Cafeography
Chiang Mai · South Chiang Mai

Cafés in South Chiang Mai

South of the center, towards Hai Ya and Wua Lai: silver streets and local cafés.

Photo: Vishal Chokkala, Pexels License

South of the moat, Chiang Mai Gate opens onto Wua Lai Road (ถนนวัวลาย), the old silver-working quarter, and the city beyond spreads toward the airport, about 3 km south-west of the center.1 Most of the city's tourist services sit east of the moat around Tha Phae Gate, so the south side stays quieter, except on Saturday evenings when the walking street fills Wua Lai.1

The south side's cafés run to Thai chains, neighborhood coffee shops and a morning-only coffee house that opens at 05:30. Specialty coffee is scarce here, and the cafés are spread out rather than clustered on a single street.

Local tip: On a Saturday, have an early dinner at the Chiang Mai Gate food stalls, then cross to Wua Lai Road when the walking street opens at 17:00.

At a glance

128Cafés listed
14With opening hours
05:30Earliest opening
21:00Latest closing

Chamichi สาขา นิ่มซิตี้เดลี่

  • ถนนมหิดล ตำบลหายยา อเมือง จเชียงใหม่ 50100
  • +66933479888
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Coffee Key เครื่องดื่มและพิซซ่าฮาลาล

  • 422/9 ถนน เชียงใหม่แลนด์
  • +66918511580
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Coffee chains in South Chiang Mai

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Two gates on the south moat

Chiang Mai Gate was built around 1296, when King Mangrai founded the city, and marked the start of the road south to Lamphun; the current structure is a 1966–1969 rebuild.1 The fresh market beside it sells produce and meat, and its food stalls stay busy through the day and into the evening.1

Saen Pung Gate, about 400 m from the south-west corner of the moat, first appears in records around 1545. It was the gate through which the dead were carried out to crematoria beyond the walls.1

Wua Lai Road and the Silver Temple

Wat Sri Suphan, on Wua Lai Road, was founded around 1500 under King Mueang Kaeo, and its ordination hall is clad in silver, nickel and aluminum panels worked in repoussé.2 The surrounding Haiya district is the city's traditional silversmith quarter, and metal workshops still operate there; women are not allowed inside the hall.2

On Saturdays, from 17:00 to 23:00, Wua Lai Road becomes a walking street starting across from Chiang Mai Gate, a smaller version of the Sunday market with many of the same vendors.15 Artisan, at 204/1 Wua Lai Road, is a café on the walking-street route itself.

South Chiang Mai's cafés

South Chiang Mai has the city's earliest regular opener, สภากาแฟ (เจ้าเก่า), roughly "the original coffee council", which serves 05:30–11:00 and takes Fridays off. Doi Chaang Coffee runs 07:00–21:00; the brand comes from Doi Chang village in Chiang Rai's Mae Suai district, at 1,000–1,700 m, where 40 families received arabica plants in 1983 and a farmer-led company was formed in 2003.3

Fieow Coffee Room, a specialty café, opens Monday to Saturday, 09:00–17:00. Rolf Coffee, at 117 Ban Chang Kham Moo 11, keeps 08:00–20:00. Black Canyon Coffee, the Thai chain that, with S&P, still outsells Starbucks in Thailand, has branches here too.4

Toward the airport and Wiang Kum Kam

The airport is 10–15 minutes from the center by car, and registered airport taxis charge a flat 150฿ for up to five passengers to anywhere in the city as of 2026.1 From the moat's south-west corner, Ku Huang, the road leads to the Central Plaza Chiang Mai Airport mall and the terminal; the mall's basement has a large market of ready-to-eat Thai food.1

Further south, Wiang Kum Kam was Mangrai's first capital, abandoned after repeated floods and rediscovered when the Fine Arts Department found one of its temples in 1984.1

Sources

  1. Chiang Mai travel guide, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  2. Wat Sri Suphan, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Doi Chaang Coffee: A Sufficiency-Based Community Enterprise for Sustainability, NIDA Case Research Journal, Vol. 12 No. 2 (2020), Priyanut Dharmapiya, accessed October 2026
  4. Thailand travel guide, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  5. Chiang Mai, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In South Chiang Mai, also browse: Specialty coffee Open by 6am Wi-Fi Outdoor seating Brunch Bakery cafés

FAQ

South Chiang Mai cafés: questions

When is the Saturday Walking Street on Wua Lai Road in Chiang Mai?

The Wua Lai walking street runs every Saturday from 17:00 to 23:00, starting across from Chiang Mai Gate on the south side of the moat. It is a smaller version of the Sunday market on Ratchadamnoen Road, with many of the same vendors, and runs through the city's old silversmith district past Wat Sri Suphan.

What is the Silver Temple on Wua Lai Road in south Chiang Mai?

The Silver Temple is Wat Sri Suphan, founded around 1500 under King Mueang Kaeo. Its ordination hall is clad in silver, nickel and aluminum panels, and it stands in the Haiya district, the city's traditional silversmith quarter, where workshops still operate. Women are not allowed inside the ordination hall.

Which café in south Chiang Mai opens earliest?

สภากาแฟ (เจ้าเก่า), roughly "the original coffee council", opens at 05:30 and serves until 11:00, every day except Friday. Doi Chaang Coffee and the airport branch of delicafé Thongthanaphon both open at 07:00.

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