Hue Forbidden citadel

People come to Hue not only to enjoy the romantic scenery but also to preserve the vestige of Hue Citadel, the last royal court of the feudal in Vietnam. Hue Citadel is a unique and ancient architecture that you definitely cannot miss when coming to Hue Ancient Capital!
Hue Citadel
Located on the banks of the Perfume River, Dai Noi Hue is one of the monuments belonging to Hue Monuments Complex recognized as a World Cultural Heritage and still holds many unique imprints of feudalism Nguyen Dynasty hundreds of years ago. Hue Citadel is a complex of monuments including the Imperial Citadel (where the king set up the conference and worked) and the Forbidden Purple City (the residence of the king and the royal family).
As a monumental building in the history of Vietnam, Hue Citadel has a long construction process of up to 30 years with tens of thousands of people performing a series of jobs such as river filling, ditching, building, moving tombs … with a huge amount of rock and earth up to millions of cubic meters.
Visiting the complex of Hue Citadel, you will admire hundreds of magnificent palaces, temples and shrines. With magnificent beauty and excellent palace architecture, you will surely enjoy the journey to visit Dai Noi Hue.
Hue Imperial Citadel
Hoang Thanh Hue includes many areas such as the defense area, the celebration area, the temple area, … set in the middle of a harmonious natural space of lakes, flower gardens, stone bridges, island and the green trees shaded. The Imperial Citadel has 4 gates placed on 4 sides, of which the largest main gate and the most beautiful architecture is the Ngo Mon Gate.
Ngo Mon Gate of Hue
Ngo Mon Gate looks to the south of the city and looks away from the poetic Huong River. Ngo Mon Gate has 5 gates, of which the middle gate used to be the gate for the king to go, the two gates for the mandarin , and the two surrounding gates are for soldiers and elephants.
Built above the gate is Ngu Phung Floor with a structure of ironwood, divided into 2 floors and 9 roof sets, the middle roof is yellowed, the remaining is 8 green roofs. In the past, Ngu Phung Floor was the venue for a number of major ceremonies of the Nguyen Dynasty.
Over nearly 2 centuries and witnessing many important milestones of the nation’s history, Ngo Mon Gate still exists over time and has become an outstanding ancient architectural masterpiece!

Thai Hoa Palace
Thai Hoa Palace is a symbol of power of the Nguyen Dynasty. Located in the Imperial Citadel, Thai Hoa Palace and Dai Trieu Nghi Stadium used to be the venue for important court meetings.
Cung Dien Tho
Among many palaces in Hue Imperial Citadel, Dien Tho Palace is the largest palace architecture system in Hue remaining to this day. This was once the residence of the Queen Dowager and Grand Queen Dowager.
Forbidden City
Also part of the ancient ruins of Hue and located in the Hoanh Thanh area, the Forbidden City was the residence of the king as well as the Nguyen Dynasty. In the Forbidden City, there are more than 50 architectural works with diverse scales, typically including Can Chanh Palace (where the king set up a court and banqueting), Can Thanh Palace (where the king slept), Thai Binh Lau (where the king relaxes, reads books), Ta Vu & Huu Vu, …
Other tourism activities in Hue Citadel
Visiting Hue Citadel, you can also join the Royal Palace Night which is held every Saturday. In the night the Palace is full of light, the rites of the old court will be recreated faithfully and unique cultural and artistic activities will also take place. This will be a very interesting highlight for your exploration of Hue Citadel!
More specifically, recently Hue Citadel has officially opened to welcome visitors at night from 19 – 22pm and this is an opportunity for you to visit and learn about Hue citadel as well as “own” beautiful photos inside the brilliant works, sparkling with lights.
Experiencing many ups and downs and events of history, the architecture of Hue Imperial Citadel in Hue has always stood majestically, forever a valuable traditional cultural asset of the Nguyen Dynasty’s history. Coming to Hue, do not forget to “get lost” in the ancient royal court place of Dai Noi Hue to have extremely interesting experiences!