Useful Local Tips for First-time Traveller to Hue

April 14, 2021 - 3823 views

Known as the most royal city of Vietnam, the charm of Hue has fascinated millions of tourists for years. Here are some local tips essentially needed to make your day in this wonderful city memorable.

Best time to go to Hue

  • Dry season

There are two seasons in Hue including dry and wet ones. The dry season stretches from February to August. During the dry season, the humidity stays low making the weather very comfortable and pleasant. In the period from May to August, the temperature turns a little bit higher but tourists can experience clear blue skies in exchange for that.

In the wet season, the weather cools down because of frequent small rains resulting in some inconvenience in visiting activities. However, people said that a tiny rain makes Hue’s scenery beautiful and picturesque.

  • Hue Festival

Hue Festival is an international event organized every two years. The first festival was held in 1992 with the name of “Vietnam – French Festival” which was changed into “Hue Festival” in 2000.

Through a lot of interesting activities during the festival, tourists will have chances to experience not only the charming and romantic sides of Hue but also the traditional and authentic values of this ancient capital.

                                                   Royal court music performance in Hue festival

Royal court music performance in Hue festival

Popular Transportation in Hue

  • Cyclos (Three- wheeled pedicabs)

It is suggested to choose cyclo to visit the inner part of Hue for its safety, comfort, and reasonable price. This means of transportation enables tourists to enjoy the rustic and idyllic scenery of the city. Moreover, while going around, cyclo riders can tell stories from the past, introduce interesting attractions and souvenir shops to buys presents for friends and family.

                                                   International tourists on cyclos

International tourists on cyclos

Read more at: Take a cyclo tour in Hue

  • Scooters/Bicycles

In addition, scooters or bicycles rental are another good choice because tourists can ride on their own and visit places that they want instead of those fixed.
- Scooters rental fee is from $8 to $10
- Bicycles rental fee is from $2 to $4.

 

Must try Hue food

  • Bún bò Huế (Hue style beef vermicelli) is the most famous local dish here. It is a noodle soup with spicy slices of beef, crab chowder, meatballs which can be served with some Vietnamese vegetables.

A bowl of Bun Bo Hue

A bowl of Bun Bo Hue

  • Bún thịt nướng(vermicelli with grilled pork) is a mixture of rice vermicelli, grilled pork, fresh vegetables and other special ingredients. Instead of broth, the dish has a sauce made by grind peanut. To make “búnthịtnướng” tastier, a little of chili sauce and lemon squash should be added, mixed together before eating.

Bun thit nuong Hue

Bun thit nuong

  • Cơm Hến (baby clam rice) The dish consists of rice or rice noodles, stir-fried clams, crisp pork cracklings, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, banana flower, star fruit, mint herb, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), fermented shrimp sauce. This dish is easily found walking or motoring around Hue, especially along the three-block Truong Dinh Street, and at the corner of Nguyen Thai Hoc and Ba Trieu, where a vendor sets up shop outdoors under a series of tarps strung with lights.

Com hen Hue

Com hen

  • Nem Lụi (lemongrass skewers) contains ground beef and pork; pork skin, garlic, sugar, and fish sauce which are formed into sausages around stalks of lemongrass, grilled over charcoal, and set in front of diners. The right to eat this dish is wrapping the meat with a half-moon rice paper, to which you can add lettuce, cucumbers, pickled carrots, papaya, vermicelli, and fig. Then dip it into “nước lèo” which is a special sweet and hot liquid sauce made with fish sauce, chilies, garlic, vinegar… one of the most popular restaurants for Nem Lui is Tai Phu restaurant which located at the corner of Dien Bien Phu and Nguyen Hue streets.

The four local dishes listed above are merely the most popular ones, to experience and to discover more delicious ones, tourists should take a Hue culinary tour around the city.

Nem lui Hue

Nem Lui

You may also like: Recommended Restaurants in Hue

 

Shopping in Hue

Besides historical heritages and unique dishes, Hue is also well-known for Ao Dai – a traditional costume of Vietnamese women throughout thousand of years of history. There are many prestige shops for tourists to buy or to get a tailored-made Ao Dai, namely,

  • Aodai nu cung Hue: no. 46 Dinh Cong Trang. Phone number: +84 54 3519 519
  • Ao Dai Dan Phuong: no. 58 Mai Thuc Loan, no. 54 Chu Van An, no. 91 Xuan 68
  • Ao Dai Chi Silk: no. 18 Nguyen SinhCung Street
  • Ao Dai Hue Minh Tan: no. 57 Nguyen SinhCung Street.

Another worth-buying local product is Non La or conical hat made of bamboo. It is believed that Hue is the birthplace of Non La and local markets are full of them.

There are several local shops and markets where tourists can buy traditional products, souvenirs, and specialties. Here are some suggested ones:

  • Dong Ba market: no. 13 Tran Hung Dao Street
  • An Cuu market: no. 89 Hung Vuong Street
  • Healing the Wounded Heart Shop: no. 23 Vo Thi Sau Street.
    Phone number: +84 54 3833694. This unique shop sells eco-friendly handicrafts made by disabled artisans in Hue.
  • Hope Center: no. 20 Nhat Le Street. Phone number: +84 54 351 1511
  • Tailor Made Clothes: no. 45 Le Loi Street
  • Green Bamboo Art Gallery: no. 2 Vo Thi Sau Street
  • New Space Gallery: no. 28 Pham Ngu Lao Street. 

This city is full of fine culture, architectural buildings and great arts so do not hesitate to spend your time taking a Hue tour. It is definitely worth your while!

Ha Trang

Image sources: Internet 

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