A grown-up guide to Chiang Mai, Thailand: Where to eat, stay and what to see
For first-time visitors to Thailand, buzzy Bangkok and the sun-soaked islands in the south promise perpetual sunshine and boundless fun. Chiang Mai, tucked away in the country’s mountainous north, isn’t usually most visitors’ first port of call. Yet Thailand’s ‘second city’ offers a different perspective: a world away from Bangkok’s sleek skyscrapers and Phuket’s louche beach clubs, here you’ll find historic temples wrapped by swathes of dense rainforest, artisan markets, and swoon-worthy scenery worth exploring.
Life moves at a gentler pace, humming with quietly beautiful craftsmanship and creativity.
Where to shop
Chiang Mai’s craft village, Baan Kang Wat, is a far cry from the backpacker bedlam that straddles the city’s riverside. Here you’ll find local artists and artisans peddling their wares: sweet boutiques selling hand-stitched linens, wood carvings, and Thai trinkets form a ramshackle warren of stalls and makeshift shops worth exploring.
On the weekends, it’s the ideal spot to rub shoulders with locals, and at many of the stalls, visitors are welcome to pick up a paintbrush, bead bracelets, and get crafty. After browsing the boutiques for souvenirs, stop for coffee and moreish cakes at Obchoiei Original Handmade and Graph Coffee.
Where to eat & drink
Over in Nimman, the city’s slick shopping district, Ginger Farm Kitchen is a go-to spot for platters of hand-pulled noodles and just-caught seafood, along with some of the freshest, homegrown veg in town. The restaurant takes farm-to-table cooking quite literally, with all of the produce sourced from its working farm just outside Chiang Mai.
Come evening, before heading into the bustling night bazaars along Chang Klan Road, dine at Kiki Panit, an upscale Thai restaurant set within a centuries-old mansion. Feast on elevated Lanna cuisine, ranging from tingly khao soi (a dish native to the region) to a modern take on mango sticky rice.
Coffee lovers will be pleased to discover that the city has been hit hard by a wave of specialty coffee shops. Twenty Mar, a slick espresso bar that wouldn’t look out of place in New York City, is the best spot for an expert flat white while pootling around the temples in Chiang Mai’s Old Town. There’s even a slick Arabica outpost in town, that’s all shimmering glass and perfectly poured matcha lattes.
Where to stay
Bed down far from the madding crowd at Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai, a bougie hideaway cocooned within the city’s leafy Umong district. Sitting on the forested fringes of Doi Suthep mountain, this 44-bedroom wellness hotel is set back from the tourist path, and offers plenty of opportunity to slow down.
The hotel’s design is a fusion of old meets new: a clutch of antique teak buildings are clustered around a central inner pool, backdropped by contrastingly slick new-builds. The ancient Lanna buildings date back 200 years — and form the spa, restaurant, library-come-boutique, and show-stopping four-bedroom residence, which is a showcase in elegant Thai design. Inside, original beams and teak panelling have been carefully preserved, and are off-set by chic, custom furnishings: think swooping iron-wrought bedsteads, and kaleidoscopic, hand-embroidered headboards.
Meanwhile, frangipani-scented pathways snake through lush foliage to one-bedroom villas circled by tamarind trees. Inside, rooms are a melange of creamy furnishings, dark wood surfaces, and bold strokes of tangerine. Subtle Thai flourishes make themselves known: copper sinks forged locally in Chiang Mai, along with batik stamps and local hill-tribe skirts displayed as artworks. Framing each villa, there’s lush, leafy greenery: lemongrass, pandan and butterfly pea are all grown on-site (and infuse the cocktails in the 1894 bar), along with hundreds of other plants and herbs.
When you’re not racking up steps around the temples and craft shops on your doorstep, unwind at the boutique spa, where knot-kneading massages and body scrubs will leave you feeling utterly reborn. A host of complimentary wellness activities take place each day too, ranging from bamboo strengthening exercises to sunrise yoga and sound baths — there’s also traditional Thai cooking classes to take part in.
This wellness mentality is mirrored at the restaurant and bar, where nourishing, superfood salads and alcohol-free cocktails complement local dishes. The guilt-free menu diligently utilises local produce, 95 per cent of which is sourced from across Thailand.
Service might not be as seamless as some of the city’s glitzy five-star pads, but the smiley team more than makes up for it with their friendliness — the hotel is small enough for you to get on a first-name basis with most team members. There are plentiful thoughtful touches too: at turndown, you’ll find homemade treats and local poems left on your pillow.
Rooms start at £235 a night via Leading Hotels of the World
What to do
As Thailand’s cultural epicentre, Chiang Mai is home to hundreds of centuries-old temples. Not far from Aleenta Retreat, moss-covered Wat Among is all subterranean tunnels, serene ponds, and ancient pagodas. Early risers should follow the city’s famous Monk’s Trail high into the forest to reach Wat Pha Lat, an ancient temple complex balanced in the treetops, which offers postcard-worthy views of the city at sunrise. Work up a sweat by running up the trail — alternatively, explore one of the many other running and hiking routes circling in and around the city.
Further afield, animal lovers should join a walking elephant safari at ChangChill or Elephant Nature Park, two of the few ethical elephant sanctuaries across Thailand approved by World Animal Protection.
