Vong Canh Hill, Thien An Hill and An Dinh Palace in Hue: How to Combine the South-Bank Sights

Beyond the axis of the Imperial City and the big royal tombs, the south of the Perfume River holds three stops with a character of their own: An Dinh Palace, built in a neo-classical European style on the bank of the An Cuu River; the quiet pine forest on Thien An Hill; and the summit of Vong Canh Hill, with a sweeping view of the winding upper Perfume River. Because all three lie along the same southern and south-western strip, you can fit them into a compact route of 3 to 4 hours before you get in the car for Phong Nha or the airport.

An Dinh Palace (179B Nguyen Hue): the Khai Tuong building and opening hours

The easiest place to begin a half-day on the south bank is An Dinh Palace, at 179B Nguyen Hue Street, right beside the An Cuu River. It is one of the few Nguyen-dynasty court buildings to combine early-20th-century European neo-classical construction with traditional Eastern decoration: the four sacred animals, the eight treasures and plum-and-bird motifs in relief made from ceramic shards.

After the main gate and the octagonal house, the centrepiece is the three-storey Khai Tuong building, painted a warm yellow. The ground floor keeps six oil-painted murals of Nguyen-dynasty tombs, of high artistic value, while the second and third floors show the former living quarters of Empress Dowager Tu Cung and the family of Emperor Bao Dai. An Dinh Palace is open every day from 07:00 to 17:30. The grounds are flat and easy to walk, and a visit with photos takes only about 45 to 60 minutes. Cars of 4 to 16 seats can drop you right at the gate on Nguyen Hue Street and park in the yard beside the monument.

Thien An Hill pine forest: a shaded road south of the old capital

Leaving An Dinh Palace along Nguyen Hue Street, a private car needs about 12 to 15 minutes along the Dan Nam Giao – Minh Mang axis to reach Thien An Hill. On gently rising ground about 70 to 100 metres above sea level, Thien An is set clearly apart from the traffic of the city, thanks to old pitch pines that rise straight on both sides of the winding road.

Under the pines the air is always 2 to 3 degrees Celsius cooler than in the town centre, with a natural scent of resin. You can stop at open patches beside the forest road to walk on the carpet of dry pine needles, take photographs or visit the grounds of the Thien An monastery at the quiet top of the hill. Because the road over Thien An has some curved slopes leading to the Khai Dinh – Huyen Tran Cong Chua axis, a private car with a driver who knows the terrain lets your group stop for photos flexibly and move quickly on to Vong Canh Hill.

Vong Canh Hill: a 300-metre paved walk to the bend in the Perfume River

From Thien An Hill the car travels another 10 minutes or so along Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street (past the area of Tu Duc Tomb and the Thuy Xuan incense village) to the car park at the foot of Vong Canh Hill. In the past the road up the hill was rough gravel, but the whole summit of Vong Canh is now a landscaped open park with clean natural stone paths, resting benches and lighting for the late afternoon.

Cars of 4, 7 and 16 seats stop at the gathering area at the end of Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street. From there you walk gently up the slope under the pines for about 300 metres (5 to 7 minutes) to reach the 43-metre hillside beside the river. Standing at Vong Canh between 16:15 and 17:30, you look out over the whole soft curve of the upper Perfume River, with the green Thanh Tra pomelo orchards of the old Thuy Bieu village on the opposite bank and, far off, the tiled roofs of the tombs appearing and disappearing among the pine hills.

How to link a 3.5-hour loop before heading to Phong Nha or the airport

For groups who have already finished the Imperial City and the main tombs by following the advice on visiting the royal tombs and Thien Mu Pagoda, or who have already taken the full one-day Hue city tour, the trio of An Dinh Palace, Thien An Hill and Vong Canh Hill is a neat piece to fill the half-day left before leaving Hue.

You can apply one of two practical scenarios:

• Morning scenario before heading to Phong Nha: Your group checks out of the hotel at 07:30, loads all the suitcases into the boot of the private car and calls at An Dinh Palace (07:45 – 08:40), drives through the Thien An pine forest (09:00 – 09:30) and strolls on Vong Canh Hill (09:45 – 10:30). After an early lunch in Hue at 11:00, the car goes straight into the private car from Hue to Phong Nha so you arrive in time to check in at Phong Nha – Ke Bang in the late afternoon.
• Afternoon scenario before an evening flight: Your group checks out at 13:30, leaves the luggage in the car and visits An Dinh Palace (14:00 – 15:00) and Thien An Hill (15:15 – 16:00), then watches the sunset from Vong Canh Hill (16:15 – 17:15) before the driver takes the western bypass straight to Phu Bai or Da Nang airport.