Hoi An

A small old trading town on the central coast, Hoi An is famous for two things: silk lanterns and tailors. The Old Town is a UNESCO site of yellow merchant houses, Chinese assembly halls, and a Japanese covered bridge, and at dusk every alley turns the colour of a paper lampshade. Custom suits and dresses are sewn overnight by a network of family tailors. Eat cao lau (the local noodle, made with water from a specific well), banh mi at the famous corner shop, and white rose dumplings at any restaurant on the riverfront. An Bang beach, ten minutes east, is the post-Old-Town wind-down.

Hoi An Ancient Town at night with mustard-yellow heritage buildings hung with hundreds of glowing silk lanterns and lantern-lit boats on the Thu Bon River — Ancient Town lanterns at night.

The 16th-century Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An, a wooden bridge with a curved tiled roof spanning a small canal under soft warm lantern light at dusk — Japanese Covered Bridge at dusk.

A woman in a white ao dai placing a glowing paper lantern onto the dark Thu Bon River with dozens of floating candles drifting downstream — Lantern release on the Thu Bon River.

A master tailor in a Hoi An shop measuring fabric beside rolls of colorful silk and cotton, with mannequins in tailored ao dai and suits in warm afternoon light — Hoi An tailor shop.

A steaming bowl of cao lau noodles topped with pork, crispy croutons, and fresh herbs at a Hoi An street stall, with a vendor in apron behind a charcoal pot — Cao lau street stall.

Traditional round bamboo basket boats on the white sand at An Bang Beach near Hoi An, fishermen pulling nets at the water's edge under a soft pink and gold sunrise sky — An Bang Beach at sunrise.

Ancient red-brick Cham Hindu temple ruins at My Son Sanctuary at sunrise, overgrown with moss and vines, weathered carvings and stone lingams in soft morning mist — My Son Sanctuary at sunrise.

Where to stay: The most luxurious hotels in Da Nang & Hoi An →

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