Was very impressed with the imperial city, we spent about 3 hours there with the first hour guided. A couple of recommendations: 1)We hired a driver as we were coming from Hoi An. The cost was about $65USD total and he was fantastic, he stopped all the places you wanted to and knew the standard itinerary for tours so you didn’t have to direct. I would recommend this as an option as the drive is 3 hrs each way and this was much better than being on a tour bus or mini van. And a private tour was quoted at $120USD per person 😯 2) Hire a guide vs the audio guide. An audio guide was $100k for each person, where a personal guide of the city for an hour was $150K total. You pay for the guide at the ticket station, and before you go into the city you will see on the right the guide room (audio room is on the opposite side) 3) Have cash, no ATMs anywhere near any of the attractions Would highly recommend going if you have the time. We selected to leave at 7am and was back in Hoi An at 6pm. With lots of stops along the way for pictures.

We hired a car to drive us from Da Nang to Hue, we reached Hue before noon. When we arrived at the Imperial City gates, many trishaw cyclists came up to us and offered to bring us around to see the city. The charges were calculated by hours. We decided to get a ride because the heat was too much for us, we could hardly open our eyes, needless to say to walk under such hot temperatures, we won't be able to explore much by foot. So we started our exploration around the Imperial City, we were cycled around under an umbrella. We got to visit many old houses, schools and museums for free. The cyclists cum guides were able to speak English, they were knowledgeable and were able to explain the history behind all the places they brought us to. We saw bullet holes too. Take note, please negotiate the charges beforehand, we had an argument in the end. It was no doubt the best English guide I encountered during my trip to Da Nang, Hue and Hoi An. They deserve more but they hope to get more money by cheating you a little, just be careful and aware before getting on. After visiting the outer part, now we paid to enter the Imperial City, Citadel. Same thing, the place inside was huge, the weather was unbearable. We ran from shade to shade. There were buggy rides inside the city but you will have to pay extra and wait in line to get on one. We, the young ones, only explored 10% of the city and had a few stops for drinks and icecreams. My parents totally gave up walking, they waited at the exit. If you were to visit, remember to bring your own umbrella, carry water and put on sunglasses. This place is massive and you really need some courage to walk every room and see everything. You can get paper map at the ticketing counter, you will need it to find your way out, don't get lost!

Thought I'd share some of my thoughts after a visit to the Citadel. I have to say that the information on Trip Advisor is pretty thin so I hope to help other travelers. When purchasing the ticket you are offered some options. These include visits to the different tombs surrounding the Citadel. You can pay up to VD 570000 D to visit all of them how to get. Unfortunately I couldn't get a clear explanation about what the tombs were so I just opted for the pass into the Citadel for 200,000 VD. Turns out that was the right choice for me. I also picked up headphones for the guided audio tour for another 100,000 VD. The guided tour has 60 locations. If you make all 60 in a day you should enter in a marathon. Before you start do what I didn't do. Find out when the live music and dance performances are. It looks like there are live performances around 10 am and 3 pm daily at the theater. If you do what I did and followed the audio guide map chronologically you will miss the performances (like I did). As with other reports there are cafe's and toilets and plenty of opportunities to buy souvenirs of course. The Citadel tour is amazing and I was exhausted with the information and the exquisite beauty of the place. I think I learned more about Vietnam's history today than in my lifetime. Incredible and fascinating. By closing I could not take in another reference. So my advise is take a whole day to see the Citadel, use the audio guide and plan the schedule to see the performances. Enjoy!