Nimman or the Old City: where to spend your month in Chiang Mai

A month in the Old City

The Old City is the Chiang Mai of temples, brick walls and quiet lanes. You can walk to most things: morning coffee, a temple at sunrise, dinner at a street stall, the Sunday Walking Street on Ratchadamnoen Road. It suits a month where you want to wander, slow down and feel you are somewhere old.

Five places on this list are in or right by the Old City. Smith Residence sits by Chiang Mai Gate and the Wualai Saturday market, with a rooftop pool looking at Doi Suthep. Tadkham Village is a quiet 30-room hotel in a lane near the same gate. Baan Chinnakarn is a small guesthouse with balconies near Warorot Market. The Pacific Cool Chic has a pool just north of the moat, and The Social Club is a coliving with a 24-hour hot desk beside the west moat.

A month in Nimman

Nimman is the newer side of town: cafés on every soi, coworking spaces, MAYA mall at the top of Nimmanhaemin Road and Chiang Mai University next door. It suits a month built around a routine: work in the morning, a good coffee, a swim or the gym, dinner with friends. Doi Suthep is right there on the horizon.

Ten places on this list are in the Nimman area, from Jatuporn Apartment (fan rooms from 2,200 ฿) to Vanilla Residence (20,700 ฿ in December and January, with balconies and Doi Suthep views). In between are apartments with real kitchens such as The Mirror (40 m², 14,500 ฿) and serviced apartments with pool and gym such as The Greenery Landmark (from 6,400 ฿).

The two areas side by side

Figures for the places on this list only. Aircraft noise is our estimate for each building (see the noise guide below).

Aircraft noise: the difference people don't expect

Planes landing at Chiang Mai airport fly low over parts of Nimman and Suthep. You notice it most on a balcony or with the windows open. The Old City places on this list all sit between 38 and 46 dB on our estimate; the Nimman places between 51 and 62 dB. Baan Chinnakarn (38 dB), Smith Residence and Tadkham Village (both 39 dB) are the quietest on the list.

If you sleep lightly or plan to work from your room, read the aircraft noise guide before you choose.

What kind of room you get

The Old City places are mostly hotels and serviced apartments: housekeeping, a front desk, sometimes a pool. Smith Residence has 32 m² studios from 9,500 ฿ with a rooftop pool and gym; Tadkham Village includes internet, electricity, water and housekeeping twice a week from 12,000 ฿ (August to March, plus tax).

Nimman has the wider range:

• Simple rooms under 5,000 baht: Jatuporn Apartment, and Ruean Rampha if you stay at least 6 months.
• Serviced apartments under 10,000 baht: The Greenery Landmark, PT Residence and Residence SG (34 m² from 7,500 ฿, a short ride north of MAYA).
• Room to cook and spread out: The Mirror and The Cosy Huay Kaew, with kitchens or kitchenettes.
• Everything included: Yantarasri at Nimman, 40 m² studios in a garden off Nimman Soi 6 with water, electricity and Wi-Fi included for 19,500 ฿.

Suthep and Chang Phueak

Two quieter alternatives sit just outside the main areas. In Suthep, V Residence has 40 m² rooms with wide balconies on Canal Road from 6,000 ฿, Baan Nai-Lek has one-bedroom units with a separate living room behind the university from 8,000 ฿, and Hub53 combines rooms and a 24-hour coworking space. In Chang Phueak, north of the moat, JD House Dormitory is a simple dormitory from 3,700 ฿.

So which one?

Choose the Old City if your month is about walking, temples, markets and quiet nights. Choose Nimman if it is about cafés, coworking, the mall and a wide choice of rooms. The two are close: a short Grab ride apart, so whichever you pick, the other side of town is part of your month too.