Nightlife in Chiang Mai

If you're after the slickest night out in town, head to the small lanes 7, 9, and 11 that branch off Nimman Road. These three sois pack in more craft-cocktail lounges, wine bars, and the long-running club Warm-Up Cafe than anywhere else in Chiang Mai. Expect mostly Thai professionals in their twenties and thirties plus a fair share of expats. Tabs are noticeably higher than in other districts. Yet everything sits within a few minutes' walk, so you can drift from one spot to the next without hopping in a songthaew. Use Maya Mall at the northern end of Nimman as your compass point.

For a louder, cheaper, and wonderfully messy scene, plant yourself in the northeast corner of the old-town moat where Rajvithi and Moon Muang roads cross. Open-air bars line both sides of the street, thumping music spills onto the pavement, and the crowd is almost all backpackers with a sprinkling of locals. The cluster around Zoe in Yellow (it has changed names a few times but everyone still calls it Zoe) starts filling up around 9 p.m. and stays shoulder-to-shoulder until closing. Beer buckets and rum-and-cokes sit at 60, 80 baht, and the atmosphere is impossible to ignore.

This stretch feels looser and more spread out. The Night Bazaar itself shuts around 10 p.m., yet the blocks toward the Ping River and along Loi Kroh Road keep going with small bars, live-music joints such as Boy's Blues Bar, and late-night food stalls. The clientele skews older and more touristy, and the action never clumps together the way it does in Nimman or around the moat. Still, if your hotel is down here, you'll find enough places for a decent crawl without crossing town.