Hue

Hue needs 2 days: the Imperial Citadel, with a Purple Forbidden City modeled on Beijing's, on one, and a boat ride down the Perfume River to the tombs of the Nguyen emperors, on the other. January-April avoids central Vietnam's heaviest rains. It's inexpensive. It was Vietnam's imperial capital throughout the entire Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), the last Vietnamese dynasty, and its Citadel, heavily damaged during the 1968 Tet Offensive, remains under partial restoration since UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1993.