The Perfume River bends around the old capital of Vietnam like a hand around a cup, and the Citadel of Hué sits on its north bank behind moats and thick brick walls. This is the heart of the Complex of Hué Monuments, the seat of the Nguyen emperors, who ruled from here from the early nineteenth century until the last of them abdicated in 1945. Inside the walls is the Imperial City, and inside that the Forbidden Purple City, where only the court was allowed. The Ngo Mon gate, with its upper pavilion where proclamations were made, is the grand entrance, and it is worth walking through on foot rather than just photographing from the saddle.
Much of the interior was lost in the fighting of the Tet Offensive in 1968, when the citadel was held for weeks and badly damaged. You see it in the gaps: lawns where halls once stood, walls still pocked, restoration going on in patches. That unevenness is part of the charm, and it makes the intact buildings feel like survivors. The complex was listed by UNESCO in 1993, and tickets are sold at the gate.
Riding here is a city ride, and a good one if you are calm about it. Hué is a place of 287,000 people and, it sometimes seems, as many scooters, and the streets around the citadel are flat, wide and busy. Traffic flows in a loose, negotiated way. Move at the speed of the people around you, keep a steady line and do not make sudden decisions, and it works. Fuel is easy in town, with stations on every main road, and parking next to the gate is usually sorted out by whoever is waiting there.
Come early or late. Midday heat in the central Vietnamese lowlands is heavy, and the light on the brickwork is best an hour after sunrise or in the late afternoon. Afterwards, find a bowl of bun bo Hue, the spicy beef and lemongrass noodle soup this city is proud of, and sit for a while. The riverside is only a few minutes away, and a slow evening crossing of the bridges is the right way to finish.