Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient Town is the reason most visitors come to Hoi An. From the 15th to the 19th century the town was a trading port where foreign merchants came to do business, and by the start of the 17th century Chinese and Japanese residents were arriving in a steady flow. When Da Nang developed as the main port in the 19th century, Hoi An declined, and that decline is largely what kept its streets intact. UNESCO inscribed the old town as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

The scale of what survives is the main draw. The old town counts 1,360 monuments and heritage sites, including 1,068 preserved houses, along with assembly halls built by Chinese trading communities, family chapels, temples and French-style townhouses from the colonial period. Among the best-known sites are the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Fujian Assembly Hall at 46 Tran Phu, Quan Cong Temple at 24 Tran Phu and Tan Ky Old House on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, each of which has its own entry in this guide.

Entry to the shared space of the old town and its heritage sites works on a combined ticket. The basic ticket covers the Ancient Town, one of the two headline sites (the Japanese Covered Bridge or Quan Cong Temple) and two further cultural sites, while the higher ticket adds the museum system and three further sites. You buy it once and can use it for up to three days during your stay, so keep the stub, as it is needed to enter and leave the old town. Groups of eight or more can ask the management board for a free guide.

The core of the old town becomes a pedestrian and non-motorised zone from 09:00 until 21:30 in summer and until 21:00 in winter, which makes walking much easier. Traditional art performances take place daily at 10:15, 15:15 and 16:15 at Hoai River Square, 01 Cao Hong Lanh Street, where they moved in March 2026, and the Japanese Cultural Exhibition House at 06 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai holds tea ceremony demonstrations at 09:30 and 16:30.

A sensible plan is to spread the sites over two mornings or afternoons rather than rushing them in one go, since the ticket allows several days. Combine the bridge and the assembly halls on Tran Phu Street with the museums on Nguyen Thai Hoc and Bach Dang, then stay for the evening, when the riverside and the streets are lit by lanterns. Hotels on the edge of the old town, such as those on Tran Hung Dao Street, are within walking distance, and many lend bicycles to guests.