Hue Imperial City and Forbidden City Walking Private Tour

An excellent tour, our guide Austin was very knowledgeable and interesting

We had an amazing tour with Chi Phương. She explained all the sites at the citadel and forbidden city. She was also very accommodating with our 2 year old. Overall we had a very pleasant tour with Chi Phuong.

Our guided tour of The Imperial City in Hue was really cool and one of the best parts of our trip to Vietnam. The old royal buildings were amazing to see, but our guide Austin made it even better. He was only 25 but knew so much about the history. His English was perfect, so it was easy to understand everything he explained about the emperors and how they lived. As we walked through the Forbidden Purple City and saw the throne room, Austin told us interesting stories about what life was like back then. He also shared stories about his own family that made it feel more personal. He was funny and made the tour fun, and he answered all our questions even when we asked about random stuff. Austin’s excitement about the history was contagious, and he helped us understand how the past connects to Vietnam today. The tour would have been good on its own, but having Austin as our guide made it way better. If you go to Hue, definitely get a guide, and if you get Austin, you’re really lucky.

We did the Hue Walking Tour: Explore the Imperial City with our guide Ha, and it was truly outstanding. This felt like such a personal experience. Ha is incredibly kind, warm and knowledgeable, and she spoke with real passion about the history of Vietnam and the Nguyen Dynasty. She had an answer to every question and made the past feel vivid and alive. We genuinely learned so much. The tour runs for around 2.5 hours, which was perfect. Ha met us at Cuu Than Cong near Cua Ngan, helped us with ticketing, and then guided us seamlessly through the Imperial City, sharing rich historical context and fascinating stories throughout. Highlights included: • The Nine Holy Cannons (Cửu Vị Thần Công), symbolising protection of the citadel • The impressive Noon Gate (Ngọ Môn) and Flag Tower (Kỳ Đài) • The magnificent Supreme Harmony Palace (Điện Thái Hòa), once the heart of royal ceremonies • The beautifully crafted Nine Dynastic Urns (Cửu Đỉnh), representing the Nguyen emperors • The Mieu Temple (Thế Miếu) and Dien Tho Palace (Cung Diên Thọ) • The atmospheric Forbidden Purple City (Tử Cấm Thành) • The tranquil Thieu Phuong Garden and Thai Binh Pavilion, offering a peaceful end to the journey Ha’s storytelling, enthusiasm and genuine care turned what could have been a standard sightseeing walk into a meaningful and memorable experience. If you want to truly understand the history, culture and significance of Huế, this tour , and especially Ha, is an absolute must. Highly recommended.

Duyen was very knowledgeable and was able to provide lots of information about the imperial city. We enjoyed looking around the whole place at our own pace.

Fantastic English speaking guide, very knowledgable about Vietnam history and made learning about it fun. A great day. Sue Xuuuu was absolutely a fun and very and sweet English speaking guide who just made our morning. taking memorable photos in all of the right places. We would thoroughly recommend this tour of about 2.5 hours..

Duyen’s knowledge of the Imperial Palace was excellent. It is a huge complex and you definitely need someone explain the history and lives of people who lived there. A very enjoyable 2 1/2 hours.