Hoi An Night Market

Hoi An Night Market is the town's main evening market and, for many visitors, the place where an evening in Hoi An begins or ends. It runs along Nguyen Hoang Street on An Hoi, across the river from the old town, facing the Japanese Covered Bridge across the water.

The market has around 50 stalls. They sell handmade traditional goods, souvenirs and regional specialities, including bronze gongs and drums from the Phuoc Kieu bronze-casting village and silk clothing from Hoi An's silk producers, as well as novelties such as grains of rice engraved with names. Several stalls sell silk lanterns, which keeps prices competitive, so it is one of the best places in town to buy one to take home. Street food stalls make it easy to graze on snacks as you walk, so you can treat the market as an informal dinner as well as a shopping trip.

The market opens every evening from about 17:00 until 23:00. It is busiest after dark, when the lanterns are lit and visitors cross from the old town after dinner. Because several stalls sell similar lanterns and souvenirs, it is worth comparing a few before you buy.

For a sit-down meal before or after the market, Pho May, at 84 Nguyen Phuc Tan in the centre of An Hoi, is listed by recent food guides as a good dinner stop near the market. Mango Mango, at 45 Nguyen Phuc Chu, and the Hoi An Lune Center, at 1A Nguyen Phuc Chu, are also on the An Hoi side, so you can combine the market with a riverside dinner or a show.

The market suits everyone, from families to couples and groups of friends, and it is free to wander. The old town's pedestrian zone, which runs until 21:30 in summer and 21:00 in winter, makes walking between the market and the Ancient Town straightforward in the early evening.

If you prefer a quieter alternative, a smaller cluster of evening stalls trades around the Central Market area on Tran Quy Cap and Bach Dang Streets, which travel writers have described as less crowded and easier with children.