On the shores of the ‘Perfume River’, the Song Huong Giang in the heart of Vietnam, is the former royal city and today’s provincial capital of Hué.

Nine mighty canon are the symbolic guards of the historic citadel and beyond its defensive walls are five hundred hectares that contain the Imperial City and also the Forbidden Purple City, a veritable city within a city.

The rise of Hué into a magnificent residence is closely associated with the Nguyen royal family who influenced the city for many centuries.

A short boat trip on the Perfume River leads to another of the city’s attractions. Located on a hill, legend has it that the Thien Mu Pagoda owes its existence to the appearance of a god disguised as an old woman. The story goes that the woman made a prophecy that a new king would come and build an important pagoda for the gods. King Nyguen Hoang interpreted this prophecy as a religious symbol and thus had a pagoda built in honour of the divine old woman.

Despite all the destruction of the Vietnam War the resplendent old capital city on Perfume River is still a remarkable place to be.