A former trading port on the Thu Bon River, with timber shophouses, Chinese assembly halls, the Japanese Covered Bridge and lantern-lit evenings
Hoi An's old town is compact and walkable: a grid of narrow streets running parallel to the river, lined with low shophouses that open onto the street at the front and back onto the water, where goods were once loaded. Ochre walls, dark timber frames and tiled roofs give the quarter its distinctive look, broken up by the ornate gates of Chinese assembly halls, family chapels and small pagodas. At the western end, the little Japanese Covered Bridge crosses a creek and has become the town's emblem.
By day the lanes fill with visitors, tailors' shops, cafés and craft stalls; in the evening, silk lanterns are lit along the streets and riverbank and small boats carry visitors along the Thu Bon. Beyond the old quarter lie vegetable villages, coconut-palm waterways, pottery and carpentry villages and the beaches of An Bang and Cua Dai, so most visitors stay several days rather than calling in for an afternoon.
The area belonged to the Champa kingdom, under which it served as a port on the maritime trade routes of the South China Sea. Vietnamese settlement grew from the late 15th century, and under the Nguyen lords in the 17th century Chinese and Japanese merchants settled in large numbers. UNESCO notes that the Japanese community numbered over a thousand at its peak, and the town became one of the busiest trading ports in South-East Asia, active from roughly the 15th to the 19th centuries. The Chinese communities built assembly halls for their regional associations, and the French added townhouses during the colonial period.
In the 19th century trade shifted to Da Nang, and Hoi An's port declined. That economic stagnation is the main reason its traditional streets survived largely unchanged. Vietnam classified the old town as a national heritage site in 1985, and UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List in 1999 as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Asian trading port. In 2025 the city of Hoi An was dissolved in a national administrative reform, and the old quarter is now a ward of Da Nang.
Hoi An is a living town, not a museum: families still run shops from the front rooms of their houses, and the central market by the river is busy from early morning with fish, herbs and noodles. The town is known for its own dishes, including cao lau noodles, wonton dishes and white rose dumplings, alongside banh mi from street stalls. Craft traditions such as lantern-making, tailoring, carpentry at Kim Bong and pottery at Thanh Ha are still part of local working life, and ancestral altars and small temples are tended daily.
Visitors buy a heritage ticket, which grants entry to the old quarter and a set number of monuments, then wander between assembly halls, old houses, small museums and the Japanese Covered Bridge. Many people order clothes from the town's tailors, take a cooking class or a market tour, and come back after dark when the lanterns are lit and boats drift along the river. Early-morning bicycle rides lead out through rice fields to Tra Que's herb gardens, the Thanh Ha pottery village and the coconut palms of Cam Thanh, and An Bang beach is only a short ride away.
March to May is the recommended time, with drier weather and comfortable temperatures. The summer months that follow are hot. From around October to January rain and storms are common in central Vietnam.
Checked against the sources on 29 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
An Bang beach and Cua Dai beach are a short ride east of the old town, and boats leave Cua Dai for the Cham Islands about 30 minutes offshore by speedboat. The Cham temple ruins of My Son lie roughly 40 kilometres to the south-west. Da Nang, with its airport, beaches and the Marble Mountains, is about 30 kilometres north.
Vietnam · 11 nights4★ HotelVietnam · 7 nights4★ ResortThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 29 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
