bicycle ride around the village to explore the daily local life in the peaceful countryside, before savoring some traditional dishes of Hue for lunch. Following the delicious home-hosted lunch, take a leisurely boat ride across the Perfume River, then transfer to the Imperial Citadel, the best-preserved remnant of the vast citadel and royal quarters that once existed on the site. Here you can see the ravages of time and war on what was the carefully designed capital of the Nguyen Dynasty. Built in the early 19th century by armies of conscripted laborers under Emperor Gia Long, the citadel was surrounded by a 10-kilometer moat, while earthen walls formed the outer perimeter. After that, we will exit the citadel to visit the nearby workshop and gallery of the famous Vietnamese artist Truc Chi, a contemporary artist who creates his own art based on bamboo paper carvings. Finally, we will head back to the hotel, where you can spend the rest of the afternoon at your leisure.
