How do you get from Chiang Mai's night bazaar to the Wat Ket riverside?

Walk east across the Nawarat Bridge from the night bazaar and turn along Charoen Rat Road, the riverside street on the east bank. Wat Ket Karam is about 1.2 km from the Nawarat Bridge and 1.6 km from Warorot market. From the Old City, a songthaew, ride-hailing car or bicycle all work, and the lanes are best walked.

What is the history of the Wat Ket riverside area in Chiang Mai?

Wat Ket grew up as Chiang Mai's river port on the east bank of the Ping, a trade gateway for Chinese, Western and Lanna residents before the railway reached the city in 1922. Wat Ket Karam temple dates from 1428, and its community museum keeps old photographs of the city. Many old houses are now shops, restaurants and hotels.

Which riverside cafés in Chiang Mai stay open in the evening?

On the east bank, L'Opéra French Bakery is open 07:00–22:00, Yuzu House Central Chiangmai on the Super Highway 09:00–22:00, and Fellowship Cafe & Co-working on Chiang Mai–Lamphun Road 07:00–21:00. More than half of the riverside cafés close by 18:00.

Cafés in Riverside & Wat Ket, Chiang Mai: Hours and Map

The Ping (แม่น้ำปิง, Mae Nam Ping), a tributary of the Chao Phraya, runs along the east side of central Chiang Mai.¹ On its east bank, the Wat Ket (วัดเกต) community along Charoen Rat Road was the city's river port and trade gateway before the railway, home to Chinese, Western and Lanna residents whose wooden houses and mixed-style buildings still stand.²

East-bank cafés spread from the Wat Ket riverfront to Charoen Muang Road by the train station and out along the Chiang Mai–Lamphun Road and the Superhighway. Fellowship Cafe & Co-working and L'Opéra French Bakery both open at 07:00.

Local tip: Visit the Wat Ket Karam museum in the morning, then walk Charoen Rat Road to Nat Wat Home Cafe at number 330/2, which closes at 17:00 and all day Monday.

At a glance

341Cafés listed

34With opening hours

06:15Earliest opening

22:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Going up, from 06:15 (Mon–Fri 06:15–16:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–15:00).

Closes latest: Yuzu House Central Chiangmai, until 22:00 (Daily 09:00–22:00).

Most listed streets: ถนน เชียงใหม่-ลําพูน (8), Charoen Muang Rd (5), ถนน เกาะกลาง (3).

Most common features: wi-fi (9%), specialty (4%), bakery café (2%).

Crossing to the east bank

From the night bazaar, walk east across the Nawarat Bridge; the restaurants of Charoen Rat Road are visible along the river on your left.³ Measured from Wat Ket Karam, the Nawarat Bridge is about 1.2 km away, Warorot market 1.6 km, the Iron Bridge 2.2 km and the night bazaar 2.6 km.²

A songthaew, a ride-hailing car or a bicycle all work for the trip from the Old City.² Wat Ket's lanes are best seen on foot.

Wat Ket and the old river port

Until the 1920s, Chiang Mai could be reached only by a long river journey or by elephant.³ Boats docked on this bank, and the community that grew around them turned houses into trading premises, mixing Western, Chinese and Lanna details in windows, balconies and proportions.² The railway station opened on 1 January 1922 on Charoen Muang Road, in Wat Ket subdistrict, 751 km by rail from Bangkok.⁴

Wat Ket Karam, at 96 Charoen Rat Road, was built in 1428, and its grounds include an old market that served the Chinese community.⁵ The temple's community museum holds old photographs of the city and carved gable ornaments from the former ordination hall; it usually opens 10:00–16:30.²⁵ Many of the old buildings around it are now shops, restaurants and hotels.⁶

Cafés on the east bank

Charoen Rat Road has Nat Wat Home Cafe at 330/2 (Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00–17:00) and Wawee. Fellowship Cafe & Co-working, at 326/3 Chiang Mai–Lamphun Road in Wat Ket, opens 07:00–21:00, long hours for a laptop café.

Charoen Muang Road, which runs to the station, has Brewing Room at number 147 (08:00–16:00), Plearn Coffee at 322/3, Son Of A Brew (weekdays 08:00–17:00) and a Baristro branch at the station itself. Khagee, at 29–30 Chiang Mai–Lamphun Soi 1, is a specialty café that also bakes and offers oat milk.

Evenings and timing

Charoen Rat Road is one of the city's busiest nightlife strips, known for live music in its riverside restaurants.³ For coffee after dark, L'Opéra French Bakery is open 07:00–22:00, and Yuzu House Central Chiangmai, at 99/1 Super Highway, 09:00–22:00. By 18:00, more than half of the east-bank cafés have shut.

For the Wat Ket walk and the museum, morning or late afternoon is the recommended time.²

Cafés in Riverside & Wat Ket

At a glance

Baan 104 Coffee and Bakery

Cult Caffeine

ENTHEOS Coffee House

Fellowship Cafe & Co-working

Going up

Homglai

Honey Bee Coffee & Meal

Later On Cafe

Life coffee

Love at First Bite

Mabel Cort Cafe

Nat Wat Home Cafe

Niyom Coffee

O R B Cafe

Son Of A Brew

The Extraction Sansai

ร้านกาแฟ ดูโอโม่

Black coffee smile

Brewing Room

POHSOP local-rice eatery vegetarian

Sally’s Cafe

Upper Crust Cafe

Yuzu House Central Chiangmai

บ้านกาแฟ

ออน เดอะ เวย์ คาเฟ่ เชียงใหม่ สาขาหนองหอย

24 Cafe

429 หม่าล่า คาเฟ่ - 429 Mha La

5Dimensions Coffee Roaster

Always Cafe and Bistro

AM / PM

Aoddy Coffee Shop

apr.coffee

At Ta Rote Cafe

Avocado Cafe

Bays Coffee Co.

Best Part Coffee Roasters

Coffee chains in Riverside & Wat Ket

Café Amazon

Roastniyom Coffee

Mingmitr Coffee

Starbucks

Black Canyon Coffee

Wawee Coffee

The Baristro

GRAPH Coffee Co.

Inthanin Coffee

Coffee World

Tom N Toms

Crossing to the east bank

Wat Ket and the old river port

Cafés on the east bank

Evenings and timing

Sources

More of Chiang Mai

Old City

Nimman

Santitham

Tha Phae & Night Bazaar

Suthep & CMU

Chang Phueak & north

South Chiang Mai

Riverside & Wat Ket cafés: questions

How do you get from Chiang Mai's night bazaar to the Wat Ket riverside?

What is the history of the Wat Ket riverside area in Chiang Mai?

Which riverside cafés in Chiang Mai stay open in the evening?

Own a café in Riverside & Wat Ket?