Culture Trip, a London-based travel site, has recommended that tourists visit Hue and Hoi An in central Vietnam at least once in their life.

Hue, the former imperial capital on the banks of the beautiful Huong (Perfume) River, is one of the most stunning places to visit, with an endless number of breathtaking pagodas, palaces, temples, and centuries-old citadel walls, as well as delicious cuisine. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is the perfect place for those in search of cultural adventures, according to Culture Trip.

Established as the capital of unified Vietnam in 1802, Hue was not only the political but also the cultural and religious center of the country until 1945, under the Nguyen Dynasty, Vietnam’s last. The Complex of Hue Monuments features a range of architecture from the Nguyen Dynasty, such as the Imperial City (Hoang Thanh Hue), including the famous High Noon Gate (Ngo Mon), the tombs of Nguyen emperors (Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Dong Khanh, and Khai Dinh), and monuments, temples, and pagodas. A visit to Hue is not complete without a day spent appreciating the historical value of the citadel and tombs. The Complex of Hue Monuments became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1993.

Meanwhile, Hoi An is regarded as Vietnam’s most charming destination, Culture Trip wrote. The ancient town is incredibly beautiful to walk around, with its narrow and winding lanes and old Chinese and Japanese-style houses. Tailors are virtually everywhere, making clothes of good quality at reasonable prices.

Located in the central province of Quang Nam, Hoi An was a leading trading port in Southeast Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its architecture is a combination of Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese, with a little Western as well. It became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1999. The city’s Hoai River and its channels made the list of the ten most famous canals in the world on the US-based travel website touropia.com in 2014.

Culture Trip’s Top 12 Asian cities includes George Town (Malaysia), Banda Seri Begawan (Brunei), Yangon (Myanmar), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Tokyo (Japan), Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Hong Kong and Shanghai (China), and Legazpi (Philippines).

VN  Economic Times