Thailand is one of the fancy countries which has countless walking streets for shopping and eating, day and night.
The highlight of the walking streets in Thailand is various vendors, food carts, clothing shops, and etc., lined up along the street side. Sometimes, Thai people call walking street a street market because, in the past, the ‘market’ was normally located nearby the main street of each area. Some areas in which the main transportation route are the river, there are floating markets as well.
Every single province of Thailand has street markets due to the nice weather in the entire year and the nice physiography either for land market or floating market, making the street markets appear in the long Thailand history.
Chiang Mai is another big city in Thailand that includes 8 walking streets in total. If you are looking for some places to chill and shop on this vacay, I highly recommend you to go to these top 3 popular walking streets!
1. Nimman Road
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If you are going to visit Chiang Mai on the weekday, you shouldn’t miss chilling out at the Nimman Road. The Nimman or Nimmanhaemin Road includes 17 separated streets. It is the trendiest hub in Chiang Mai city nowadays. The area contains a variety of entertainments such as restaurants, cafes, bars, clothing shops, souvenir shops, a community mall, and etc. Most of the stores in Nimman road open from day to night.
There are lots of popular cafés and bistros that were visited by global tourists, and these are the top 3 cafés that we highly recommend you to visit: The Barisotel, Rustic & Blue, and Brown Café ブラウン. You can read more about Things to do in Chiang Mai.
The Barisotel
Opening time: 8.00 AM – 9.30 PM
Location: Thailand, Chiang Mai, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, 7/2 Soi 9 Nimmanhaemin Road Muang.
It is a new and unique branch of The Baristro in a concept of café and hotel. The minimal ornament and the tasty menu will never let you get disappointed. The signature menu is the Golden Thread Roti. The thin Roti(Thai Pancake) with the Golden Thread(Traditional Thai dessert) and Whip Cream.
Rustic and Blue
Opening time: 8.30 AM – 10.00 PM
Location: 2/1 Nimmana Haeminda Rd Lane 7, Tambon Su Thep, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
It is famous for the healthy and yummy dishes. The ambiance completely represents its concept of a farm shop. The signature menu is Maple Chicken & Cheddar Cheese Waffle.
Brown Café ブラウン
Opening time: 10.00 AM – 10.00 PM
Location: Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
It is the perfect combination of Japanese decoration style and Taiwanese desserts. The signature menu is “Brown: the Taiwanese snowflake dessert. Check it out yourself and see which place is your most favorite!
One Nimman
Opening time: 10.00 AM – 10.00 PM
Location: Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Besides cafés and bistros, you can also enjoy shopping in various complex community malls. One of the famous shopping malls is One Nimman. Baan Kang Wat and Lan Sieow Freeative (Free + Creative) Art Space are the other shopping malls nearby the Nimman area.
2. Wua Lai Walking Street (Saturday Walking Street)
Even though Nimman road already has everything you need, the highlighted part of Chiang Mai that you cannot miss out is the weekend walking street! The most popular walking streets in Chiang Mai on the weekend are the Wua Lai market and the Tha Phea market. If you cannot decide which market should you go to first, the markets’ opening time will help you unquestionably get an answer.
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Wua Lai walking street opens every Saturday from 5.00 PM – 10.00 PM.
The Wua Lai walking street or Wua Lai market is located around Pratu Chiang Mai or Chiang Mai Gate. At 5.00 PM every Saturday, the local vendors will gradually set up their stores. We recommend you to go around 6.00 PM because every store will already open and is ready to serve their goods.
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The signature of Wua Lai walking street is silverware. Wua Lai street is well known for silver shops. This area is very popular for buying Thai traditional silver in various forms.
Another highlight of Wua Lai street which makes foreigner tourists fall in love with this place is most of the products sold in this market are the local products or hand-made products from the local people such as perfume candle, tie dry shirt, and home furnishings.
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You can also enjoy eating traditional street foods from various food carts along the street. We highly recommend you to try Chiang Mai local foods which you cannot find in other parts of Thailand! The rarest menu of Chiang Mai food is Wild Egg in Banana Leaf Plate and Deep Fried Banana Blossom.
3. Tha Phea Walking Street (Sunday Walking Street)
Another popular weekend street market in Chiang Mai is Tha Phea walking street.
Tha Phea walking street opens every Sunday from 5.00 PM – 10.00 PM.
It is located nearby Pratu Tha Phea or Tha Phea Gate. The best arrival time is around 6.00 PM. The locals consider this market as the most popular and largest walking street in Chiang Mai city.
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Besides the market and food carts zone, this walking street also includes a space for free performance such as the northern music show performed by the local children.
Since this walking street is larger than Wua Lai walking street, the food carts and shops are separated into different parts. If you go with someone, make sure that you always stay together or have a clear meeting point, so you will not get lost!
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If you are looking for a special and memorable souvenir, we highly recommend you to find some handmade shops where the vendors make a product piece by piece for you.
The most famous handmade products for tourists are portrait sketch, bracelet, and elephant pattern bag. Some jewelry stores even allow you to design bracelets and necklaces by yourselves!
The products in this market are more varied than those in the Wua Lai market. The goods are not only the local product but also trendy and stylish products as well.
If you are looking for some modern and chic stuff, Tha Phea walking street will be your favorite place. For those who are looking for authentic traditional Chiang Mai products, you cannot miss Wua Lai walking street!
For more travel tips and ideas for your next trip to Thailand, make sure you visit Trazy.com, Asia’s #1 Travel Shop!
Photo Credits:
- The Barisotel official Facebook
- Rustic & Blue Official Facebook
- Brown Café ブラウン Official Facebook
- LannaPhoto (commons.wikimedia.org)
