One Day in Hue Itinerary: What to do

I visited Hue several times and visited many places in this city. In this article, I will show how to spend one day in Hue, and the Itinerary for 24 hours in this ancient capital city of Vietnam.

Hue is a beautiful city in central Vietnam, known for its imperial places, royal tombs, ancient pagodas, and vibrant nightlife scene. It is not as famous as Da Nang or Hoi An, but well worth a visit especially if you are interested in history.

Is one day enough in Hue?

In my opinion, one day is enough to explore the major sights in the city such as the imperial palace, a royal tomb, Thien Mu pagoda, and Huong River. You will have time to enjoy delicious local cuisine and salt coffee which is local specialty coffee in Hue.

Many visitors take day trips to Hue from Da Nang or Hoi An, but it can be a long journey, typically lasting 9 to 10 hours. I recommend spending at least one night here for a more relaxing travel pace and to experience the nightlife.

If you have additional days in Hue, you can use it for day trips to nearby attractions such as Lang Co Beach, Bach Ma National Park, DMZ, and Phong Nha Cave.

Where to stay in Hue for one night?

If you decide to stay in Hue for a night, I recommend staying in the city center, particularly Phu Hoi ward and along the Nguyen Cong Tru street area. This area is packed within tourist facilities such as restaurants, bars, shops, and hotels.

Its central location also offers walking distance to the night walking street, and attractions on other banks of Huong River such as the Imperial palace and Dong Ba market.

Anyway, this city is quite compact, it doesn’t matter much where you choose to stay, you’ll be easy getting around the city on foot and by using ride sharing services such as Grab.

What to do and see in Hue in One day?

Hue Imperial City

Visiting Hue Citadel is one of the top things to do in Hue.This is a huge complex where the Nguyen Dynasty Emperors lived from 1802 to 1945. Within the complex, you can explore different halls, temples, palaces, gates, and the flag tower.

Hue Citadel is located right on the bank of Huong River, and is easily accessible for the new town by walking or using Grab. I recommend taking a walk from the city center, walking across Trang Tien Bridge, and visiting the Dong Ba market, before heading to the Imperial Palace.

While you can explore this complex by yourself, I recommend taking a guided tour to have more insights of the citadel. I think you can spend a couple of hours here exploring it.

Cruise along Huong River

Huong River is a beautiful river running through the heart of Hue. You can consider taking a boat tour along the river and even kayaking if you are an active traveler.

You can take a leisure walk along the bank of the River on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Walking Street. It is especially beautiful at sunset and in the evening when the lights are on.

Royal Tombs

The Royal Tombs of Hue are impressive and have beautiful architecture. Popular sights to visit are:

Minh Mang Tomb
Khai Dinh Tomb
Tu Duc Tomb

I visited all of these three tombs in one day, but it can be rushed for you. If you need to choose one tomb to visit, I recommend taking a look at Khai Dinh tomb. It is the most beautiful tomb of the three, and is located not too far from the city center as Minh Mang tomb.

Minh Mang tomb is located in a rural area. It can be hard to request a Grab motorbike to this place but taxis and Grab cars are available. It will be a bit hard to get back later though as there are not many taxis in the area. You’ll just need to wait until some taxi arrives, drop off other passengers, then go to ask them for a ride.

Thien Mu pagoda

Thien Mu pagoda is an iconic attraction of Hue, located on the banks of Huong River, same side with the Citadel. It is around 10 minutes drive from the city center of Hue. You can get here by taking Grab or taking a boat ride on Huong River.

It is a small spiritual site, you can spend 30 minutes to hours here viewing different sites such as the 7-story tower, The monk’s Austin Car, and a peaceful garden in the back. Additionally, Thien Mu pagoda has stunning views of the River and its surrounding mountains.

Walk Cross Trang Tien Bridge

Trang Tien Bridge is the most famous bridge linking two banks of the Huong River. It is a symbol of Hue City. It was built in the late 19th century during the colonial era with French architecture style. The bridge is lit up at night with vibrant changing colors, creating a beautiful scene.

Dong Ba market

Dong Ba market is a vibrant market located in the city center of Hue. It is on the way to visit the Citadel from the new town. You can have a look at the market to see local life and maybe try some street food inside the market.

Hue Food and salt coffee

If you want to try some local and regional dishes, I recommend trying the Hue cake combo. In this combo, you’ll have a chance to try a variety of Hue cakes such as Banh Nam, Banh Beo, Banh Bot Loc, and Banh It Ram.

Basically, these cakes are made from rice flour, and some topping such as dry shrimp, and sometimes wrap into banana leaves.

If you love coffee, give a salt coffee a try. This is one of the most popular coffee in Vietnam along with egg coffee and ice coffee.

Hue Night Walking Street

You can spend an evening in Hue by checking out several walking streets in the city center. The most popular places to go for nightlife are walking streets on Vo Thi Sau and Pham Ngu Lao street.

You can find lots of bars and restaurants, and it is packed with locals and foreign tourists each night. Grab a local beer at a Vietnamese style bar and people watch.