17 Amazing Things To Do in Chiang Mai – Budget Travel In Thailand

Compared to the busy city life of Bangkok, Chiang Mai offers a more relaxed vibe in the mountainous region of northern Thailand. 

As you will almost definitely discover by the leaflets in your hostel, there are hundreds of tour operators in Chiang Mai offering various trips: trekking, temples, elephants, zipwire, hilltribes, yoga, meditation, the list goes on.

This page provides information on those activities you can plan yourself, without the need for booking tours.

Current Transport Information:

Ethical Tourism In Chiang Mai

If you do book through an operator, do some research first. Not all are reputable. You will also have to ask yourself if you are comfortable paying money to see elephants in captivity or to see the hill tribes. We found out whilst in Chiang Rai that the longneck hilltribe is a scam. There are no actual longneck hilltribe communities in Thailand. They are basically refugees that are only there for tourism. These are to be avoided.

Klook.com

Things To Do In Chiang Mai 

Chiang Mai is a historic city filled with over 300 temples and other stunning architecture. You will enjoy just strolling around the walled old town and soaking up the atmosphere. The people are friendly and will always greet you with a smile. 

Anusarn Market

You can spend two weeks in Chiang Mai and think you’ve pretty much seen it all, only to then discover perhaps the biggest indoor market in the city 5 minutes from your hostel! Which is what happened to us on our final night in Chiang Mai when we discovered the Anusarn Market. Located on the Changklan Road that hosts the night market, we had walked past the food vendors in front of the market without realising that just behind them was a vast market full of more food, bars and live music. It was lively, though expect to pay tourist prices here. Map.

Art in Paradise

Art In Paradise is an interactive, 3D, illusion-art museum that is great fun for children and young-at-heart adults. Make sure you have plenty of battery in your camera as you will want to take lots of videos and photos. Ideally, you want to be visiting with at least one other person so you have someone to take photos whilst you interact with the 3D art (though one of those handy tripods might also come in handy). Download the app in advance when you have free wifi as this enables you to appear in animated videos that you can record onto your phone. 

As you walk around the museum, you will see ‘viewing points’ and it is clear which pieces come alive as you point your camera at them. There are various themes (animals, art, countries, dinosaurs, etc) and all are great fun! The museum is a little worn at the edges and could do with an update but it is still an unusual way to spend an afternoon. Despite some reviews online saying the app does not work with android, I did not find this to be the case. Make sure you check the app is working before you enter (ask at the ticket counter). It’s a little pricey for Chiang Mai (400 baht) but you will be in there for at least 2 hours. Opposite the main entrance is a ticket agency and they will sell you tickets for 300 baht, if you can wait for them to go over and purchase them for you. Map.

Art In Paradise Chiang Mai Opening Times: 9 am – 9 pm, every day.

Chang Phuak Gate Night Market 

A small market that is open every night. Perhaps most well known for the cowboy-hat lady that sells delicious stewed pork with rice. It was probably the only street food stall with a long queue. Her appearance on a number of food vlogs has clearly done her business wonders! I also had the best mango and sticky rice from this market for only 40 baht. Map.

Chang Phuak Gate Night Market Opening Times: 5 pm – 12 am, every day.

Chiang Mai Gate Night Food Market

A small market that is open every night. There are some great treats to be had here! There is a vegetarian only vendor which is rare in most street markets. The grilled meats are very tasty and one vendor sells dried beef by the kilogram. You will find all kinds of curries here; it is not restricted to fried/grilled food. Once you have had your main meal, a Roti with milo is an excellent dessert for just 15 baht! Map.

Chiang Mai Gate Night Food Market Opening Times: 4 am – 11 pm, Thurs – Tues. 11 am – 3 pm, Wednesday. Not all street food vendors follow these times. Most are open between 5 pm and 11 pm.

Chiang Mai House of Photography

The Chiang Mai House of Photography is a small collection of Thai photography, situated opposite the Three Kings momument behind the Lanna Folk Museum. When we visited, it was showing photography of the Karen people. It is free admission and gives you an insight into the lives of this hilltribe. Map.

Chiang Mai House Of Photography Opening Times: 8.30 am – 4.30 pm, Mon – Fri.

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

The Chiang Mai Night Bazaar is open every night from 6 pm and is located outside the old town, running along the whole length of Changklan Road. As well as the roadside vendors, there are also markets such as Ploen Ruedee (map), which caters to the Western tourist. Here you will find ribs, steaks, pizza, burgers etc. Ploen Ruedee is more expensive than your average street market and feels more like a food market you might find in a Western city. It doesn’t have the same chaotic feel as other street markets and didn’t appeal to me as much. However, there is live music and bars so it is entirely possible to have a great night here.

Much more to my taste was Kalare Shopping Centre (map). This is much more like a typical Thai market and the food here is mainly Thai, though there is also Turkish and Indian food. You can also buy beer here and there is live music on offer. It is much cheaper; expect to pay street food prices here. Also, look out for the excellent ‘Boy Blues Boy‘ (map) which overlooks the market and hosts live bands every night of the week. Map.

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Opening Times: 5 pm – 12 am, every day.

Cinemas

Unfortunately, there are no smaller arthouse cinemas in Chiang Mai. There are 4 cinemas that all show pretty much the exact same movies so there really isn’t much to separate them. We visited both the SFX CINEMA at the Maya mall (map) and the Krungsri IMAX Major Cineplex at the Central Festival mall (map). From the old town, we walked to the Maya (approx 40 minutes) but we tried to take a bus for the Central Festival. There are some buses in Chiang Rai but trying to find information on where they actual stop is near impossible. There are also free shuttle buses that pick up from various hotels in the old town. This might be your best bet if the times are convenient. We took a songthauw after much stressful searching for bus stops, only to be followed by the bus we had been trying to find!

