Chiang Mai Entertainment

  1. Bubbles

    The newly renovated Bubbles is still as popular as ever. The dance floor heaves with a mix of tourists remembering how to do rave moves, locals, some ex-pats, and pros. The entry ticket exchanges for a beer or a scarily sweet cocktail.

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  2. Chiang Mai University film screenings

    The University of Chiang Mai lies west of the city centre. Here, at the Art & Culture Center (main auditorium) shows many different foreign films - usually art films of the Bergman and Buñuel variety. Admission is free.

    Read more about Chiang Mai University film screenings

  3. Crystal Cave

    This is one of three popular and active hotel discos in town; the others being Stardust (Sheraton Chiang Mai) and Bubbles - also known as Space Bubble (Pornping Tower Hotel). The club itself is within the Empress Hotel.

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  4. Darling Wine Pub

    Darling serves fine wines by the glass or bottle in a sophisticated but relaxed atmosphere.

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  5. Drunken Flower (Mao Dokmai)

    Drunken Flower is a cosy indoor/outdoor bar and restaurant with a mixed Thai and expat crowd, especially local NGO staffers. There's plenty to nosh on while drinking. Most weekends locals perform live folk music.

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  6. Fashion House

    Students fill this two-room club. The hip hop room is always full, the techno one is quieter. The bands are pretty dodgy but the DJ is good.

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  7. Good View

    Good View changes bands frequently and is quite popular. It also has a restaurant .

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  8. Heaven Beach

    Behind the building that houses the Yoy Pocket is a cluster of rustic outdoor bars catering to backpackers and expats. In this area is the rustic Heaven Beach which often features live local bands.

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  9. John's Place

    This open-air bar is always heaving of an evening due to its proximity to the many backpacker digs nearby.

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  10. Le Brasserie

    Le Brasserie is a popular late-night spot to listen to live bands play rock and blues. Expect to hear Hendrix, Cream, Dylan, Marley, and other 1960s and '70s classics. Food service is available inside the bar or out the back by the river.

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  12. Major Cineplex

    This theatre complex boasts a state-of-the-art sound system and the option of 'honeymoon seats', pairs of seats without a middle armrest for romantic couples. Along with the latest Thai films, first-run foreign films with English soundtracks are shown.

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  13. Mix Bar

    You could be in London or Paris here but if you fancy a chic, minimalist bar to sup cocktails in, head to D2 Hotel's slinky Mix Bar. It's right by the night market.

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  14. NimMahn Bar

    A good place to start the night, this new bar is typical of the places popping up in the area. Catering for trendy Thais and foreigners, it has a cavernous industrial-looking interior, softened with smart leather poufs and sofas. A DJ plays nightly, and there's a seating area outside. Food is available.

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  15. Pinte Blues Pub

    This place deserves some sort of award for staying in business so long (more than 20 years) while serving only espresso and beer, and for sticking to a the blues music format the whole time.

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  16. Rasta Café

    Behind the building that houses the Yoy Pocket is a cluster of rustic outdoor bars catering to backpackers and expats. Rasta Café, the first one to open in this area (and still the largest), plays recorded reggae, dub, African and Latin music, and is quite popular in the high season.

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  17. Red Lion English Pub & Restaurant

    The Red Lion is one of four European eateries, all in a row along Th Loi Kroh: German Hofbräuhaus, Café Benelux and Haus München. Each serves the type of cuisine their names imply. It has live sport via satellite, including Premier League Football and Rugby. For a fix of what's going on around the world there's also the BBC world news.

    Read more about Red Lion English Pub & Restaurant

  18. Riverside Bar & Restaurant

    In a twinkly setting on Mae Nam Ping, this is one of the longest-running live music venues in Chiang Mai. Two cover bands play at either end of the rambling wooden buildings nightly. It's usually packed with both foreigners and Thais on weekends, so arrive early to get a table on the veranda overlooking the river. There are two indoor bars, both full of regulars, and the food is reliably good.

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  19. Spicy

    People pile into Spicy when everything else has shut. Not the most salubrious place, it is nevertheless fun after - don't go before, it is seediness central.

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  20. The Glass Onion

    Tucked at the far end of the 'Room - boutique mall' (an open-air walkway with shops and cafés) is this small, glamorous, James Bondesque lounge bar. Drink decent cocktails at the black lacquer bar, relax in the '60s-style red chairs and listen to the jazz pianist, or the DJ spinning housey jazz. There's an extensive wine list.

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  21. The Pub

    In an old Tudor-style cottage set well off the road, this venerable Chiang Mai institution semi-successfully calls up the atmosphere of an English country pub. The Friday evening happy hour is popular.

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  23. UN Irish Pub

    This is a comfortable place with the food area downstairs, and the bar upstairs. There's nothing particularly Irish here other than some kitsch on the walls and a dark-green décor. Heineken, Carlsberg and Thai-brewed beers are on tap, and the Guinness is bottled. There's live music on Tuesday and Friday, plus quiz nights and a TV for watching football.

    Read more about UN Irish Pub

  24. Vista

    Cinema showing first-run foreign as well as Thai films.

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  25. Warm-Up

    This relaxed place is filled with Thai trendsters and a smattering of Westerners. Hang out in the pretty decked courtyard area with lots of seating and various bars, or dance manically to the latest tunes in the two glass enclosed dance floors. Regular live music is a feature here too.

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  26. Writer's Club & Wine Bar

    Run by an ex-foreign correspondent, this simple shopfront bar and restaurant attracts a steady stream of expats and tourists, including a few resident writers. The mainly Australian and Italian house wines change weekly. Also good for watching the Walking Street hub-bub on Sunday evenings.

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  27. Yoy Pocket

    This is a funky spot, reminiscent of some of the homier café-pubs along Th Phra Athit in Bangkok.

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