Hué Imperial City

Today, we explored the Imperial City, a walled fortress and palace in the city of Hué, the former imperial capital of Vietnam.
After breakfast, we walked around 3 km to get there and did some shopping first. It is crazy what you can find in a supermarket in Vietnam!
Hué is a representation of the power of the vanished Vietnamese feudal empire at its apogee in the early 19th century. The city served as the administrative centre of southern Vietnam in the 17th and 18th centuries. Gia Long, first ruler of the Nguyen dynasty, made it the national capital of united Vietnam in 1802, a position that it held until 1945. The construction of the Imperial City started in 1803 and finished in 1832. The fortress itself was modelled on the European style of Vauban, the first of its type in South-East Asia, but the complex suffered considerably during the many wars. The Imperial City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
We were a bit disappointed about the Imperial City because it is overpriced and not really impressive. Most of it is in renovation. There are some nice gardens and buildings, but this is it!
For lunch, we had Banh Khoai, a rice pancake with meat and shrimp and beef noodle with peanut sauce.
Then, we walked back to our hotel to hide from the heat. We just got out to eat a banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) and some stir-fried vegetables.

Comments

[maman]

La statue du Couple est très belle, j'aime bien!
Avez vous manger les nohng ??
Bisous!!

[Isabelle et Jérémie]

Non, on n'a pas tenté les nhong. Courageux mais téméraires :-)

[Flo]

Paraît-il que le Banh mi est le meilleur des sandwichs asiatiques, c'est vrai ?

[Isabelle et Jérémie]

On n'a pas eu l'occasion de goûter d'autres sandwichs asiatiques, mais on aime bien le banh mi :-)