Sunday Walking Street (Tha Phae)
The city's biggest and best-loved walking-street market, filling the main Old City road with crafts, food and buskers.
- Category
- Markets & Night Markets
- Entrance fee
- Free
- Hours
- Sundays only, ~16:00-22:00
- Best time
- Sunday evening from ~17:00; go early to beat the crush
- Time needed
- 1.5-3 hours
About Sunday Walking Street (Tha Phae)
This is the big one, Chiang Mai's signature walking street market, taking over the main Old City road every Sunday evening with stalls of crafts, street food, and buskers working the crowd. If you only do one night market in Chiang Mai, locals will point you here.
The catch is the crowds. This gets extremely packed, shoulder to shoulder in places, so it's not a relaxed evening if you go at peak time. It's still worth doing, just go in knowing what you're walking into.
It's entirely walkable within the Old City, starting from Tha Phae Gate, so there's no transport to sort out, just patience for the crush.
Highlights
- Stalls running the length of the main Old City road
- Handmade crafts and local street food
- Buskers and street performers along the route
- Tha Phae Gate as the starting point and easy landmark
Tips
- Go early, from around 5pm, to beat the worst of the crowds before it peaks later
- It only runs on Sundays, so plan your week around that if this is a priority
- Wear comfortable shoes, you'll be on your feet moving slowly through crowds for a while
- It's free to wander, budget separately for whatever food or crafts catch your eye
How to get there
Walkable in the Old City; anchor point is Tha Phae Gate