Hoi An · Nightlife

After dark, boatwomen work the bank between the Japanese Covered Bridge and the An Hội footbridge, taking two or three passengers out for fifteen or twenty minutes to float a paper lantern. Agree the price before you get in; the point is the view back at the lit riverfront.

Lantern stalls, street food and souvenirs along Nguyễn Hoàng on the An Hội side of the footbridge, every evening. Busiest between seven and nine, and where most of the lanterns you see on the river are actually bought.

European deli, café and wine bar in a hundred-year-old villa at 321 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu, open 07:00 to 22:00 daily. Wine by the glass plus cheese and charcuterie, which in Hoi An is a genuinely different evening; book on +84 9 352 99 111.

Large outdoor stage show on a 25,000 sq m site at 88 Trần Quang Khải, a few minutes from the old town, telling four centuries of the port's history. It does not run every night, so check the calendar before booking; tickets and schedule on 1900 63 66 00.

Motor traffic is banned in the ancient town from 09:00 to 21:30 in summer and 21:00 in winter, and Phan Châu Trinh street closes to vehicles from 17:30. Those lantern-lit hours are effectively the night: eat by eight, walk the riverfront after, and do not plan a late one inside the old town.