Chiang Mai Sunday Market Guide: Old Town Highlights

Sunday Night Market

Did you know Chiang Mai has a night market that only opens on Sundays? This is exactly why you should always do a little research before you travel! Even though I totally winged it without looking things up, I got super lucky with my itinerary. Since I arrived on a Sunday, I was able to check it out on my very first night. It's not every day you get to visit, so missing out on this would have been such a bummer. Note to self: always look up the basics beforehand... haha.

1. Chiang Mai Sunday Market Location

2. Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Location

Chiang Mai Sunday Market Location

The market stretches all the way from here to Tha Phae Gate. Since it's the Old Town Sunday Market, you'll immediately recognize it just by walking around.

Between the bustling crowds, the mouth-watering street food stalls, and all the cute little trinkets for sale, it's hard to miss. Since you're bound to visit the Tha Phae Gate area anyway, even if you had no idea the market existed, you would've naturally stumbled right into it if you were out and about on a Sunday.

I'm not sure if it's always this packed because the Old Town Night Market only opens on Sundays, or if it was exceptionally busy because it was during the Yi Peng (Loy Krathong) Festival, but the crowds were absolutely massive.

There were tons of rattan bags and classic souvenirs everywhere, though after walking around for a bit, they all started to look a little similar haha. For me, the real highlight was munching on different street foods while taking in the vibrant atmosphere.

You can see the crowd in the photos, but it was especially packed near Tha Phae Gate. If you lose your travel buddies here, finding them again won't be easy!

Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Location

Since I was already out, I decided to walk over to the Night Bazaar. If you head past Tha Phae Gate and walk towards that gate, then turn right, you'll find it. Here is the spot:

Spotted a place selling takeaway beer on the way and grabbed one for the walk. Just a heads up—the 'Jug' option looks quite small in the photo, but it's actually huge! It is so much beer that it's hard to finish, so choose wisely.

I also stopped to watch a cool fire show.

There were so many lovely boutique shops. I noticed that these permanent setups tend to have more unique, one-of-a-kind items compared to the weekly Sunday Market.

You'll see a few spots marked 'Night Bazaar' like this, and the entire street is filled with vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs, making it a great place to stroll and window shop.

Since it was the day the Sunday Market was open, this area was incredibly quiet compared to the main market hub.

This was actually the most crowded spot I saw around here. Aside from this, the streets and little boutique shops were super peaceful. Well, I guess you can easily visit this area on any other day of the week!

I ended up checking out both spots on the same day,

and walked all the way here. It was quite a trek and definitely a bit of a workout! It was much further than I initially thought.

This is a spot where you can float a krathong, so I decided to release one into the river too.

That wraps up my adventure exploring Chiang Mai's night markets, from the Night Bazaar to the Sunday Market! If you're planning a trip here, I highly recommend coordinating your schedule ahead of time so you can experience them both at their best.