Guide · Night markets

Chiang Mai night market street food, market by market

Chiang Mai night market street food is spread across gates, walking streets and an old covered market. Each has its own hours and character; here is how to read them before you go hungry.

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Editorial team, chiang-mai-food-tour.comUpdated October 26, 2026Reading time 6 min25 sources

The tour this guide is about Evening street food tour in Chiang Mai 4.7 (870 reviews) 2.5 hoursHotel pickup and drop-offUp to 8 per group from$40per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01For regional food: TAT points to the Wua Lai and Sunday walking streets for northern delicacies like khao soi.¹
02For crafts first: The Night Bazaar is known for handicrafts, lanterns and textiles.²
03Oldest market: Warorot, where chefs buy ingredients and you can snack.³
04A late sweet: A guide-listed roti stall by Wat Mahawan opens 18:30 to midnight.⁴ ⁵
05Want a guide?: The evening tour with pickup covers at least two markets in 2.5 hours.

How the city eats after dark

Food in Chiang Mai moves outdoors in the evening. Car parks fill with folding tables, gates in the old city wall become food courts and whole streets close to traffic for a weekly market. TAT names Chiang Mai's Wua Lai and Sunday Walking Street among the night markets of Thailand that show off regional dishes, from khao soi noodles onward.¹

Each market has a personality. Some are mostly crafts with food at the edges; others are mostly food with a few souvenir stalls. Some run every night, others once a week, and a few are really daytime markets with a late shift. Knowing which is which saves you a long walk on an empty stomach.

The approach that works is simple. Walk the whole row once before you buy anything, look for the stalls with a queue of local customers and a cook working to order, and share small plates rather than committing to one big meal. Cash in small notes makes every stop quicker. Most of all, leave space: the best discoveries tend to be the third or fourth stall, not the first.

One evening

A market night from sunset to the last roti

Early evening

Pickup or a walk

The evening tour collects you at your hotel; on your own, head for a gate market.
First hour

Gate market

One trail spends an hour tasting at Chiang Mai Gate Market.
18:30

Roti stall opens

The Bib Gourmand roti stall by Wat Mahawan starts cooking.⁵
About 9:30 to 10 pm

Tour drop-off

The guided evening ends back at your accommodation.
Up to 23:00

Late noodles

Sanpakoi Kanomjeen serves khanom chin until 23:00, Monday to Saturday.⁶

The walking streets of Wua Lai and Sunday

The walking streets are the big events. TAT pairs the Wua Lai market with the Sunday Walking Street when it lists Thailand's after-dark food highlights, and both are walking streets lined with stalls after dark.¹ Wua Lai Road has its own guide-listed kitchen: Euang Kam Sai, run by one family for over a century, serves khao bai rice parcels.⁷

Sunday Walking Street food is a grazing affair. TAT points to regional dishes such as khao soi, and you can expect crowds after dark.¹ Arrive near the start of the evening, eat first and shop afterwards, when your hands are free and the queues at the best stalls have formed and moved on.

Both markets suit a self-guided evening, but they are busy. Keep your bag in front of you, agree on a meeting point with your group, and carry water. If it rains, a light rain jacket keeps the evening going.

Rain by month

How much rain falls on market evenings

Average monthly rain at the Chiang Mai station, WMO normals 1991 to 2020.⁸

Side by side

Markets and stalls at a glance

Place	Best for	When	Guided option
Sunday Walking Street	Regional dishes	Sunday evening	Self-guided
Wua Lai market	Regional dishes	Evening	Self-guided
Night Bazaar	Crafts & snacks	Evening	Trail ends nearby
Chiang Mai Gate Market	Weeknight dinner	Evening	1-hour tasting
Chang Phueak Gate	Quick dinner	Evening	45-minute tasting
Warorot Market	Ingredients & snacks	Daytime	2.5-hour walk
Roti Pa Day	Sweet roti	18:30 to midnight	Self-guided

Hours and guided options as the listings and the MICHELIN Guide state them; the walking-street days are the markets' own names.¹ ² ⁵

Three guided evenings

Pickup and two markets, a temple trail or a tuk-tuk

Small-Group Chiang Mai Evening Street Food Tour

This site's pick

Evening markets with pickup

At least two markets

Hours: 2.5
Group: Up to 8
Price: from $40

See the dates

Chiang Mai After Dark: Golden-lit Temples & Lanna Food Trail

Temples too

Temples and food trail

Chiang Mai Gate tasting

Hours: 4 to 5
Tasting stops: Chang Phueak, Tha Phae, Chiang Mai Gate
Price: from $43

See the dates

Up to 4 people

Tuk-tuk evening

Gate, Warorot, Ton Lam Yai

Hours: 4
Market stops: 30 minutes each
Price: from $60

See the dates

Decision helper

Which market night suits you?