Derelict Women’s Prison

This is one of the most unique things to do in Chiang Mai!! We came across the Derilict Women’s Prison by accident as the outside was covered in street art, which grabbed our attention. We found out it is an unused prison; previously used to house female criminals. The prison was closed when it was decided a more profitable use could be found for the space, it being in the centre of Chiang Mai and all. Since then, nothing much as happened and nature has taken over. We managed to get into one of the towers but the rest of it is overgrown and inaccessible. There are now 2 massage parlours in Chiang Mai that employ ex women-prisoners. It is worth visiting the old prison itself for the street art, which is top quality! Map.

Doi Suthep

Click here for individual post.

Loi Kroh Road

This is probably as close to Bangkok’s Khao San Road as you will get in Chiang Mai. We discovered it by accident (honest) whilst heading to the night market. The first thing you will notice is how many bars there are. It is also much brighter and louder than the old town. Then you will notice the Thai girls enticing you in. The suggestive looks on the faces of some of the girls outside the massage parlours confirm that you are indeed in the red light area of Chiang Mai.

Be careful in SOME of these bars as tourists have been known to have been ripped off. Do not ring the bell in these bars unless you want to pay for the whole bar’s drinks. The best thing to do is to pay for each drink as you purchase them; that way, you won’t end up with an unpleasant surprise at the end of the night. Likewise, make sure you know what kind of massage parlour it is before you enter to spare yourself from an embarrassing situation. Some girls have known to get aggressive if you decline their offer of a ‘happy ending’ as this means less money for them. Make sure you are clear what you require. It is better to be honest then the girls can make a decision whether they are happy or not. They will not be offended by you making clear what your expectations are. If you want to experience the Chiang Mai nightlife, this is the place to go. Map.

Meeting Room Art Cafe

Across the River Ping from Waorot Market is this small community art space where you can browse local artists’ work. They have exhibitions on and the owner is very friendly and will tell you all about the local artist whose work is on show. It doubles up as a coffee shop and provides a very relaxed surrounding to a mid-afternoon drink. Map.

EDIT: The Meeting Room Art Cafe is now permanently closed.

Monks’ Trail 

Click here for individual post.

Nong Bhuak Hard Public Park

This is a small park on the south-west perimeter of the old town. It is very peaceful and beautiful and you can feed the fish, take a Thai boxing class, use the free gym or just simply relax under the shade of the palm trees with a book. It is only small but perfect for a lazy Chiang Mai afternoons.  Map.

Nong Bhuak Hard Public Park Opening Times: 6 am – 9 pm, every day.

Siri Wattana Market

This is a true locals market selling meat. fish, fruit and veg at low prices. They have stalls selling lots of Thai dishes to take home and there is also a food court selling hot meals. In fact, the yellow curry from one of the stalls here was delicious! You won’t see may tourists here, which is a great reason to go, right? Some of the food you won’t be able to identify and you will find blood soup and pig’s brain on sale here. This was one of our favourite markets. We bought loads of fresh fruit here which was delicious. Map.

Siri Wattana market Opening Times: 4.30 am – 9 pm, every day.

Tha Pae Walking Street (Sunday Market)

You might have heard stories about just how big this market is. Well, they’re all true! It really is huge. We started at the beginning at Tha Phae Gate and began the long walk up Rachadamnoen Road. If that isn’t long enough, we discovered that the market spills over into side streets and even into the grounds of temples, which serve as huge food courts. About half way up Rachadamnoen Road, we came to a crossroads. It was then that we realised that the market is not just ‘north to south’, but also ‘east to west’! In short, it is massive. But it is filled with fantastic street food and the goods on offer are generally of high quality. You will also see live music performers on the street that add to the atmosphere. You really can’t miss this if you’re in Chiang Mai on a Sunday! It is one of the best things to do in Chiang Mai. Map.

Chiang Mai Sunday Market Opening Times: 5 pm – 10.30 pm, Sunday.

Warorot Market (Kad Luang)

Located in the centre of Chiang Mai’s Chinatown, Warorot Market is an old, shabby market where the locals buy their meat, fish, fruit and veg, and everything else! The market itself is surrounded by street markets selling clothes, flowers and some food you won’t recognise. You might wish you’d not seen the live turtles, frogs and snakes for sale. The food market is located on the ground floor. Here you will find Dam Rong, a small store selling Thai sausage and ‘moo todd’, which is fried pork in batter. I found out about this stall through the Mark Weins vlogs. It was interesting that there was a queue for this stall, even though it was literally surrounded by other very similar stores selling the same thing. I didn’t care much for the sausage but the ‘moo todd’ was a perfect afternoon snack. Warorot is a great place to spend a couple of hours; it is very lively and gives you a true taste of Thai life. Map.

Warotor Market Opening Times: 4 am – 6 pm, every day.

Wat Ket Karam Community Museum

Situated in the grounds of a temple, this wonderfully run-down, dusty museum provides an insight into Chiang Mai’s history through photos and an interesting collection of items. Admission is free, though donations are welcome. It is situated in a nice, relaxed part of Chiang Mai with some interesting shops and restaurants. Map.

Wat Ket Karam Community Museum Opening Times: 9 am – 4 pm, Mon – Sat.

If you visit any of these places, I’d love to know your thoughts. Comment below!