Chiang Mai
The pick of the guesthouses around the medieval city gate of Pratu Tha Phae has rooms for every budget – all kept spotless – and a mini swimming pool under cover on the ground-floor terrace. Rooms get more comfortable and better decorated as you move up the price scale and there's a rooftop chill-out area with views across old Chiang Mai.
Staff are delightful and go the extra mile for children, so it's a big hit with families; book ahead.
4.76 MILES
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…
0.39 MILES
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…
0.67 MILES
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…
0.56 MILES
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…
0.3 MILES
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…
Nam Tok Bua Tong (Sticky Waterfall)
20.11 MILES
Ever walked up a waterfall? An increasingly popular day trip from Chiang Mai to Si Lanna National Park's 'Sticky Waterfall' allows visitors (with no magic…
3.87 MILES
A hidden jungle temple tucked into the mountain along the way to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Old stone structures, intricate carvings, naga-flanked…
0.29 MILES
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…
0.09 MILES
The biggest of Chiang Mai's ancient gates is lively with tourists snapping photos and feeding the pigeons.
0.12 MILES
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…
0.16 MILES
This historic wát is in the heart of the old city. Though it was first constructed in 1367 and boasts some very old, Lanna-style chedis, it's also worth a…
0.17 MILES
This friendly neighbourhood wát is a monument to jade, with an impressive collection of jade Buddhas and jade and nephrite boulders in the main wí·hăhn.
0.21 MILES
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…
6. Treasury Pavilion Coin Museum
0.26 MILES
It's worth ducking into this small government museum to see the bizarre shapes that Thai money has taken over the years, from hammered coins to round…
0.26 MILES
Historic wát just east of the old city with an ancient-looking mosaic-decorated stupa.
0.27 MILES
This colourful, 16th-century wát's name means 'good fortune temple'. It was first constructed in the 16th century, but its massive wooden doors date from…