Choose by the evening you want.

I want the big walking-street night I want to shop and snack I want a weeknight local dinner I want someone to order for me I want ingredients and history

A walking street

TAT lists Wua Lai and the Sunday Walking Street for regional dishes.¹

The Night Bazaar

Handicrafts, lanterns and textiles, with food among the shops.²

A gate market

Chiang Mai Gate and Chang Phueak are the tasting stops of an evening trail.

The evening tour

At least two markets and 8 or more dishes, with hotel pickup.

Warorot by day

TAT calls it the oldest market in the city.³

Beyond the capital, Chiang Mai’s Wua Lai and Sunday Walking Street, Phuket’s Weekend Night Market, and Krabi Town Walking Street highlight regional delicacies from khao soi noodles to fresh southern seafood.

Tourism Authority of ThailandSource 1

The Night Bazaar and its food courts

TAT describes the Night Bazaar for its northern handicrafts, lanterns and textiles.² Food is the second act here: stalls and food courts sit among the shops, and Chiang Mai Night Bazaar street food is easy to find, though it is aimed more at visitors than the markets further north and west.

That is not a reason to skip it. It is close to many hotels and makes an easy first night when you want to browse and snack rather than hunt for one famous stall. One after-dark food trail ends nearby at Anusarn Night Market for guests who want to stay out.

For a stronger local flavor, use the bazaar as a starting point and walk west towards Tha Phae Gate. Roti Pa Day, a Bib Gourmand stall in front of Wat Mahawan on Thapae Road Soi 4, opens from 18:30 until midnight every evening, with a long list of toppings beyond the classic condensed milk.⁴ ⁵ ⁹

Map

Where the food is: the old city markets and the districts around them

First the gates, markets and stalls in and around the old city, then the districts where the farm cooking schools and some guide-listed kitchens are.

Map of the Chiang Mai old city with Tha Phae Gate, Chiang Mai Gate Market, Warorot Market, the Night Bazaar, Wat Mahawan, Wat Ket Karam and Chang Phueak Gate — Old city and markets

Map of Chiang Mai and the districts of Mae Rim, Saraphi, San Sai and San Kamphaeng — Around Chiang Mai

1
Tha Phae Gate
The after-dark food trail spends an hour tasting here; the Michelin walk meets on Tha Pae Road nearby.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Chiang Mai Gate Market
The same trail ends its tastings with an hour at this market.
In Google Maps ↗
3
Warorot Market
Called the oldest market in the city by TAT; the Michelin walk, a guided market walk and the truck tour all stop or end here.³
In Google Maps ↗
4
Chiang Mai Night Bazaar
TAT points to it for northern handicrafts, lanterns and textiles.²
In Google Maps ↗
5
Wat Mahawan
Roti Pa Day, a Bib Gourmand street stall, stands in front of this temple and opens from 18:30 to midnight.⁴ ⁵
In Google Maps ↗
6
Wat Ket Karam
Lung Khajohn Wat Ket, opposite the temple, makes khao kriap pak mo and opens from 06:00 to 14:30, closed on Sunday.¹⁰ ¹¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Chang Phueak Gate
One evening trail tastes food here for 45 minutes and a tuk-tuk tour stops at the gate market for 30.
In Google Maps ↗
8
Chiang Mai
The evening street food tour picks up at your accommodation in the city.
In Google Maps ↗
9
Mae Rim
Lhongkhao Kitchen, one of the two Chiang Mai kitchens on the guide's khao soi list, is here.¹² ¹³
In Google Maps ↗
10
Saraphi
Chum serves a northern starter with a young chili relish that is not too spicy.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
11
San Sai
Kinlum Kindee cooks from its own garden, nam phrik num included.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
12
San Kamphaeng
The farm cooking class sold here sits near San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, 45 minutes from the old city.
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For a market evening

Bring

Small notes and coins
A bottle of water
A light rain jacket from May to October
Wet wipes or tissues

At the stalls

Walk the row once before buying
Pick cooks working to order
Share small plates with your group
Arrive early at the walking streets

Price check

A guided market night for your group

Choose a tour and the number of guests.

Evening, pickup2.5 hoursfrom $40 Market tour2.5 hoursfrom $40 Temples & food4 to 5 hoursfrom $43 Tuk-tuk evening4 hoursfrom $60

People 2

Total from$79

per guest from $40

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Each line takes the listing's lowest per-guest starting price on Viator or GetYourGuide, times the guests you enter, converted at the European Central Bank rate; the seller's checkout gives the exact sum.

