After a pretty uncomfortable night on the train we arrived in Hue and were soon in the hotel having a hot shower and a cup of coffee,so duly restored we popped up onto the roof for swim in the pool with a great view of the city. After a lunch in a monastery we visited an imperial tomb which was only about 150 years old but looked far more ancient and showed signs of war damage inflicted by the French. There were some superb mosaics and dragon sculptures. Next it was off to the Thien Mu pagoda by the perfumed river. It is notable for having the largest bell cast in Vietnam and also houses the Austin that the resident monk drove to Saigon to immolate himself in a protest against the government in 1963. Our final destination was the old citadel,built in 1804 and with design help from Vauban. this was no help in later years when the French invaded and suffered even more during the Tet offensive in 1968. Slowly but surely it is being restored but even now some of the gates and palaces look stunning but the war damaged areas make an interesting and poignant contrast. For such an extraordinarily historic complex it was surprising how empty the site was. even though it shut at 5 we were free to wander around until 6. For dinner we had a local specialty ,a clay pot dish that was quite sweet and spicy but very nice washed down with the local beer.