The Citadel is a World Heritage Site. I had wanted to see the Citadel, especially the Forbidden Purple City ever since I read "Daughters of the River Huong" which was written by a descendant of the royal family. This photo shows the gate where we entered the complex. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time we were there, but fortunately the hotel had umbrellas for us to use.

The Citadel was established by Emperor Gia Long in 1805. It has 3 concentric enclosures: the Civic, Imperial and Forbidden Purple Cities. The Indochina Wars did a great deal of damage and the Tet Offensive wiped out the Forbidden Purple City that I had hoped to see. Restoration is ongoing.