12 Top Things to Do in Hội An, Vietnam

Built by the Japanese merchant community in the late 16th century, the Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu) connects Tran Phu Street to Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street across a narrow canal. It is the single most recognisable structure in Hoi An and appears on the 20,000 VND banknote. The wooden bridge shelters a small Buddhist temple dedicated to the Taoist god of weather, and stone carvings of a dog and a monkey flank its entrances - said to represent the zodiac years in which construction began and ended.

Entry is included in the Hoi An Old Town ticket (120,000 VND / about 4.50 EUR for five sites). The bridge is open from 08:00 to 21:00 daily, though it is most atmospheric after dark when lanterns illuminate the canal. Restoration work in 2023-2024 replaced weakened timbers while keeping the original 18th-century design intact. The bridge is short - you can cross it in under a minute - but the surrounding lanes reward slower exploration.

Pro Tip: Visit at 07:00 before the ticket booths open - early risers can walk through and photograph the bridge with almost no one else around. Return after 19:00 for the lantern-lit version.

The Fujian (Phúc Kiến) Assembly Hall is the largest and most ornate of Hoi An's five Chinese congregation halls. Founded in 1697 by merchants from Fujian province, the complex centres on a courtyard filled with incense coils that hang from the ceiling and burn for weeks at a time. The main altar honours Thien Hau, the goddess of the sea, who was believed to protect sailors on the perilous trade routes between China and Southeast Asia.

Ceramic dragons and mythical figures line the rooftops, and a rear hall displays a scale model of a Fujian trading junk. The courtyard's rock gardens and bonsai collection add a layer of quiet beauty between the incense smoke. Entry is covered by the Old Town ticket. Plan 20 to 30 minutes here, longer if you want to light a spiral incense coil (available for a small donation of 10,000 to 20,000 VND).

Pro Tip: Write your wish on a tag, attach it to a hanging incense coil, and let it burn over the coming days. The coils create a striking visual canopy and your wish slowly rises with the smoke.

The Cantonese (Quảng Đông) Assembly Hall was established in 1786 and stands out for its spectacular entrance gate, where ceramic dragons twist across the roof in a mosaic of coloured porcelain shards. Inside, the hall honours Quan Cong, a general deified for his loyalty and righteousness. A central fountain features an intricate porcelain dragon sculpture rising from the water, framed by manicured gardens on both sides.

This hall receives fewer visitors than the Fukian Assembly Hall, which makes it a calmer place to appreciate the architecture. The detailed wood carvings on the interior beams depict scenes from Chinese folklore. Entry is included in the Old Town ticket. Allow 15 to 20 minutes for a thorough visit. The courtyard is a good spot to rest on a stone bench between sightseeing stops.

Pro Tip: Look up at the roof ridgeline from the courtyard. The porcelain dragon mosaics are best appreciated from below with the sky behind them - a detail most visitors miss by heading straight inside.

Tan Ky House is a 200-year-old merchant residence that has remained in the same family for seven generations. The architecture blends Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese design elements - a living example of the cultural exchange that defined Hoi An's trading era. Carved wooden panels in the front room show Chinese characters inlaid with mother-of-pearl, while the structure's load-bearing columns follow Japanese joinery techniques with no nails used.

Family members guide visitors through the narrow two-storey house, pointing out flood-level markings on interior columns and explaining how goods were loaded from boats directly into the rear of the building via the river. The visit takes about 15 minutes. Entry is covered by the Old Town ticket. High-water marks from monsoon floods in 1964 and 1999 are still visible on the pillars, some reaching above head height.

Pro Tip: Ask the family guide to show you the hidden roof hatch used to move furniture to the upper floor during floods. It is not part of the standard tour unless you request it.

Housed in a restored traditional timber building, the Museum of Trade Ceramics traces Hoi An's centuries-long role as a ceramics trading hub. Display cases hold pieces recovered from shipwrecks and archaeological digs - Chinese celadon, Japanese Hizen ware, Vietnamese blue-and-white pottery, and Middle Eastern glazed bowls, all passing through this port between the 15th and 18th centuries. The collection is modest in size but sharp in focus, connecting each piece to the trade route that brought it here.

The building itself is worth studying. Its wooden architecture follows the traditional Hoi An shop-house style with a central courtyard open to the sky. Bilingual English-Vietnamese labels explain the provenance of each artefact clearly. Entry is covered by the Old Town ticket. Most visitors spend 20 to 30 minutes here. The museum rarely gets crowded, making it a good retreat from the busy streets outside.

Pro Tip: Visit this museum before exploring the assembly halls. Understanding the maritime trade context first gives the Chinese and Japanese merchant buildings much more meaning.

Hoi An Central Market occupies a long riverside building and the surrounding streets at the eastern end of Tran Phu. The market is at its peak between 06:00 and 09:00 when farmers from Tra Que and Cam Thanh arrive with herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Inside, the wet market section sells fresh fish hauled in from the Thu Bon estuary that morning. The food stalls clustered near the river entrance serve cao lau (thick rice noodles with pork and crispy croutons), mi quang (turmeric noodle soup), and banh mi - the three dishes Hoi An does better than anywhere else in Vietnam.

Prices for a bowl of cao lau or mi quang range from 25,000 to 40,000 VND (1 to 1.50 EUR). The upper level of the market building houses fabric and souvenir vendors. No entry ticket is needed - the market is free and open daily. It thins out considerably after 11:00, so early visits reward you with both better food and a livelier atmosphere.

Pro Tip: For the best cao lau, look for the stalls where locals are eating, not the ones with English menus. The women-run stalls along the river side of the market building consistently serve the freshest bowls.