Video

An evening of night market food in Chiang Mai

The video loads only when you tap play.

Chiang Mai Gate and Chang Phueak Gate

The gates of the old city wall host two of the most useful food markets for an ordinary weeknight. Chiang Mai Gate Market street food is the focus of one evening trail, which spends an hour tasting there after a visit to Tha Phae Gate. The same trail stops at Chang Phueak for 45 minutes of tasting earlier in the evening.

Chang Phueak Gate is the place for a quick, filling dinner. A tuk-tuk evening tour includes half an hour there among its market stops. In the same Chang Phueak district, Khao Soi Mae Sai on Ratchaphruek Road is a guide-listed khao soi shop, though it keeps daytime hours.¹⁶ ¹⁷

These gate markets are where locals eat after work, which makes them good for the dishes you cannot find on a hotel menu. Order one rice or noodle dish per person and a few things to share, and do not be shy about pointing; the vendors are used to it. A plate of rice with a curry from a tray, a bowl of noodles and a grilled skewer or two make a full meal for very little.

Warorot Market and the river side

TAT calls Warorot Market the oldest market in the city, a place where chefs stock up on ingredients and visitors can snack on freshly made treats.³ It is a daytime market first, busy with ingredients and snacks rather than dinner.

Warorot Market street food is the focus of several guided outings. A guided walk spends 2.5 hours tasting there before finishing at Ton Lam Yai Market, a truck tour with 15+ tastings ends there by the Ping River, and a short Michelin walk passes through it.

Close by, opposite Wat Ket Karam, Lung Khajohn Wat Ket makes khao kriap pak mo, steamed rice dumplings with fresh coconut milk, from 06:00 to 14:30, closed on Sunday.¹⁰ ¹¹ Go in the morning for that and come back to the river in the evening.

Daytime markets with a late shift

Not every famous stall is a night stall. Sanpakoi Kanomjeen at Thongkam Market serves khanom chin noodles with curries from 11:00 to 23:00, closed on Sunday, and it is on the Bib Gourmand list.¹⁸ ⁶ ¹⁹ It is a good late dinner when the gate markets are packed.

Nam Ngiao Yong, a stall at Siri Wattana Market on Chang Phueak Road, serves khanom chin nam ngiao with a tangy tomato broth and pork ribs.²⁰ Tue Ka Ko Na Prince makes crispy fried taro to order and closes when it sells out, and the guide's advice is to come early.²¹

TAT also points to Mae Hia Friday Market as a place to see regional cooking that the Michelin Guide has recognised.²² Weekly markets like it reward a little planning: check the day before you set out, and pair it with a guide-listed lunch nearby. Build your day around them: a morning dumpling, a lunchtime noodle bowl and a gate market at night is a complete eating tour on your own.

Rain, heat and the best months to graze

Open-air eating depends on the weather. A normal year brings Chiang Mai 1,139.2 mm of rain, and the wettest month on the WMO normals is August, with 223 mm.²³ ⁸ From May to October showers can interrupt an evening, and a light rain layer earns its place in your bag.⁸

The dry months are the easiest for grazing. TAT says the city cools down from November to February, with crisp air that makes being outdoors more comfortable.²⁴ January brings an average of 11 mm of rain across the whole month.⁸

April is the month to plan around heat rather than rain, with an average high of 36.7 °C.²⁵ In the hot season, start your market evening after sunset, drink plenty of water and leave the heavy curries for a cooler night.

Book your evening

Your first night in Chiang Mai, well fed.

Hotel pickup, two or more markets, 8+ dishes, and free cancellation up to a day ahead.

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You ask,we answer.

Which night market has the best street food?

It depends on the night. TAT points to the Wua Lai and Sunday walking streets for regional dishes; the Night Bazaar is better known for crafts.¹ ²

Is the Night Bazaar good for food?

Yes, as a second purpose. TAT describes it for handicrafts, lanterns and textiles, with food among the shops.²

When is Roti Pa Day open?

Every evening, 18:30 to midnight. It is a Bib Gourmand stall in front of Wat Mahawan on Thapae Road Soi 4.⁵ ⁴ ⁹

What is Warorot Market?

The city's oldest market. TAT says chefs buy ingredients there and visitors can snack on freshly made treats.³

How wet are rainy-season evenings?

Wet on many days, May to October. On the WMO normals, May has 12 days with at least 1 mm of rain and August 17; pack a light rain layer.⁸

Can I see several markets in one evening?

With a tour, yes. The evening tour with pickup visits at least two evening markets in 2.5 hours.

Is it safe to eat at the markets?

Use common sense. Choose stalls that cook to order and have local customers, and drink bottled water.