Hue, the historic capital of Vietnam, sits astride a truly majestic and beautiful river, the Song Huong (Perfume River). The north-bank is host to its share of hotels and restaurants, but the area is dominated by the old fortified city known as the Citadel, spread across more than 5 square kilometres of ground, crowding out development on that side of the river. As a result, guesthouses, hotels and restaurants have sprung up on the south bank, starting with the river road, Le Loi Street, and stretching further south. The south bank of the river has been developed as park cum promenade, with an eclectic variety of public sculptures on display.

Hue is the capital of Thua Thien Province, with a population of about 340,000. Its location in central Vietnam, just south of the DMZ, made it a scene of heavy fighting during the American War. It's 15km west of the South China Sea and about 540km south of Hanoi and 644km north of Saigon. While the city is also known for the manufacture of textiles and cement, tourism has become its bread and butter.

Hue's complex history has earned it a reputation as a political, cultural and religious centre, but nowadays, visitors to contemporary Hue will find a city that only dimly reflects on its past, and only does so as a begrudging nod to its western visitors. Like Halong Bay to the north, the complex of tombs, pagodas and palaces throughout Hue and its surrounds has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. But to the Vietnamese psyche, shaped by centuries of war and struggle, tempered by nearly forty years of communist rule, this heritage is largely irrelevant and completely disconnected from the present. The overwhelming sense one gets from the city, on even the most casual visit, is of an unstoppable forward drive, and of a people constantly looking to the future.

But the profitability of tourism has lead to a paradoxical situation where, in order to move forward, the citizens of Hue must pry open those doors to the past they would rather leave shut. As a result, the tourist industry here has developed into a half-hearted attempt to give the foreigners what they want and send them on their way. While this has been effective in one sense -- a steady stream of tourists keeps showing up and paying for tours -- in the larger scheme it has also meant many poorly-run tours and disappointed travellers.

At the moment, Hue is a premier tourist destination mostly in theory. In practice, it's still a work in progress. That notwithstanding, it's a beautiful, vibrant city, with great places to stay, great food, and a number of interesting things to do, on and off the well-worn tourist trail of historic attractions.

Advice on tours in Hue
Basically, if you want to be sure to enjoy the 'culture tour,' you're going to have to pay for it. The only consistently worthwhile tours we've heard of, or taken ourselves, were private tours where you get to roll your own itinerary. It needn't be that expensive. A day-long tour by motorbike should be US$7, by car, $40 for 2 people, and by Minivan, $60 for up to 10 people. Some tours include admission: the Citadel, and three tombs: Tu Duc, Khai Dinh, and Minh Mang, are all 55,000 VND, so be sure to factor that in to the price. All other sites are free of charge.

As a rule of thumb, go for a small group tour booked through a reputable company rather than a 'guide on the street.' That said, we met some good guides on the street, and some crappy guides that worked through companies. So, in either case, being able to size up your guide makes the critical difference.

Be sure to invite your guide to sit down for a drink and discuss the specifics before you commit. It doesn't matter what you drink -- green tea is just as appropriate as beer -- but this is how Vietnamese do business. Take your time, talk about things other than the tour, and leave yourself an out from the beginning, in case you're not happy, i.e., "I'm waiting for my friends to come into town, so I'm not sure when I want to go..." Gauge the extent of your guide's knowledge and language skills. Use your gut. If they strike you as creepy or obnoxious, that's not just the culture barrier. The best guides are cool dudes you want to spend more time with. That's what you're looking for.

We found an excellent guide, Mr. Thanh, who was full of interesting information, a took us on a very creative route to see some of the major sites. If he's not available, he can probably hook you up with another guide.

Other than Mr. Thanh, there are good guides to be hired at Stop and Go Cafe and people seem quite happy with the tours out of Cafe on Thu Wheels, though some of the guides don't speak much English. Also, Mandarin Cafe has a good steady reputation. Some of the better independent guides have staked their claim on Le Loi across from La Residence Hotel -- their ringleader is Mr. Tho.

Stop and Go Cafe: 18 Ben Nghe St, Hue. T: (054) 827 051
Cafe on Thu Wheels: 3/34 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Hue. T: (054) 832 241. E-mail: minhthuhue@yahoo.com. Hours: 06:00 to 23:00
Le Cong Thanh (Mr. Thanh): 1/2 To Hien Thanh, Hue. T: (054) 531 760, (0905) 290 039. E-mail: lethanh2006@yahoo.com.vn.
Mandarin Cafe: 24 Tran Cao Van, Hue. T: (054) 821 281. mandarin@dng.vnn.vn.
Mr. Tho: T: (0905) 376 609

Even if you have a guide, a lot of the onus still falls on you to make sure you see the sites you want to see. Most guides will happily take you anywhere you want to go, but if you don't speak up, they'll just take you to the most convenient spots for them.

Touring the Sites on your Own

Otherwise, skip the tour altogether and do it on your own. Take your time. Don't try to see everything -- just target a few key spots. Expect nothing much more than you would from a lovely, relaxed day in the park, and you'll avoid some of the frustrations and let-downs we keep hearing about.

Everything can be visited by car, bicycle, or motorbike on your own. However, everything worth seeing is dubiously marked, and there are a lot of fuzzy maps available that put things in the wrong location. We wonder if this isn't partly by design since it forces people to book a tour.

But a great way to wile away the hours in Hue on a beautiful day is to try to find some place on your own anyway, get lost, see the countryside, stop along the way, and you'll eventually wind up some place interesting, even if it isn't the place you were heading for when you set out!

