Thanks in advance for giving me some ideas about things to do in Chiang Mai when I will drop by for 3 days in january. Will be there with my girlfriend and looking for the "must see" of this city. It's our first visit and just want to stroll around and see the main attractions. Any ideas and recommendations highly appreciated.

P.S.: no, not interested in night life and bars and clubs.

night safari, tiger kingdom is pretty cool if you havent been in a zoo for quite sometime. chiang mai zoo is alittle disappointing though.

doi suthep temple is pretty nice and i really enjoyed kantoke dinner since i never really see traditional dances before

for something more outdoors would be flight of the gibbon, atv rides, shooting range =)

and of course, night bazaars which i personally dont really enjoyed it

Hiking in and around Doi Sutthep. It is the big mountain with the temple near the top. The hikes can be long or short depending on your ability. The trail from Huaykaew waterfall to where the trail comes back on the road is pretty good and well traveled. You can even swim in the few tiny waterfall pools.

If you get bored doing the above mentioned activities you can always check out a temple.

buy a travel guide.

Walking Street !

Check Greenside's map of Chiang Mai at the top of page in the saved section. It helps to orient yourself. The moat around the inner city is a mile square, or about 1.6 km per side. It gives you some perspective of size and distance.

There is a small lake/reservoir to the north west of Chiang Mai called Huay Tung Thao. It is about 4 km on a paved road around the lake and there are places to eat in various spots. There is also a bush road at the north end that connects up with roads behind Doi Sutthep. The lake is about 12 km from the moat and is suitable for swimming. At least the Thais swim there.

when you arrive; each and every tourst agency has dozens of "tourist" leaflets/flyers of every excursion going........but why not try a "free" tuk tuk excursion.......it would be a shame not to share your experience with friends later..

when you arrive; each and every tourst agency has dozens of "tourist" leaflets/flyers of every excursion going........but why not try a "free" tuk tuk excursion.......it would be a shame not to share your experience with friends later..

Hehe... being new to Chiang Mai does not mean being Newbie to Thailand and it's tuktuk "society"

For all others: Thanks for the (mostly) valuable input.

How about the woman's prison massage? I think that would be a first for them?

It would help to know what your interests are before we just start guessing. That way someone with a bit of local knowledge could point you in the right direction. Some people like zoos and others hate them. Some people only want to shop and eat.

Troll post removed.

* Wat Umong. It's well known, but I thought I'd highlight it here because it's cool.

* The museum near the Three Kings monument. Much better than the Chiang Mai National Museum near Wat Jed Yod. (Though Jed Yod temple itself is worth a visit. But then again so are two handfulls of other temples around town.)

* The Sunday evening "Walking Street Market" between Thapae Gate and Wat Phra Singh is far more interesting than the ubiquitous and more touristy Night Bazar.

* Kad Luang / Talad Warorot / The Big Market : Great Thai 'wet' and 'dry' market, very colorful any time of the day and night. The flower market stretch along the river is also nice at night.

* When visiting Doi Suthep, skip the tourist market village and continue further up. Cool and beautiful area. Also don't forget the waterfalls (especially the ones that don't charge 200 baht admission) In the dry season, sometimes the sky is definitely hazy which doesn't make for nice views when your at the top at the temple there. Best to pick a time when you can see the mountain clearly, then the view back onto the city will be clear too. Also don't miss the waterfalls along the way. The only one signposted (Montratan Falls) charges the 200 baht National Park fee (not worth it, but maybe they'll let you go free or for the Thai price, who knows). But anyway before getting to Montratan you will have passed 3 more of them; one near the zoo, and then 2 more up the mountain. (It's where some other cars and bikes are parked). There's now even a forest walking path that connects these waterfall areas and goes all the way down to where the shrine of the famous monk Khru Bar Srivichai is. If you have your own motorbike then it's nice to continue further up past the temple. First past some souvenir market, then continue up, then NOT down towards the souvenir hilltribe village but take a right further up. It just gets nicer and cooler. Good for the views, clear air and you can walk around.

* For a daytime swim, Ob Khan National Park is very nice too. (No entry fee) This is a river flowing through a rock gorge. It's pretty deep in places, on weekends it's a popular place; watch Thai kids climb up really high on the rock walls of the gorge and dive in. ;-) (Also Huay Tueng Thao lake, off the Canal Road North of town. You can swim, or sit on a raft and eat and drink beer.) Actually the valley and village further along that road is quite scenic too, especially in the rice growing season. Fun area to swim and dive. Pretty deep too inside the gorge, you could climb on it pretty high then dive in. There's also a path going alongside the gorge, then you can climb back down later and be in in this quiet little niche close to the water.

* Really spaced out new-age kind of pastel colored murals at Wat Doi Saket in Doi Saket disctrict.

* All the ruins of older abandoned pagoda's (chedis) that are scattered around town. You'll find these when waling throught the 'old town' which otherwise doesn't seem 'old' at all, but is rather ice and quiet and you find interesting stuff in all the lanes. Also some off that lane past the CHiang Mai Gate hotel that I mentioned above. One that was abandoned but where a new temple is currently being built is on Maneenopparat Road before you get to Computer Plaza, near the Jet gas station. I should go have a look see there myself..

* Wiang Kum Kam ruins. Yes, they're bigger and better in Sukhothai, but still a nice thing to do to stumble upon these old structures in the middle of a rural village type area. And you get to ride around the area by horse drawn carriage.

* Perhaps some of the more organized stuff... The zip-lining thing (Flight of the Gibbon, etc.), the Night Safari, some elephant camp, etc.

And just walking through the old town or driving around the countryside and explore is fun in itself.

Three days?

Day one: mooch around moat and old town by bicycle, taking in Thapae Gate and Wat Phra Sing/Wat Chedi Luang within, and maybe up to Doi Suthep in afternoon (by songthaew or motorbike).

Day two: rent a bike and head up Doi Suthep or out to Mae Sa Valley (north) and see the elephants, then waterfall restaurant.

Day three: chill out and see the Night Bazaar at night.

Wiktravel's CM page gives a succinct look at most options.

khop khun mak krap to all of you! Got enough to think about and discuss with my GF.