The No-Spend Diaries: How to spend a day in Chiang Mai for free

Come with us as we weave no-spend days into our weeks.

Chiang Mai is the perfect city for a day of budget-friendly adventure.

It’s walkable and full to the brim with history, religion and unique Lanna architecture that can be meandered and explored, totally free of charge.

We spent a couple of days just walking, wandering and getting lost in the maze of winding alleys and small streets in the old square, which is the perfect place for an afternoon of temple hopping.

But if you don’t have a couple of days to spare, the ultimate hack to your no-spend day in Chiang Mai is to let the city walls be your guide.

The main square of Chiang Mai sits inside the crumbling walls of an ancient citadel, hugged by a green moat that’s dotted with lily pads.

Each side of the square is roughly a mile long, making this 4-mile Chiang Mai walking route perfect for exploring and spotting some pretty cool historical sites along the way.

Top Tip: Walk inside the city walls, rather than outside, for easier access to both the ancient gates and iconic temples inside the square

We started our walk at Katam corner, which is the southeast corner of the square. From there, we navigated clockwise, heading west towards the Chiang Mai gate and Ku Huang corner.

Here are the our favourite things we spotted on the way:

Wat Khuan Khama

Outside Wat Khuan Khama

We didn’t go inside Wat Khuan Khama, but even from the outside the architecture was absolutely breathtaking.

It seems to be a large complex, with a beautiful, grand staircase leading up to the temple entrance, adorned with intricate dragons and their iconic golden horses (which have earnt the temple the nickname ‘Golden Horse Temple’).

Entrance is free of charge, but make sure your knees and shoulders are covered, and that your hats and sunnies are removed before you go inside.

The City Corners

Sri Phum Corner

Full disclosure, doing the city lap in the blazing heat had us flagging by the end of the first mile, which was why the city corners were a very welcome sight.

We used the corners as progress markers on our self-guided Chiang Mai walking tour, with each one ticking off another quarter of the loop. They’re also the best preserved sections of Chiang Mai’s ancient walls.

The crumbling brick is splotched with pale lichen and you can still see the stairs that once led up to the old watchtowers, now overgrown by the lush, wet season grassy knolls.

There are (obviously) four corners of the city square:

• Katam Corner (southeast, aforementioned)
• Ku Huang Corner (southwest)
• Hua Lin (northwest)
• Sri Phum (northeast).

If you’re short on time but still want to see one, make it Sri Phum. It’s the most intact and is beautifully adorned with tiny religious structures.

Just bear in mind that walking or standing on any of the ancient walls is illegal, so be sure to observe from a respectful distance.

Wat Chiang Man

Wat Chiang Man Shrine

Just a short detour off the main square, Wat Chiang Man was our absolute favourite temple. It’s a huge complex that you could spend hours getting lost in, with lots of beautiful, small buildings dotted throughout.

Even just standing outside of the main temple, listening to small bells tinkering in the balmy morning breeze, was peaceful enough for me to want to spend the rest of the day there.

This one was also free to enter, which was brilliant because everywhere we looked there was another beautiful building or mini pagoda to explore.

Bonus Free Activity: Entertainment at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

If you can resist the temptation of the tantalising smells of the street food stalls lining the walls of the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, consider rounding off your no-spend day by watching some of the live entertainment.

The whole bazaar is set across two buildings on opposite sides of the road, with market stalls spilling out onto the streets in front of them.

The food hall is home to two entertainment stands. In the main area, you’ll find live music and a local street dancing troupe. From what we saw, the smaller area hosts musicians only.

The atmosphere is great and you can sit in there completely for free, making for an excellent round-off to your frugal fun.

Are there any cities you’ve visited with amazing free activities? Please let us know so that we can add them to our list.

Catch you next time!

All our love

Eloise & Ramiro xxx

Photographed in The Shady Lady, Chiang Mai, after spending all the money we saved on our free day on Guinness.