Chiang Mai has so many night markets that there is one for every evening of the week. As soon as the sun drops, stalls pop up everywhere selling street food, clothes, jewellery and things you only start wondering how to fit in your backpack after you have paid.
That sounds like five versions of the same thing, and it is not. One market is a kilometre of closed-off street with thousands of people, another is a handful of food stalls by a city gate where you pull up a plastic stool among people who live here. Which one you pick mostly comes down to what day it is, and whether you are there to eat or to browse.
Below are the five that matter, with where each one is, what to eat there and what it does best. For the rest of your days in the city: the things to do in Chiang Mai.
Sunday Walking Street
Every Sunday evening a big stretch of Ratchadamnoen Road in the Old City closes to traffic and turns into one continuous market. This is the biggest in the city, and for us also the best.
You will find everything here: souvenirs, clothes, jewellery, art, handmade crafts and a huge amount of food. On some stretches there are so many food stalls together that choosing becomes your biggest problem. The best part is that the market runs through the old streets of the Old City, past lit-up temples, so you are not walking around a car park but through the city itself.
Do not eat a big meal beforehand. Stroll along and pick up lots of small things on the way instead of one big dinner: that is the whole trick here. And bear in mind it gets properly packed after about seven, so if you want to browse in peace, start early.
Our verdict: the best night market in Chiang Mai, and a reason to plan your Sunday here
Saturday Walking Street
On Saturday the same thing happens, this time around Wua Lai Road just south of the Old City. The market is very similar to the Sunday one: street food, souvenirs, clothes and handmade crafts again, just more compact.
That compactness is not necessarily a downside. You get through it faster, it is a little less shoulder to shoulder, and you see roughly the same range. Not in Chiang Mai on a Sunday? Then this gives you almost the same night.
If you happen to be in town all weekend, just do both. They are within walking distance of each other and they make two different evenings.
Our verdict: almost as good as the Sunday market, and a great alternative if you miss Sunday
Chiang Mai Night Bazaar
Not in town at the weekend? Then the Night Bazaar is your option, because it is open every evening. You will find it around Chang Klan Road, east of the Old City.
Be clear about what this is: the most touristy market of the five. Expect mostly clothes, bags, souvenirs and things that are obviously aimed at travellers, and sellers who know that too. Haggling is part of it and the first price is never the price.
It still makes a good evening. Around the Night Bazaar there are several food courts and smaller food markets, and that is a good place to try khao soi if you have not yet. See it as an evening of wandering with food on the side, not as the authentic experience.
Our verdict: the best option on a weeknight
Ploen Ruedee Night Market
This one is not about souvenirs but about eating, drinking and staying put. Food stands surround an open square with seating in between, and there is regularly live music.
The food here is more international than at the traditional markets. Next to Thai dishes you will find burgers, pizza and everything in between. That makes it the easiest choice when you are in a group and not everyone wants the same thing, or when after three days of curry you fancy something else.
Come here for the company and the variety. This is the night you want to sit at one table with five people, five different plates and a beer for around €1.20.
Our verdict: the best atmosphere of the five, and the easiest choice with a group
Chang Phuak Gate
The food stalls at Chang Phuak Gate, on the north side of the Old City, are not a market to wander around. You come here to eat, and then you move on.
That is exactly why it is on this list. No souvenir stalls, nobody trying to get your attention, just rice dishes, noodle soups, grilled meat and Thai snacks. Look for where the most locals are sitting, because in Thailand that is still the best tip there is.
Order a few dishes, pull up a plastic stool and you have the street food experience you actually came to Thailand for, at around €1.20 a plate.
Our verdict: the best food of all five, and the place we keep coming back to
What to eat
The north has its own kitchen, milder and saltier than Bangkok’s, with dishes you will not find in the south. A few things you have to try here:
- Khao soi, a coconut curry noodle soup with crispy noodles on top. This is the dish of Chiang Mai, and at every market it costs around €1.50.
- Sai ua, the spicy northern Thai sausage. You usually smell it before you see it.
- Moo ping, grilled pork skewers. The classic snack to eat on the go.
- Gyoza and dumplings, everywhere, and usually good.
- Mango sticky rice to finish, and fresh fruit shakes in between.
One tip about the sticky rice: you eat it with your hands. Squeeze a bit into a ball and use it to scoop up the sauce. A spoon is basically cheating here.
And the most important one: do not only pick what you recognise. See something and have no idea what it is? Just try it. That is exactly why you are walking around a night market instead of sitting in a restaurant.
Got time to spare?
Do two instead of five: one weekend market for the atmosphere and Chang Phuak for the food. The markets are more alike than their names suggest, so with those two you have had the best of it and you keep an evening free.
Go hungry. It is a shame to walk past dozens of stalls where you want to try everything when you are already full, so eat nothing beforehand, share everything you buy and save room for the mango sticky rice at the end.
And save your souvenir hunting for later in your trip. You will see the same things at every market, often for less, so on your first night just look around.
Which Chiang Mai night market should you choose?
That mostly depends on what day it is. If you are here on a Sunday, it is the Sunday Walking Street and there is nothing to think about. On Saturday the Saturday Walking Street, on weeknights the Night Bazaar, and for food and a good time with a group, Ploen Ruedee.
But if we could pick just one on food alone, it would be Chang Phuak Gate. No souvenirs, no crowds, just a row of stalls where the city itself eats, for a euro or so a plate. It is less spectacular than a closed-off street full of lights, and it is the meal you will remember longest.
Our advice: do two. A weekend market for the wandering and Chang Phuak for the eating. Any more than that and it starts to repeat itself.
