Huế was formerly the imperial capital of Vietnam. Inside the Kinh thành (citadel) sits a walled city complex, housing several palaces, temples, courtyards and gardens from imperial rule.

The building of the now UNESCO World Heritage site began in 1804, the last Vietnamese emperors still reigned there until the mid 1900s.

However, the site did sustain substantial damage during the Vietnam war, suffering co-ordinated attacks from the Viet Cong and US troops.

We spent the morning exploring the Imperial city under an intensely hot and rather strange sun.

Some locals told me it was a sign of a blessing; traffic was sropping so that people could get out of their cars and off their bikes to gaze up and take pictures…

Unfortunately, we couldn’t take photographs in most of the palaces of the throne rooms for preservation reasons! There were various rooms you can walkt through showcasing antiques

areas filled with art

and temples you can visit

Watch see more on the vlog here

In the afternoon, we took a much more unique tour…