Attraction
Hoi An Ancient Town
The UNESCO-listed former trading port of Faifo, with more than a thousand preserved houses, Chinese assembly halls, temples and museums set along the Thu Bon River.
Most of the things to do in Hoi An are within walking distance of each other in the Ancient Town, the former trading port of Faifo that UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1999. Its streets hold more than a thousand preserved houses, Chinese assembly halls such as the Fujian hall on Tran Phu Street, temples, small museums and the Japanese Covered Bridge, restored in 2024. Beyond the old town lie Tra Que vegetable village, Thanh Ha pottery village, the nipa palm wetland of Bay Mau and An Bang Beach, and day trips run to My Son Sanctuary, the Marble Mountains and the Cham Islands.
Food is a major reason to visit. Hoi An has its own dishes, including cao lau noodles, white rose dumplings, chicken rice and some of Vietnam's best-known banh mi, alongside riverside restaurants, cooking schools, tea houses and coffee roasters. Evenings are relaxed, with the night market on An Hoi, a bamboo circus at the Lune Center and beach bars at An Bang. Three days covers the old town and the nearby villages, and four or five days allows time for My Son, the islands and the beach.
Attraction
The UNESCO-listed former trading port of Faifo, with more than a thousand preserved houses, Chinese assembly halls, temples and museums set along the Thu Bon River.
Attraction
A small roofed bridge begun by Japanese merchants in the 1590s, with a temple built onto it in 1653 and a full restoration completed in 2024.
Attraction
A late 18th-century merchant house kept by the same family for seven generations, combining Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese building traditions on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.
Attraction
The grandest of Hoi An's Chinese assembly halls, founded by Fujian merchants in 1697 and dedicated to Thien Hau, the goddess of the sea.
Attraction
A temple from 1653 dedicated to Quan Cong, the loyal general of China's Three Kingdoms era, and one of the two headline sites on the Ancient…
Attraction
A valley of ruined Cham Hindu temples built between the 4th and 13th centuries, about 35 km from Hoi An and listed by UNESCO in 1999.
Café
A calm tea house on Tran Phu Street staffed by speech- and hearing-impaired people, where you order in writing and taste Vietnamese teas in near silence.
Café
A home-grown Hoi An coffee roaster founded in 2015, serving Vietnamese and specialty coffee in historic buildings on Tran Phu and Tran Cao Van.
Café
A small specialty coffee shop on Phan Boi Chau Street where owner Le Quang Huy roasts Dalat Yellow Bourbon Arabica daily for his own house blend.
Café
A family-run coffee shop in a shady courtyard off Tran Phu Street, roasting its own beans and serving pour-overs, cold brew and coconut coffees.
Café
A tea room in an old two-storey merchant's house on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, with around 25 teas, a garden courtyard, a gallery and herbal footbaths.
Café
A dessert shop on Tran Hung Dao Street specialising in Vietnamese che, best known for coconut gelato served in a fresh coconut.
Hotel
A beachfront resort of 100 private villas on Ha My Beach, inspired by traditional Vietnamese architecture, with a cooking academy and an award-winning spa.
Hotel
A riverside resort of 92 rooms and suites on the Thu Bon River, less than a kilometre from the old town, with free bicycles and a…
Hotel
A small riverside hotel near the Ancient Town, styled after old Faifo with yellow walls and timber, offering suites, a pool, a spa and a waterfront…
Hotel
A wellness-focused resort five minutes from the Ancient Town, built around an open design without fences and a large spa with a Himalayan salt steam room.
Hotel
A garden resort on Hung Vuong Street, minutes from the Ancient Town, with four pools, a spa, free bicycles and shuttle, and cooking and lantern-making activities.
Hotel
A long-established 4-star hotel steps from the Ancient Town, open since 1991 on the site of a French colonial administrative building, with 150 rooms and a…
Bar
The evening market on Nguyen Hoang Street on An Hoi, across the river from the old town, with around 50 stalls of street food, lanterns and…
Bar
A bamboo dome theatre where the Hoai and Thu Bon rivers meet, staging Teh Dar, a bamboo circus inspired by the music and traditions of the…
Bar
A European-style deli, cafe and wine bar in a 100-year-old colonial villa on Nguyen Duy Hieu Street, known for its charcuterie, wines and craft beer.