Hue orientation
Hue is set on the banks of the Song Huong (Perfume River) as it widens and jogs diagonaly from the north-east to the south-west. Numerous natural tributaries and man-made canals branch throughout the city, making it a watery place, especially during typhoon season, when many streets may become temporarily impassible, and the river may overflow some of the lower bridges.

The Citadel, the former seat of the Vietnamese government when it was the capital of the country, dominates the northern bank. It's surrounded by two moats, the outer of which connects directly to the river--an impressive feat of engineering. Ten gates allow access in and out of the area, and make for a tight squeeze for large trucks. Most of the interior of the Citadel is inhabited by common folk, and it's really just part of the town. A smaller enclosure within the Citadel, up against the southern wall, is surrounded by yet another moat and houses the famed 'Forbidden Purple City' where the emporer and his concubines used to bed down. Most people head straight to the southern bank for accommodation, but there are some good options in and around the Citadel if you're up for something different.

The southern bank has two budget areas -- one is "Side Street 66" off Le Loi Street, which borders the river, between Pham Ngu Lao and Chu Van An. The other is on an alley off Nguyen Tri Phuong, just to the west of, and parallel to Hung Vuong. You won't see either on any map unless you're looking at a guidebook. Luxury accomodation seems to organise itself along the southern bank of the river, though the new Imperial Hotel takes advantage of its inland location to give you a great view of all the other places you could have stayed.

The two sides of the river are connected by four bridges -- the northern-most bridge is too new to be included on the maps, but it connects Nguyen Gia Thieu in Phu Hau district to the other side. The next is Truong Tien Bridge, with its distinctive ironwork arches, at the north end of Hung Vuong, connecting to Tran Hung Dao on the other side. This is a narrow bridge and can get quite congested, so if you have a choice, use Phu Xuan Bridge which connects Ha Noi to Tran Hung down, just a bit to the west. A fourth bridge, Con Da Vien, named for the island it crosses, is a railroad bridge that goes from the station to the south-west corner of the Citadel. There are two narrow paths intended as footbridges that are now used by cyclists and motorcyclists. The walkways are unforgivingly narrow, so don't even attempt it unless you have mad bike skills (that doesn't stop the locals from doing it with a TV set strapped to the back and a baby on the handle bars, of course).

To get to the train station, just head west on Le Loi until it ends. The Southern Bus Terminal (Ben Xe Phia Nam) is best reached by heading south on Hung Vuong, 3 km from Le Loi. For the Northern Terminal (Ben Xe Phia Bac), cross the bridge to Le Duan on the north bank, head west, and take a right on Le Duan, which turns into Highway 1A once it passes the north wall of the Citadel -- the station is about 5 km further on, on the right.

There are at least two decent maps of Hue available at most book stores. The Hue Tourist Map gives a good, wide view of Hue, and has an inset that marks the approximate location of all the major tombs to the south. The Hue Cultural Tourist Map is easier to read, but useless for the far flung tombs. It does, however, have a very good map of the entire province which would be useful to motorbike trekkers. Neither of these maps includes the new Highway 1 bypass road that now loops around Hue City to the west. Both are available at Nha Sach Hung Vuong. Also, stop by the Mandarin Cafe, at their new address on Tran Cao Van across from the Imperial Hotel, for their 'walking tour' map -- a good activity you can do on your own on the cheap.

Mandarin Cafe: 24 Tran Cao Van, Hue. T: (054) 821 281. E-mail: Mandarin@dng.vnn.vn. Hours: 06:00 to 22:00
Nha Sach Hung Vuong: 34 Hung Vuong, Hue. T: (054) 823 386. Hours: 07:00 to 21:00

Hue is well-supplied with banks and ATMs. There are several 24-hour machines at the Vietcom Bank, on 24 Hung Vuong. They cash travellers checks at no commission to receive dong. The Incom Bank on Hung Vuong has a US$2 minimum commission per transaction, but they are open on Sunday, and offer Western Union services seven days a week. All the major hotels seem to have an ATM -- the one in front of the Hoang Giang Hotel on Le Loi near the Dap Da bridge is conveniently located.

Incom Bank: 12 Hung Vuong, Hue. T: (054) 825 102. Hours: Mon - Fri 07:30 to 19:00, Weekends, 11:30 to 19:00.
Vietcom Bank: 24 Hung Nuong, Hue. T: (054) 827 337, F: (054) 827 338. Hours: Mon-Fri 08:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 20:00, Sat: 08:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 17:00

Internet is just as cheap in Hue as it is elsewhere in Vietnam -- 3- to 4,000 VND per hour. That doesn't stop Jerrynet on Sidestreet 66 from charging 8,000 an hour. You can find much cheaper connections nearby just by walking around. We found great computers and fast connections at the Thanh Thien 1 Hotel on Nguyen Cong Tru -- at only 5,000 VND per hour, a better deal for the price and worth the walk.

Jerrynet: 66 Le Loi, Hue. Hours: 07:00 to 22:30. 8,000 VND per hour
Thanh Tien 1 Hotel (Internet): 10 Nguyen Cong Tru, Hue. T: (054) 834 666, F: (054) 834 555. Hours: 07:00 to 22:00. 5,000 VND per hour

One-month tourist visa's can be extended for an additional month for about US$22. No use going to immigration -- you need a 'sponsor' to get the visa, which means an outfit in town 'takes responsibility' for you. It's all pro-forma and can be done easily anywhere. Try Huong Giang Travel on the riverside of Le Loi. More complex visa issues, such as a second renewal or multi-month, multi-entry visa, need to be handled in Da Nang, or better yet, Ha Noi.

Huong Giang Travel: 17 Le Loi Street (river side), Hue. T: (054) 838 485, F: (054) 821 426 http://www.charmingvietnam.com