One of Chiang Mai's major attractions is its old city. While many old cities all over Thailand once had walls and moats, Chiang Mai is almost the only city where the old walls are still mostly intact. In addition, the city within the old walls still has many charming lanes that you can wander down at your leisure. The old city is my favorite area to stay in Chiang Mai, and there are many small hotels to choose from.
Any tour of the old city would likely start at the Tapae Gate near the center of the eastern side of the walls. The gate was reconstructed in the 1980s to approximate what the gate and walls may have really looked like.
From here, we suggest you walk north along the moat. Near the northeast corner is the Sompet Market, one of several fresh markets within the walls. If you walk up the small lane at the center of the market, you'll pass around the back of Wat Laem Chang and come to Wat Chiang Man, one of the oldest temples in the old city.
If you exit the south side of the temple and turn right (heading west), the next main street you come to is Prapoklao Road. You'll be just inside Chang Puak Gate. Turning left will take you further into the heart of the city, past the Thai Airways office and then on to the old city hall and the Three Kings statue. The old city hall is now home to the Chiang Mai City Art & Cultural Center.
Continuing on down Prapoklao Road will take you to the intersection of Rajdamnoen Road. To your left, the road leads back to Tapae Gate. On one corner of the intersection is an old house now used as a gallery for the Chiang Mai Architectural Historical Society.
Just a bit further down Prapoklao Road is the small but beautiful temple of Wat Pan Tao, and its much larger neighbor, Wat Chedi Luang.
From these temples, if you backtrack to Rajdamnoen Road and turn left, the street will eventually dead-end at Wat Pra Singh, home to one of Thailand's most revered, and apparently most copied, Buddha images.
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There's much more to see in the old city. If you follow the above walking tour, you'll no doubt see many other things worth investigating.
In the center of the old walled city, behind the monument to the Three Kings, stands the old provincial hall. The hall was built in 1924 when the government in Bangkok decided to exert full control over the former Lanna kingdom, which up to then had been an autonomous region of Siam. The hall stands on the site of a palace of one of the former princes of Chiang Mai.
There seems to be well over 100 hotels in Chiang Mai's old city, or just across the moat from it. Most of these are small hotels and guest-houses, ranging from cheap to expensive. I've selected a few places for you to consider, listed below, based on past experience and recommendations from trusted travelers. You can search click through the scrolling ad on this page to search for more hotel options.
The reconstructed eastern gate to the old city is one of five original gates through the walls of the old city. The Tapae Gate, as it's called now, is the only one of the gates to be fully rebuilt. The restoration took place in the 1980s, based on old photographs and drawings, and there's still quite a bit of controversy about the authenticity of the design. The only truly original parts of the old walls that remain are the ramparts at the four corners.
At roughly the center of the walled city, in the district where the former rulers of Chiang Mai built their palaces, stands the monument to the 'Three Kings' -- King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai; his contemporary and reportedly good friend King Ramkamhaeng of Sukothai; and King Ngam Muang of Payao.
The Three Kings Monument in Chiang Mai. According to legend, the three worked together to lay out the city of Chiang Mai.
Next to the well known temple of Wat Chedi Luang is a small interesting temple called Wat Pan Tao, which means "to increase 1,000 times." The temple was built around the same time as Wat Chedi Luang, in the late fourteenth century. It was one of four monastic temples serving the royal temple next door.
The elegant wooden wiharn of the temple The temple's most interesting feature is its wooden wiharn, a chapel for lay people to pray in.
Within the walls of the ancient city are several old temples of interest. Among them, Wat Phra Singh is perhaps the largest and most interesting, although it may not seem so at first glance. Upon entering the main gate, you're greeted by a large and dusty parking area. Across the lot is a large wiharn (prayer hall) with an intricately carved front. This is your first clue that there's more here than there might appear.