Bar
A long-running beach bar and restaurant on An Bang Beach, known for sunset drinks, seafood and live music on weekend evenings.
Bar
An open-air terrace bar above the Central Market at the corner of Bach Dang and Hoang Dieu, with river views, wines by the glass and Vietnamese…
Bar
A bohemian bar, cafe and gallery on Phan Boi Chau Street run by writer and artist Nguyen Qui Duc, known for craft spirits, whiskies and a…
Restaurant
Ms Vy's original restaurant in an old house on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, serving Hoi An and Vietnamese dishes from family recipes, with an open kitchen…
Restaurant
Chef Tran Thanh Duc's riverside restaurant, open since 2008, serving inventive Vietnamese fusion dishes with views across to the Japanese Covered Bridge.
Restaurant
A Vietnamese restaurant in a heritage house more than 200 years old on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, with a balcony, a bar and a menu of…
Restaurant
The family dumpling house on Hai Ba Trung Street behind Hoi An's famous white rose dumplings, where you can watch them being made and try wrapping…
Restaurant
Hoi An's most famous banh mi shop, run by Madam Phuong on Phan Chau Trinh Street and made well known by Anthony Bourdain.
Restaurant
A small banh mi shop on Tran Cao Van Street run by Madam Khanh, known as the Banh Mi Queen, famous for her mixed banh mi…
Thing to do
A centuries-old vegetable and herb growing village about 2.5 km north of the old town, where visitors can try traditional farming and cook with the harvest.
Thing to do
A large outdoor show with more than 500 performers that tells 400 years of Hoi An's history without dialogue, staged most evenings at Hoi An Impression…
Thing to do
A 16th-century pottery village 3 km south-west of the old town, where craftsmen still shape clay by hand and visitors can try the wheel themselves.
Thing to do
A 57-hectare nipa palm wetland about 5 km east of the old town, known for coracle rides, fishing activities and its history as a wartime base.
Thing to do
One of Hoi An's largest tailoring houses, with more than 300 tailors, designers and craftsmen and branches on Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Tran Hung…
Tour operator
A long-running Hoi An cooking school on the Thu Bon River, combining a market tour, a boat trip and a herb garden walk with hands-on cooking…
Tour operator
A local tour company running since 2005, offering basket boat, fishing village and rice-farming experiences in the countryside around Hoi An.
Tour operator
A walking food tour run since 2011 by a Hoi An company, with more than 40 tastings at markets, producers and street vendors and hotel pick-up…
Tour operator
A photography tour company teaching people photography in Hoi An since 2009, with private sunrise, sunset and old-town photo walks and hotel pick-up.
Tour operator
A Hoi An dive shop on Cua Dai Street running snorkelling and diving trips and PADI courses in the Cham Islands marine protected area.
Three days covers the Ancient Town, its heritage sites and nearby villages such as Tra Que; four or five days allows time for My Son Sanctuary, the Cham Islands and An Bang Beach
Hotels on the edge of the Ancient Town, such as those on Tran Hung Dao Street and along the river, let you walk to the sights, while resorts near Ha My and the beaches suit a quieter stay
Da Nang International Airport is the main gateway; taxis and hotel transfers make the trip by road in under an hour
Street food, banh mi and local noodle shops are inexpensive, while riverside restaurants, cooking classes and beach resorts cost considerably more
Hoi An is a small, relaxed town, but take the usual precautions: keep bags and phones secure in crowds, take care on the roads outside the pedestrian zone and check your government's travel advice before you go
Yes, a combined sightseeing ticket covers the old town and a set number of heritage sites, and it can be used for up to three days
Cao lau noodles, white rose dumplings, chicken rice, mi quang and banh mi are the town's best-known dishes