Where to Shop and What to Buy in Hoi An

For most people who visit Hoi An, the two main shopping allures are the Central or Riverside Market and the plethora of cheap tailors downtown.

With the sheer number of tailors available Hoi An is definitely a buyers' market and the visitor who doesn't bargain down the price of a suit or silk shirt is really missing out. Of course, many other items are on sale in Hoi An and the ancient charm of the town makes an afternoon or evening out shopping a delight.

Tailors speak both French and English - most stores are open from 08:00 to 21:00.

Women's clothes

Located 43 Trang Hung Dao Street, The 'Trang' tailor shop comes highly recommended. With a team of 25 tailors and a meticulous attitude to measuring and fitting, this shop is one of the leaders in a very crowded field.

Tailors' Market

Pass the Central Market and carry along riverside until the Tailors' Market. Here you will be spoilt for choice and cheapest certainly doesn't mean best. Take your time and go for as many fittings as you can. Good tailors will welcome them whereas bad ones will try to fob you off with as few fittings as possible. The tailors have hundreds of photos to help stimulate your imagination as to what exactly it is you want.

Silk

Hoi An is a veritable Mecca for silk lovers and the quality and range on offer here is the best in the country. A

gain, many think that tailors who advertise that they can provide a silk suit within 24 hours must be good but in fact it's quite the opposite: the tailor who takes his time is the tailor you need to frequent.

Be choosy about your cloth, or go to the market and buy it yourself (Hoi An Cloth Market is at 01 Tran Phu St.), and haggle. It's not a bad idea to bring an actual suit or piece of clothing that you'd like a copy of.

Art

Besides silk art, many art galleries line Hoi An's streets. This shows that the locals are really gifted in the area of art. Visiting these art galleries would make you realise that the local artists enjoy water and oil painting. The subjects of the art pieces generally revolve around scenery of Hoi An, local ladies in 'ao-dai' or the Vietnamese traditional costume and flowers. A typical example is the 155 Art Gallery located next to the Japanese covered bridge at 155 Tran Phu Street.