Chiang Mai
Overlooking the city from its mountain throne, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is one of northern Thailand's most sacred temples, and its founding legend is…
Must-see attractions in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Wat Chedi Luang isn't as grand as Wat Phra Singh, but its towering, ruined Lanna-style chedi (built in 1441) is much taller and the sprawling compound…
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai's most revered temple, Wat Phra Singh is dominated by an enormous, mosaic-inlaid wí·hăhn (sanctuary). Its prosperity is plain to see from the…
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai's oldest public market, Warorot (also spelt Waroros) is a great place to connect with the city's Thai soul. Alongside souvenir vendors you'll…
Chiang Mai
Without doubt the most atmospheric wát in the old city, this teak marvel sits in the shadow of Wat Chedi Luang. Set in a compound full of fluttering…
Chiang Mai
A hidden jungle temple tucked into the mountain along the way to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Old stone structures, intricate carvings, naga-flanked…
Chiang Mai
Set inside the former Provincial Court, dating from 1935, this imaginative museum re-creates Lanna village life in a series of life-size dioramas that…
Chiang Mai
Not to be confused with the small Wat Umong in the old city, this historic forest wát is famed for its sylvan setting and its ancient chedi, above a brick…
Chiang Mai
The serene grounds of the royal family's winter palace are open to the public (when the royals aren't visiting). The unusually strict dress code requires…
Chiang Mai
It should come as no surprise that the silversmiths along Th Wualai have decorated their patron monastery with the same fine artisanship shown in their…
Chiang Mai
Adjacent to Talat Warorot, Talat Ton Lam Yai morphs from a covered household market into an animated flower market (gàht dòrk mái), flanking the river on…
Chiang Mai
Often bearing a crown of clouds, sultry Doi Suthep (1676m) and Doi Pui (1685m) are two of northern Thailand's most sacred peaks. A dense cloak of jungle…
Chiang Mai
The first attempt at founding a city on the banks of Mae Ping, Wiang Kum Kam served as the Lanna capital for 10 years from 1286, but the city was…
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai's oldest temple was established by the city's founder, Phaya Mengrai, sometime around 1296. In front of the ubosot (ordination hall), a stone…
Chiang Mai
This highly ornate temple shows the clear influence of the Burmese teak merchants who immigrated to Chiang Mai during the 19th century. The eye-catching…
Chiang Mai
Tucked to the side of the Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre, this was the original location of the Làk Meuang (city pillar). Marooned in the middle…
Chiang Mai
Among the most handsome wát outside the old city, Wat Mahawan shows the obvious influence of the Burmese teak traders who used to worship here. The…
Chiang Mai
Built on a former flower garden in 1373, this important monastery enshrines one half of a sacred Buddha relic; the other half was transported by white…
Chiang Mai
This wát was established by King Tilokarat in 1455 as part of an effort to prevent a predicted decline in Buddhism. It still has much of its original…
Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum
Chiang Mai
Located on the 'handicraft highway' between Chiang Mai and San Kamphaeng, this museum showcases the only standalone collection of Thai and Southeast Asian…
Chiang Mai
Reached via a steep naga stairway through the forest, this handsome wát looms above the city from the hillside above Royal Park Rajapruek. With its gilded…
Chiang Mai
A handsome wooden complex dotted with terracotta sculptures, this is one of the most attractive wát outside the city walls. It is thought to have been…
Chiang Mai
Operated by the Fine Arts Department, this museum is the primary caretaker of Lanna artefacts and northern Thai history, covering everything from the…
Chiang Mai
Behind the Muang Chiang Mai sports stadium, photogenic, 1631 Wat Ku Tao incorporates many Burmese and Confucian elements. The distinctive chedi is said to…
Pung Tao Gong Ancestral Temple
Chiang Mai
South of the flower market on Th Praisani, the Pung Tao Gong Ancestral Temple was founded in 1876, but the shrine fell into ruin as the city's Chinese…
Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre
Chiang Mai
Set in the former Provincial Hall, dating from 1927, this museum provides an excellent primer on Chiang Mai history. Dioramas, photos, artefacts and…
Chiang Mai
Housed in an airy Lanna-style building behind the Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre, this appealing museum covers the history of Chiang Mai Province,…
Chiang Mai
This sprawling formal park has 23 themed gardens donated by international governments, along with nine Thai gardens and six 'corporate' gardens. It sounds…
Chiang Mai
The old city’s only public park is a delightful spot to unwind, particularly as the afternoon sun slides towards the horizon. In the mornings and evenings…
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai's main wholesale fruit market is a riot of activity every morning, when enormous cargoes of mangoes, durians, rambutans, longans, watermelons,…
Chiang Mai
A brand new culture centre, gallery, coffee shop, bookstore and immersive theatre space south of the old city, where you can attend a performance or just…
Chiang Mai
Just a whole lot of fun, this museum has a range of 3D optical-illusion art displays, from cliff faces and movie sets to a levitation room and a magic…
Chiang Mai
Another unique local temple is 16th-century Wat Chiang Yeun, just northeast of Pratu Chang Pheuak. Besides the large northern-style chedi here, the main…
Chiang Mai
This friendly wát was used for the coronation of Lanna kings in the 16th century; today you can see a collection of giant gongs, a big old mon·dòp-style…
Chiang Mai
Formerly owned by prince Jao Maha In, this handsome mansion built in a hybrid Lanna and European style between 1889 and 1893 houses a small education…
Chiang Mai
Fringed by gilded Buddhas, the stately chedi at this prosperous wát is visited by scores of locals after dark. There's a coffee shop and massage pavilion…
Chiang Mai
One of the gates to Chiang Mai's old town that bustles with a lively fresh market in the early morning and is set up with food stalls every evening.
Chiang Mai
The biggest of Chiang Mai's ancient gates is lively with tourists snapping photos and feeding the pigeons.
Chiang Mai
The area dominated by the Warorot and Ton Lam Yai markets doubles as the city's small Chinatown, marked by a flamboyant Chinese welcome gate across Th…
Chiang Mai
Housed in a striking stucco chapel resembling a mon·dòp (a spire representing a Thai adaptation of a Hindu shrine) at Wat Chedi Luang, the Làk Meuang was…
