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Eve in historic Hue City by the romantic
Perfume River creates memorable mo-
ments. December is the perfect month
to visit. People are excited and streets
are decorated with colourful lights. This
is also one of the driest months and the
days are sunny and comfortable while
the nights are cool.
Hue’s well-preserved citadels, tombs
and pagodas have been recognised by
UNESCO and are among the country’s
top cultural attractions. The former im-
perial city of Hue – once home to the
royal throne for Vietnam’s Nguyen Dy-
nasty - is divided by the Huong (Per-
fume) river and a network of canals.
The former imperial capital has
many attractions with must-sees in-
cluding the Imperial Citadel, where the
Nguyen Dynasty ruled from between
1802 and 1945; the Hue Royal Fine Arts
Museum; and the Royal tombs of the
Nguyen Kings.
Taking to the water is a great way
to see the city’s sights, and the famed
Hue dragon boats – the local motorised
equivalent of a Venetian gondola – are
the best way to travel.
After a perfect Christmas feast with
royal cuisine at one of Hue’s beautiful
traditional garden houses, you could
head to one of the following churches:
Phu Cam Notre Dame (1 Doan Huu
Trung street); Gia Hoai (10 To Hien
Thanh); or Our Lady of Perpetual Help
(142 Nguyen Hue).
HO CHI MINH CITY
In some areas of Ho Chi Minh City,
usually in Catholic parishes, people have
crib scenes in front of their houses and
decorate whole streets, turning them
into Christmas neighbourhoods. Streets
and markets are festooned with colour-
ful lanterns, streamers, decorations and
Christian churches buzz with people full
of Christmas spirit.
Like in Hanoi, in Ho Chi Minh City
Christmas is celebrated joyously with
people thronging city roads on Christ-
mas Eve which is seen as more impor-
tant than Christmas Day. On Christmas
Eve both catholics and non-catholics
gather around Notre-Dame Basilica Ca-
thedral, the most famous and beautiful
church in town.
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The grand Notre Dame catherdral in
Ho Chi Minh City