Hoi An: which types it suits

Hoi An is a small old port on the Thu Bon River, its lanes lined with mustard-yellow merchant houses. The trading-town past is packed tightly into the Ancient Town — the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Tan Ky old house, the Chinese assembly halls — and you can see most of the key buildings on foot in half a day. The real hours start at dusk, though: silk lanterns flicker on, small boats drift out carrying candle lanterns, and the town you walked through at noon becomes somewhere else entirely.

It suits travellers who like to soak in atmosphere for a long time, alternating quiet hours with a little people-watching. Mornings are for renting a bicycle and riding through the paddies to Tra Que vegetable village or An Bang beach; evenings are for joining the crowd under the lanterns along the river. Even having clothes made sets the tempo, since waiting a few days for fittings turns out to be an excellent excuse to slow down.