The most beautiful city in Vietnam

Set on the Thu Bon River, just inland from Vietnam’s central coast, Hoi An was a thriving port between the 16th and 18th centuries, trading silk, spices and ceramics with China and Japan. With its well-preserved historic centre, it’s the most beautiful city in the country, said Daniel Stables in National Geographic Traveller – a lovely place to while away a few days.

Its cobbled streets are lined with Chinese shophouses “garlanded” with bougainvillea and painted a “lemon-curd yellow” that turns to “burnished gold” at sunset. When night comes, the “velvet darkness” is “pricked by a million orbs of light, like fireflies in a forest”: paper lanterns, which have been the city’s “signature” for 400 years, and are still handcrafted by artisans in “atmospheric” workshops in the old town.

The city is a lively place today, with a “thriving” modern art scene, stylish bars and great street food, including bánh mì – baguettes filled with pâté, grilled pork and pickled vegetables. But its charm lies centrally in its historic sites – most famously the Japanese Bridge, a covered foot-crossing over a small riverine canal. Dating back to the 16th century, it was built by Japanese merchants and has an “ornate” temple at its midpoint.

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Also worth visiting is the Tan Ky Old House, one of several historic merchants’ mansions open to visitors. Built by a wealthy Vietnamese family in 1741, it has interiors of “rich, dark” ironwood, furnished with “priceless” antiques.

Hoi An has long been famed for its tailors, and today you can get “high-end” custom suits, coats and dresses from the likes of A Dong Silk, in the old town. There’s much to do outside the city, too, including snorkelling at An Bang, a “splendid” beach with “soft, pale sand”, and river trips through the surrounding coconut groves in traditional, round-bottomed basket boats.

A nine-night trip with Inside Asia costs from £1,265pp, excluding flights.