Three days in Hue

Pick two or three tombs. Do not try all seven. The busy three are Tự Đức, Minh Mạng, and Khải Định.

• A bicycle or a cyclo through the streets around the Imperial City. Nguyễn Văn Trỗi park, Hiển Nhơn gate, Tịnh Tâm lake, and the twin ponds of Tấn Miếu and Võ Sanh. Lotus on those ponds is April to July.
• The Imperial City when you finish that loop. Allow around two hours. A guide earns the time. The adult citadel ticket is 200,000 VND and does not cover the tombs. The gate is 06:30 from 16 March to 15 October and 07:00 from 16 October to 15 March.
• Lunch at Ngự Hà Garden for the vegan table, or Les Jardins de la Carambole if you want the sit-down. The bill is Check on arrival.
• Tombs in the afternoon, by boat, car, motorbike, or bicycle. Gia Long is the oldest and the quietest. Minh Mạng is the ordered axis. Thiệu Trị sits close to his father’s plan. Tự Đức is the poet’s garden. Dục Đức is the nearest and the least grand. Đồng Khánh is the quiet hill. Khải Định is the one that splits opinion.
• The four-site ticket covers the Imperial City plus Minh Mạng, Tự Đức, and Khải Định: 530,000 VND for an adult and 100,000 VND for a child from 7 to 12, for up to two days from the first visit. One tomb on its own line is 150,000 VND for an adult and 30,000 VND for a child from 7 to 12.
• Nam Giao or Từ Hiếu only after the tombs, if you still have an hour. Fees are Check on arrival.
• Dinner at Thiên Tâm or Không Gian Xưa.

Start later, and be at Thiên Mụ before sunset. Kim Long is a walk, not a checklist.

• Bảo Quốc Pagoda, then the canal toward Bến Ngự market. Phủ Cam church is the stop if you want it. A mid-morning coffee is Nghĩa Cafe. What you pay is Check on arrival.
• An Định Palace for the rest of the morning. A guide can be hired at the Nguyễn Huệ entrance. The ticket is Check on arrival.
• Lunch at Bánh Bèo Hương, next to the palace.
• Kim Long on foot, by bicycle, or by cyclo. Garden houses with a sign are the ones you can enter. Some are ticketed. The fee is Check on arrival. Cung Đàn Xưa is the garden cafe when it is open.
• Thiên Mụ just before sunset.
• Dinner at Huyền Anh, or at La Residence if you want the fine-dining room. Both are on the way back from Thiên Mụ. The bill is Check on arrival.

Take Thuận An at sunrise, and Hen Island before you recross. The Noon Gate is the last picture.

• Thuận An by taxi or motorbike. The road crosses two bridges and Tam Giang lagoon. Swim, eat seafood, and go back to rest. A quieter beach is south of the main strand if the crowd is the problem. Beach Bar Hue is the named spot on that stretch. Fees are Check on arrival.
• Hen Island across Ưng Bình bridge. The walk is under half an hour. Eat cơm hến or bún hến. The island goes under when the city floods, so skip it in a flood week.
• Chi Lăng and Bạch Đằng if you still have the afternoon: shophouses, Phúc Kiến temple, and Diệu Đế Pagoda.
• A bite on that side: beef noodle soup at Bà Phụng, grilled pork rice-paper rolls at Bà Tý, or a seat at Dạ Thảo.
• The Noon Gate at the end, back at the Imperial City, when the lights come on.