After sunset, the Thu Bon River transforms into a corridor of coloured light. Hundreds of paper lanterns float on the water and line the bridges, while wooden rowboats carry visitors downstream past the Ancient Town's waterfront. The ride itself is short - roughly 20 to 30 minutes - but it is one of the defining experiences of Hoi An. Boats seat two to four passengers and depart continuously from the Bach Dang Street riverfront between 18:00 and 21:30.

A boat ride costs 50,000 to 100,000 VND (2 to 4 EUR) per person, including one or two paper lanterns to release onto the water. The experience is most dramatic on the 14th day of each lunar month, when the Ancient Town switches off electric lights for the Hoi An Lantern Festival and the entire Old Town is lit only by candles and lanterns. Negotiate the price before boarding - the first price quoted is usually double the going rate.

Pro Tip: Skip the boats closest to the An Hoi Bridge where crowds concentrate. Walk 200 metres east along Bach Dang toward the market end, where boatwomen charge less and the ride is calmer.

Hoi An's silk lanterns are among Vietnam's most recognisable handicrafts, and several family-run workshops on the south bank of the Thu Bon let visitors make their own. Sessions last 30 to 45 minutes. An instructor walks you through stretching silk over a bamboo frame, gluing the seams, and decorating the finished lantern with tassels and beads. The result is a foldable, carry-on-friendly lantern you can take home.

Workshop prices run from 100,000 to 150,000 VND (4 to 6 EUR) per person, including all materials and the finished lantern. No booking is needed; walk in any time between 09:00 and 20:00. Hoi An's lantern tradition dates back centuries, rooted in the belief that lanterns bring luck and ward off misfortune. The concentration of lantern shops on Nguyen Hoang Street makes this area one of the most photographed spots in town after dark.

Pro Tip: Choose a plain white or cream silk if you want the most versatile lantern. Bold colours look striking on the street but can be harder to fit into home decor once you return.

Hoi An has been a tailoring centre for decades, with over 400 shops offering made-to-measure clothing at a fraction of Western prices. A fully lined wool-blend suit can cost 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 VND (115 to 190 EUR), a silk dress from 500,000 VND (19 EUR), and a cotton shirt from 300,000 VND (11 EUR). Most shops can complete a garment in 24 hours, with one fitting the same evening and the final pickup the following day.

Quality varies sharply between shops. The best-regarded tailors include Yaly Couture, BeBe, and A Dong Silk, all of which have been operating for over 20 years. Bring a reference photo or a garment you want copied for the most accurate results. Budget two fittings minimum for a suit - rush orders with only one fitting are the main source of disappointing outcomes. Most tailors can ship internationally if you run out of luggage space.

Pro Tip: Place your order on day one of your Hoi An stay. This allows time for two or three fittings and adjustments rather than a rushed single fitting, which dramatically improves the final result.

Half-day cooking classes are one of the most popular things to do in Hoi An, and the format is remarkably consistent across providers. A morning class typically begins at 08:00 with a guided walk through the Central Market to select ingredients, followed by a short boat ride or bicycle trip to the cooking school's riverside kitchen. You will prepare three to five dishes - usually including cao lau, fresh spring rolls, banh xeo (sizzling crepes), and a dessert - then eat everything you made for lunch.

Prices range from 600,000 to 850,000 VND (23 to 32 EUR) per person and typically include pickup, all ingredients, and a recipe booklet. Top-rated schools like Thuan Tinh Island, Red Bridge, and Green Bamboo maintain small class sizes (8 to 12 participants). Afternoon sessions starting around 14:00 are also available and tend to be slightly less crowded. Vegetarian and vegan menus are offered by most providers on request.

Pro Tip: Book a morning class rather than an afternoon one. The market tour component is far more interesting before 10:00, when vendors are actively trading and the produce is at its freshest.

An Bang is a wide, golden-sand beach with gentle waves and a relaxed atmosphere that sets it apart from more developed Vietnamese beach resorts. The swimming is good year-round, though the calmest conditions run from April to September. A row of open-air restaurants and beach bars lines the shore, each providing free sun loungers and umbrellas if you order food or drinks. Expect to pay 50,000 VND (2 EUR) for a lounger if you do not order anything.

The beach stretches for several kilometres in both directions, so walking north for five minutes puts significant distance between you and the main restaurant cluster. Seafood lunches at the beachfront places are good value - grilled prawns, fried fish, and a cold beer for roughly 150,000 to 250,000 VND (6 to 10 EUR). An Bang has grown in popularity but remains far less commercial than the tourist beach at Cua Dai to the south, which has also suffered from erosion in recent years.

Pro Tip: Cycle to the beach in the early afternoon when the Ancient Town is at its hottest, swim until 16:00, then ride back for the sunset lantern glow. Free bicycles from most guesthouses make this an easy routine.

Tra Que is a working vegetable village that has supplied Hoi An's kitchens with herbs and greens for over 300 years. The village sits between the De Vong River and a lagoon, and its plots of mint, basil, coriander, lettuce, and spring onions are cultivated using traditional methods - no chemical fertilisers, just seaweed compost raked from the riverbed. Guided farm tours let visitors try their hand at hoeing, watering with twin-bucket shoulder poles, and harvesting herbs.

Most tours (150,000 to 250,000 VND / 6 to 10 EUR) combine the farm walk with a cooking session and a herbal foot bath. The village is compact and flat, ideal for cycling. Early morning visits between 06:00 and 08:00 catch farmers at work before the heat sets in. Tra Que's herbs are the reason Hoi An's cao lau and mi quang taste different from versions served elsewhere in Vietnam - the soil and microclimate here produce a particular pungency that other regions cannot replicate.

Pro Tip: Combine Tra Que with a cooking class for a full farm-to-table morning. Several cooking schools (including Tra Que Water Wheel) operate directly in the village, so you pick your own herbs and cook with them 30 minutes later.