Central Vietnam

Central Vietnam is the country's cultural heart, and the easiest region to fall in love with. In Hue, the walled citadel of the Nguyen emperors sits beside the Perfume River, its throne halls, moats and royal tombs scattered through pine forests and lotus ponds. A dragon boat ride at dusk to the Thien Mu Pagoda is one of the quietest, loveliest hours in Vietnam.

South of Hue, the Hai Van Pass climbs into the clouds and drops down to the long white beaches of Da Nang. The city has grown into a relaxed seaside base with fine resorts, rooftop bars and the Marble Mountains just behind it, their caves hiding Buddhist shrines carved into the rock.

Half an hour further on, Hoi An stops time. The old town's mustard-yellow shophouses, Japanese covered bridge and silk lanterns glow after dark, when the Thu Bon River fills with floating candles. Days here are spent cycling past rice fields to An Bang beach, picking herbs in Tra Que village before a cooking class, having a suit tailored in twenty-four hours, or tasting cao lau, a noodle dish found nowhere else in the world. Nearby, the brick towers of My Son recall the Cham kingdom that ruled this coast a thousand years ago.