Cafeography
Chiang Mai · Old City

Cafés in Old City

Inside the moat: temple lanes, courtyard cafés and the Sunday walking street.

Photo: Guillaume Meurice, Pexels License

The Old City is the walled square that King Mangrai founded in 1296, about 1.6 km on each side and ringed by a moat roughly 6.5 km around.12 Little of the red-brick wall survives beyond the gates and corners, but the moat still frames the street grid and is the reference point most people navigate by.2 Inside it stand more than 30 temples, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang among them.2

Only Nimman has more cafés than the square inside the moat. Most are small rooms on the soi (ซอย, lanes) between temple walls, and the specialty roasters share those lanes with juice bars, tea houses and a coffee shop that never closes.

Local tip: On a Sunday, reach Akha Ama Phrasingh before 16:00, when Ratchadamnoen Road starts closing to traffic. The café stays open until 20:00 that day, so you can come back once the stalls are up.

At a glance

241Cafés listed
70With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Bloomin' Moon, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–17:00).
  • Closes latest: Batch : Baked & Brew, until 00:00 (Daily 07:00–00:00).
  • Most listed streets: ถนน พระปกเกล้า (7), ถนน ราชมรรคา (5), Ratchapakhinai Rd (5).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (23%), outdoor seating (9%), vegetarian options (7%).

Dollar Coffee

  • QXVV+P98 ถ. มูลเมือง ตำบลศรีภูมิ อำเภอเมืองเชียงใหม่ เชียงใหม่ 50300
  • Daily 07:00–18:00
  • +6653010720
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Coffee chains in Old City

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Gates, moat and getting around

Five gates break the moat: Chang Phueak on the north side, Tha Phae on the east, Chiang Mai and Saen Pung on the south, and Suan Dok on the west.2 Tha Phae, which means "raft landing", is the one visitors use most; the original dated from the city's founding, and the gate standing today is a 1980s rebuild.23

Traffic inside the walls is light enough that cycling is a quick way across.2 As of 2026, a red songthaew (สองแถว, a shared pickup taxi) charges a fixed 30฿ a person for rides within the walls, and a Grab car covering a few kilometers usually costs 60–80฿.2

Where the Old City's cafés cluster

The two halves of the square feel different. The east side, and the north-east corner in particular, is packed with guesthouses, restaurants and travel agents, while the west side is more Thai, with a school for the blind, the city's branch of the National Library and tabletop barbecue restaurants full of local diners.2

The Moon Muang Road sois along the east moat hold a run of coffee bars: ZMOY at 7 Moon Muang Soi 7, NOWHERE Coffee Brewers at 20 Moon Muang Lane 6 and Akha Ama's newer branch on Soi 9. On the west and north sides, look for GRASP 1981 Espresso Bar at 2 Ratvithi Road, Fern Forest Cafe at 54/1 Singharat Road, Pimm's Cup: Roastary Lab on Sam Lan Road and Liberated Seed Roasters at 17 Ja Ban Road.

Sundays on Ratchadamnoen Road

Every Sunday, about 1 km of Ratchadamnoen Road closes to motor traffic for the Walking Street market, which runs from Tha Phae Gate west to Wat Phra Singh, a temple dating from 1345.12 Stalls start going up around 16:00, most are trading by 18:00, and many pack up around 22:00; smoking and drinking are banned, with fines of up to 4,000฿.2

Akha Ama Phrasingh, near the western end of the route, is a social-enterprise roaster that buys directly from indigenous farmers, including the Akha village of Maejantai in Chiang Rai province.24 The company began trading in 2010.5 It closes at 18:00 Monday to Saturday and at 20:00 on Sundays, when the market is on its doorstep.

Hours and seasons inside the walls

About six in ten Old City cafés close by 18:00. The earliest regular openers start at 07:00, among them Batch: Baked & Brew at 15/7 Loi Kroh Road, which then stays open until midnight, and Gravity Cafe & Bistro, open 07:00–22:00. Wake Up Coffee in Si Phum is open 24 hours.

The hot season runs from March to June, and the smoke of the burning season, roughly February to April, often makes the air hazardous.2 Fine-particle readings in Chiang Mai reached 183 µg/m³ in 2018, so on smoky days an air-conditioned room beats a courtyard table.1

Sources

  1. Chiang Mai, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Chiang Mai travel guide, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  3. Tha Phae Gate, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Empowering indigenous communities through coffee: The Story of Akha Ama, Slow Food, accessed October 2026
  5. How Chiang Mai became Thailand's coffee capital, Cathay Pacific, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Chiang Mai

Nimman

223 cafés

Santitham

140 cafés

Tha Phae & Night Bazaar

141 cafés

Riverside & Wat Ket

341 cafés

Suthep & CMU

147 cafés

Chang Phueak & north

47 cafés

South Chiang Mai

128 cafés

In Old City, also browse: Specialty coffee Open by 6am Wi-Fi Outdoor seating Open late Brunch Bakery cafés

FAQ

Old City cafés: questions

How big is Chiang Mai's Old City, and how do you get around it?

Chiang Mai's Old City is a square about 1.6 km on each side, enclosed by a moat roughly 6.5 km around. Traffic inside the walls is light enough for cycling. As of 2026, red songthaews charge a fixed 30 baht a person for rides within the walls, and short Grab trips usually cost 60–80 baht.

When is the Sunday Walking Street in Chiang Mai's Old City?

The Sunday Walking Street takes over about 1 km of Ratchadamnoen Road, from Tha Phae Gate west to Wat Phra Singh, every Sunday. Stalls start setting up around 16:00, most are trading by 18:00, and many pack up around 22:00. Smoking and drinking are banned, with fines of up to 4,000 baht.

What time do cafés in Chiang Mai's Old City open and close?

Most close by 18:00: nearly two-thirds of Old City cafés shut by then. The earliest regular openers start at 07:00. A few stay open late: Batch: Baked & Brew on Loi Kroh Road runs 07:00–00:00, Gravity Cafe & Bistro 07:00–22:00, and Wake Up Coffee in Si Phum is open 24 hours.

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