In a nutshell
- Hội An has the most beautiful old town in Vietnam — colorful lanterns, narrow alleyways, and zero scooters. It absolutely belongs on your Vietnam itinerary.
- The Old Town requires a combination ticket (120,000 dong) that gets you into five attractions of your choice — we’ll tell you which ones are worth picking.
- Beyond the historic center, Hội An also has stunning rice fields, lively markets, and long sandy beaches — all easily reachable by bike.
- Still looking for a place to stay? Check out our hotel tips for Hội An.
Hội An Attractions on a Map
Most of the highlights are located in Hội An’s Old Town. You can easily reach all of them on foot.
The beaches and rice fields on our list are a bit farther away. Your best bet is to get there by bike. You can borrow one for free at most hotels. And don’t worry about the chaotic traffic you might encounter elsewhere on your travels through Vietnam. In Hội An, everything moves at a much more relaxed pace than in the big cities.
To wrap things up, we’ve also got two great day trip destinations in the area around Hội An for you.
Hội An’s Old Town
The Old Town is THE thing to do in Hội An. It’s a seriously cool attraction in Vietnam and the most beautiful historic district in the country — probably even the most beautiful in Southeast Asia.
Colorful lanterns hang between the buildings everywhere you look, you stroll through narrow alleyways, and best of all: there are no scooters driving through the Old Town.
Within the Old Town, there are several sights like temples and historic houses you can visit. To do so, you’ll need to buy a combination ticket for 120,000 dong. The ticket gets you into any five of the 21 attractions total. Individual tickets are not available.
We’ll now walk you through the best things to see in Hội An’s Old Town.
Japanese Bridge
The most famous sight in Hội An’s Old Town is the Japanese Bridge — a small, covered bridge that’s seriously photogenic.
From the outside, it’s beautifully decorated, making it a great photo spot.
The Japanese Bridge was recently renovated and you can walk across it again. Just be prepared for plenty of other tourists wanting to do the same thing at the same time. The bridge is seriously popular.
Temples and Assembly Halls
In Hội An, you really can’t tell the difference between a temple and an assembly hall. The assembly halls were historically used as temples too and look very similar to them. That’s why we’ve grouped the two together in one section.
The buildings are elaborately decorated, with small gardens, statues, and many altars. In our opinion, these buildings offer the most to see of any category.
All the temples and assembly halls in Hội An are equally impressive. So no matter which ones you choose to visit, you really can’t go wrong. Here are your options:
- Quan Cong Temple
- Cam Pho Community House
- Minh Huong Community House
- Quang Trieu Assembly Hall
- Phuc Kien Assembly Hall
- Trieu Chau Assembly Hall
- Tran Family Chapel
Old Houses
Hội An has a number of very old houses, roughly 200 years old. Most are built of wood and still have some original furniture inside.
Info panels give you a little background on the history of the residents and the house.
This category has less to see than the temples and assembly halls, and the houses are fairly similar to one another. Still, it’s worth checking out at least one — it gives you a real sense of what life was like for the people of Hội An.
These are the old houses available to visit:
- Old House of Phung Hung
- Old House of Quan Thang
- Old House of Duc An
- Old House of Tan Ky
Museums
Of course, there are also a few museums in Hội An’s Old Town.
We visited the museum on Hội An’s history and culture and were not that impressed. There are few exhibits and the info panels are short — and often only in Vietnamese.
Here’s the selection of museums in Hội An:
- Museum of Ceramics
- Museum of Hội An’s History and Culture
- Museum of Sa Huynh Culture
- Folklore Museum
- Art Performance House
- XQ Gallery
Other Attractions Included in the Combination Ticket
In addition to the sights, the combination ticket also includes a few events.
We didn’t attend any of them with the combo ticket ourselves. But we did make lanterns with our host from our accommodation in Hội An, the Golden Soulmate Homestay, and we can highly recommend it. It was so much fun!
With the combination ticket, you can take part in three types of events:
- Workshop for lanterns, pottery, etc.
- Piano performance
- Traditional folk game
Thu Bồn River
The Thu Bồn River is the largest river in Hội An. It runs along the edge of the Old Town.
