Chiang Mai After Dark: A 3-Day Lanna Street Food, Cocktail, and Wine Bar Crawl in December

Temple bells cut through the cool December air as you step out into the Old City, the moat road already humming softly with motorbikes. The day begins at Garden to Table Chiangmai, where sunlight falls across terracotta pots and plates piled with herbs that still taste like the soil they came from. From there, the Old City’s spiritual spine takes over: Wat Chedi Luang’s crumbled brick stupa rising against a pale blue sky, then Wat Phra Singh’s gold catching the late-morning light, incense smoke threading around your ankles. By midday, you’re at Memories of Chiang Mai, trading temple quiet for the clink of plates and the warm, savory perfume of Burmese curries. The afternoon slows at The Chiang Mai OLD TOWN Hotel – not as a guest, but as a base to read by the pool and feel the textured cool of stone under bare feet while the city hums beyond the walls. As dusk folds in, &THEN glows on Ratchawong Road, plates of aged duck fried rice and cocktails moving under Edison bulbs and soft chatter. The night peaks at The North Gate Jazz Co-Op, where horns wail, traffic whooshes past your barstool, and the air smells like beer foam and hot pavement. Tomorrow, you’ll follow the river, but tonight the Old City is your entire world.

The second morning feels slower, the Old City’s incense still lingering faintly in your clothes as you cross toward the riverside. December sun glints off the Ping as you arrive at Samsen Villa, where breakfast happens under trees with the river sliding past and the smell of brewed coffee mingling with grilled bread. From there, Wat Pha Lat pulls you up into the forested hills: a temple that feels hidden in the trees, where cicadas buzz and stone steps are worn smooth under your palms. By midday you’re back at the waterline, at Riverfront Restaurant Chiang Mai, where lunch stretches long over whole fish and herb-laced salads with the river just a few metres away. The afternoon drifts into River View Bar Chiang Mai, an easy progression from food to drinks as the light shifts and live music tests its soundcheck. Later, Mai Restaurant & Bar lifts you twenty-one floors above it all, cocktails and carefully plated Thai dishes arriving alongside a horizon of city lights. The night ends at Chiang Mai OriginaLive, where amps hum, local bands plug in, and the air smells like beer, fabric softener from the laundry next door, and possibility. Tomorrow, you’ll trade the river for Nimman’s neon and wine lists.

Last night’s guitar riffs fade into a softer morning on the west side of town, where Nimman’s lanes are still half-asleep. Breakfast at K Maison Lanna Boutique Hotel is all clean lines and soft light, the clink of cutlery in a courtyard that smells faintly of brewed coffee and fresh laundry. The morning takes you to Wachirathan Waterfall, trading city noise for the roar of water and the cool spray of mist on your forearms as you lean on damp railings. Back in town, Okada Izakaya anchors lunch with skewers, sashimi, and the gentle thump of J-pop under warm lanterns. The afternoon is for Jing Jai Market’s Kang Jingjai, where the air is thick with grilled meat smoke and coffee, and for wandering through stalls that feel more curated than chaotic, a different side of Chiang Mai than the Night Bazaar the guidebooks love. As darkness drops, Another World eases you into the evening with low lighting and plates that pair well with their drinks, before Ivy’s Wonder Wine Bar pulls you into its orbit: shelves of bottles, the clink of proper stemware, and a playlist that knows when to get out of the way. The night bends again at Spacetime Bar, a small, precise room where cocktails are serious, conversations low, and December’s cool air follows you in each time the door opens. You’ll leave thinking less about sights and more about the exact taste of this city after dark.