3 Best Sights in The Central Coast, Vietnam

Built at the beginning of the 19th century, the Forbidden Purple City, inside the Imperial City, was almost entirely destroyed during the Vietnam War; now it's slowly being restored to its former glory. The preserved open corridors, which were used to connect the main palaces in the Forbidden Purple City together, are ornately adorned with lavish red and gold paint. Paintings and photographs about Nguyen Dynasty and old Hue are also exhibited in these open corridors.

In its glory days the Forbidden Purple City housed members of the Imperial family and the concubines and eunuchs who served them. Anyone else who entered was executed. After the 1968 Tet Offensive, only the Royal Theater on the right-hand side and the intimate and restored Royal Library remained intact.

The Imperial City, also known as the Imperial Enclosure, was once a complex of palaces and pavilions where civil and religious ceremonies took place. Inside it was the Forbidden Purple City, where the royal family lived. Now the Imperial City has buried the few remnants of its past glory beneath the sporadic vegetation that has taken over the ruins, but restoration work is in progress and the site still conveys a sense of splendor. There are four gateways into the enclosure: the Gate of Peace (Cua Hoa Binh), the Gate of Humanity (Cua Hien Nhan), the Gate of Virtue (Cua Chuong Duc), and the South Gate (Ngo Mon). You can only get to the Imperial City after you have entered the citadel.

About 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Danang, or 45 km (28 miles) due west of Hoi An, are the My Son Cham ruins: former temples and towers dedicated to kings and deities, particularly Shiva, who was considered the founder of the Kingdom of Champa. Construction first began in the 4th century under the order of the Cham king Bhadresvara and continued until the 13th century. With more than 70 brick structures, of which some 20 remain in recognizable form today, My Son was the most important religious and architectural center of the Kingdom of Champa and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Although extensively damaged during World War II and the Vietnam War, extensive conservation work has ensured that the My Son complex still displays vestiges of its former glory. An interesting small museum and performance stage that hosts ad hoc Aspara dance and music performances is located at the entrance.

The best tours incorporate a visit to the Danang Museum of Cham Sculpture. From Hoi An it's possible to take a boat tour to the ruins.