In the evenings especially, you’ll see lots of boats decorated with lanterns ferrying tourists up and down the river. Along the banks, you can buy small paper lanterns for just a few cents. As you set them adrift on the water, you’re supposed to make a wish.
Make sure to sit by the river one evening and soak up all the atmosphere.
Central Market
On the eastern edge of the Old Town, there’s a street market every day. It mainly sells fruit, vegetables, fish, and meat. This is mostly where locals come to stock up on groceries.
Next to the street market, there’s also a covered market hall where you can buy souvenirs and other odds and ends.
Night Market
This is the tourist-friendly alternative to the Central Market.
The Night Market runs every evening between 6 and 10 PM. You’ll find it across from the Old Town on the small An Hội Island.
There are lots of small food stalls selling snacks like crêpes, grilled bites, and rolled ice cream. Souvenir stalls are scattered in between, though most of them sell pretty much the same things.
Tailors in Hội An
Hội An is famous for getting clothes custom-made in as little as one to two days. It’s practically a must when you’re figuring out what to do in Hội An.
Every other shop in the Old Town is a tailor’s. You can choose your fabrics and styles, get fitted and measured, and usually have a fitting before you pick up your finished piece.
Prices are relatively affordable. Short dresses in very good quality start at around 60 euros, and a suit starts at around 140 euros.
The Most Beautiful Beaches in Hội An
Hội An is right on the coast. That means there are great beaches nearby where you can relax after sightseeing.
From the Old Town, it takes about 20–30 minutes by bike to reach the beaches.
These are the two most beautiful beaches near Hội An:
- An Bang Beach: a long sandy beach with plenty of restaurants and beach bars. You can rent a lounger for around 50,000 to 80,000 dong (about 2–3 euros).
- Cua Dai Beach: a wide beach lined with palm trees. The beach is perfect for a family vacation with kids because the water is shallow. It’s also very clean.
Cam Kim Rice Fields
In the middle of the Thu Bồn River, you’ll find a large island covered in rice fields. It’s a gorgeous spot for cycling through the countryside. Along the way, you can stop and watch locals at work — it’s truly fascinating.
There are hardly any other tourists on the island and everything feels completely authentic. It’s a refreshing change from Hội An’s Old Town, which has become pretty touristy by now.
Coconut Boat Tours
Something else you’ll definitely notice in Hội An is the coconut boat tours. These are tours on the outskirts of Hội An in round boats that look like giant coconut shells. They cost around 150,000 dong (5.50 euros) for two people.
The tours are sold to you as a peaceful ride through lush greenery with palm trees lining the banks. And that’s true for the first part. But after about ten minutes, you end up on a wider stretch of the river where there are hundreds of other boats, some with DJs, and it turns into a big party scene.
Honestly, the coconut boat tours in Hội An are way too touristy for our taste, and the locals put on a bit of a show for tips.
Day Trip to My Son Sanctuary
If you’re spending several days in Hội An, you should definitely make a side trip to My Son Sanctuary. It’s the ruins of an ancient temple complex where you walk through many old, weathered buildings with relief carvings.
The complex was bombed during the Vietnam War, leaving only ruins standing today. But that actually makes the whole place feel even more mysterious.
Even the journey to the temple complex is great, as you’re surrounded by lush greenery the whole way.
Try to arrive as early as possible. By late morning it gets very crowded, and in summer especially, it gets extremely hot. It’s also worth booking a guided tour — your guide will share fascinating stories about the complex.
Book the My Son Sanctuary guided tour
Day Trip to Hai Van Pass
Another great excursion from Hội An is the Hai Van Pass. It runs from Da Nang to Hue. Da Nang is north of Hội An. You can get there by taxi in about 50 minutes for around 250,000 dong (about 9 euros).
The pass winds along the coast and through the mountains. From the top, you get a stunning panorama of the beaches and mountain ranges. You could honestly stop every 100 meters to take a photo — which works out perfectly since you can simply ride it on a scooter. You can easily rent one in Da Nang — you could even spend a night in Da Nang.
One way, including photo stops, takes roughly 1.5 hours.
Alternatively, you can travel from Da Nang by train, which actually gets you even closer to the ocean. Tickets are available on 12go Asia from 6 euros.
More travel tips for your trip to Vietnam
