Today we were after the main attractions of Hue, with the first stop being at the imperial enclosure within the citadel. The citadel – along with the enclosure, the palace and other buildings – goes back to the first half of the 19th century. Indeed this all was driven by the move of the capital from Hanoi to Hue back in 1802 under emperor Gia Long.

We entered the enclosure through the Ngo Mon Gate and continued to the main palace building. We passed through the palace and found ourselves in the remains of Halls of the Mandarins, with restoration work in progress. We continued through the gardens, before making it back to our transport.

We continued to another major site – the tomb of Tu Duc – a slight bit out of town (and a good 20 minute drive away). Emperor Tu Duc designed it by himself – and not just for after his death – but also for use before; the complex was built in the mid 1860s.

The sightseeing trip ended in a Buddhist temple, where we had lunch; we made it back to the hotel with a further two hours to prepare for our overnight journey to Hanoi.