The good news about choosing where to stay in Hue is that there’s really only one convenient and main area. And the best tip that I can share is that 99% of Hue’s attractions are outside this central area. So unless you’re on a tour that includes transportation, you’ll need to take taxis to get to the royal tombs and other UNESCO sites — no matter where you stay.
In the map below, I’ve outlined the central area of Hue and some of the best things to see and do. The entire main area is very walkable.
From the central area, you can walk to the Imperial City because the two main bridges over the Perfume River have raised sidewalks. When I was in Hue recently, I had my scooter, but I saw many travelers walking across both bridges. Pick a hotel that looks good in the outlined area below, and this way, you’ll have a lot of on-foot food choices and such after you’re done exploring Hue for the day.
• The Scarlett Boutique Hotel (see on Agoda / Booking): great value, great location, awesome staff
• Senna Hue (see on Agoda / Booking): five stars, great outdoor pool, great location
• Tours & Activities: this Imperial City walking tour or this private Hue tour (customizable)
If you have any questions about visiting Hue, ask me and other travelers in my Hoi An, Da Nang, and Hue travel planning group. You can also see my new collection of Hue travel guides. FYI, the featured photo is from Thien Mu Pagoda.
Where to Stay in Hue Map: The Main Area, Hotels, and Attractions
Here’s a map I put together that shows the main area of the city and the hotels I recommend in the article. I’ve also included most of Hue’s best attractions (most of them UNESCO sites), so you can get an idea of how spread out things are. You can view the full map here.
How to use this map: Ahoy! Click the arrow in the top left-hand corner to view the layers. You can click the individual icons. I’ve also included where the train station and airport are in Hue.
🧺 Quick tip: Most hotel laundry services are extremely overpriced. I get my laundry done at Dong Da Hue (see my Google review here). They have a fast turnaround (same day) and charge 20.000 VND per kg (currently).
Choosing a Hotel in Hue
In the map above, I’ve outlined the main area of Hue, south of the Perfume River. This is where you want to be if you want the most on-foot convenience to restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and convenience stores. I also added some of the best attractions — you can see that they’re all outside the main city.
If you want the most convenience after a day of exploring Hue’s attractions, then take the decision of “choosing an area” off your plate. Stay in the main area I’ve highlighted on the map. All you need to decide now is which hotel in this area suits your tastes, style, and budget. I’ve thoroughly explored the downtown Hue area, and all of these hotels would be great choices.
The Scarlett Boutique Hotel (Agoda / Booking) is a smaller hotel in a great location in the middle of the main area. The staff are beyond friendly and accommodating. I stayed here for a few nights recently. See my review here.
Nearby the Scarlett, there’s the five-star Senna Hue (Agoda / Booking) and the newer and smaller Elegant Hotel (see on Agoda). The Senna has a big outdoor pool. All three of these hotels (the Scarlett, the Senna, and the Elegant) are in the same immediate area (a great location).
In under five minutes from the Scarlett, I walked to one of Hue’s Walking Streets here and had several good meals. After exploring the city’s attractions (outside the main part of the city), you’ll want to be able to get dinner easily. This is a good area for that.
I had great and fairly-priced sushi at Gem Sushi Bar here.
The Melia Vinpearl (Agoda / Booking) is a five-star hotel in the tallest building in Hue. It’s also attached to a Vincom mall for extra convenience. It’s at the convergence of five main roads, just on the edge of the central area.
I ate some excellent Vietnamese food from a very nice family at the Cozy Restaurant here. It’s across the (busy) road from the Melia Vinpearl. They only accept cash!
On the other side of Hung Vuong (the main road splitting this central area), there are several other good places to stay.
The TTC Imperial Hue (Agoda / Booking) is directly on Hung Vuong and is five minutes from the historic Truong Tien Bridge. This is one of the bridges you can walk over to get to the Imperial City. From the TTC Hotel, you can walk to the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City (the front entrance) in under 30 minutes — here are the directions.
Just behind the TTC Hotel, off the main road in a slightly quieter area, is the White Lotus Hue Hotel (Agoda / Booking). This is equally as close to being able to walk to the Imperial City. From both hotels, you’ll be less than five minutes from the park alongside the Perfume River, where there’s another walking street at night.
Further into this area is the Thanh Lich Royal Boutique (Agoda / Booking), which is in a very convenient area on Hai Ba Trung Street.
On the outskirts of this main area, near the Hue train station, is the Silk Path Grand Hue Hotel (Agoda / Booking). This is a nice five-star hotel in a slightly quieter area across the street from the end of the park and part of Hue University. This is a really nice hotel.
Here’s a video I took from outside the Silk Path Grand Hotel.
If you’re looking for an awesome outdoor swimming pool, the Indochine Palace (Agoda / Booking) is a great choice. As I said, the Senna Hue also has a great outdoor pool. The Indochine is a larger high-rise hotel. The only downside is that it’s just outside the area with the most on-foot convenience. It’s not a terrible location at all, just not as good as it could be. It’s on my map above.
I stayed at the Indochine recently, too. You can read my review article here.
The Hue Imperial City (the Citadel) is north of the Perfume River. The Spatel d’Annam (Agoda / Booking) is a good choice next to the Citadel. You can walk to the ticket booth at the front entrance, the Meridian Gate, in about 10 minutes. This is a quieter place to stay than south of the Perfume River.
The area north of the Perfume River (around the Citadel) is not nearly as developed as the main area south of the river.
There aren’t any high-rise or very many “normal” hotels in this area. A local told me that it has something to do with rules around developing and building near the Imperial City. I explored this area for a while on my scooter, and there are a lot of small homestays. The area around the Spatel d’Annam was very quiet (in a good way) when I visited.
Klook.comHow Long to Spend in Hue
I personally recommend at least two full days in Hue. That would be the minimum amount of time to be able to see the Imperial City, the three best royal tombs (Tu Duc, Khai Dinh, and Minh Mang), and have a bit of downtime to walk the Perfume River, and eat some of the Hue local specialty, bun bo Hue. I had great bun bo Hue just outside the Citadel walls at N. Cafe and Restaurant here.
If you have full trip flexibility, then try to spend at least three to five days in Hue. I was there for six days recently after riding my scooter from Da Nang, and I could have stayed a few more days. But I’m researching the full city, visiting everything, and really taking my time.
The nightlife is limited; it’s nothing like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. And if historic sites and a laid-back atmosphere don’t interest you, then you might be “bored” after a few days. I personally find Hue refreshing and more authentic, and I love learning about the history of the Nguyen dynasty.
Getting to Hue
You have several choices for getting to Hue. A lot of it depends on where you’re coming from first.
If you’re in Da Nang or Hoi An, you can book a Grab taxi, a private car service, or take a shared van. You can also take the train from Da Nang to Hue, which will put you right near the center of the city (I added the train station to my map above). You could also ride your scooter over the Hai Van Pass to Hue. This is what I do, and the trip is about 2.5 hours.
Hue also has an “international” airport — Phu Bai (HUI). I put that in quotes because its international destinations are very limited. But it does have direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The airport is 30 minutes outside the center of Hue. You can fly into Phu Bai, then book an airport transfer to your hotel in Hue.
