Exuding charm at each and every turn, age-old Hoi An is a wonderfully preserved former trading port dating back to the 1500s. Dotted with iconic silk lanterns setting an ambient glow by night, this UNESCO-protected town boasts coastal beaches and is a gateway to the most magnificent temples of the vanished Kingdom of Champa at My Son, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Vietnam’s answer to Myanmar’s Bagan and Cambodia’s Angkor Watt, the 1500-year-old temples remained hidden for centuries until uncovered by the French at the turn of the 19th century.