Every sunday, Chiang Mai will shut off several streets from traffic and transform the area into a huge colourful market. There’s cheap streetfood, incredible art and beautiful clothes all for sale, and prices range from 10 to 400 baht but little over. The food areas are seperate and easy to spot and access down the market, usually in temple courtyards and sell everything from sushi and thai spicy soups to the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten for 15 baht and customisable smoothies at 30 baht.
The shops and café’s on the streets it runs down are still open, so if you feel the need to get a quick coffee somewhere quieter, there’s always the option to duck into one of those. There are also toilets for 15 baht a go at the fourway junction of the market near the centre, in the corner of a small courtyard of cafés.
My family loved it so much we went twice, both times finding real gems for ourselves and as gifts, including two rubber-band wooden pistols at 90 baht each for both the boys! It’s recommend to go from 4pm to 6pm, as that gives plenty of time to explore and leaves time to walk back to your hotel before it gets too dark, as the taxis will overcharge particularly highly if you come out the walking market.