Things to do — Chiang Mai

Exploration of Chiang Mai begins naturally with the Old City, bounded by moats and pink-brick ramparts. Its 300 temples may seem daunting to visit exhaustively — that is not the point. Focus on the unmissable: Wat Chedi Luang (an 88-metre chedi partly collapsed in the 16th century, at the entrance of the Old City), Wat Phra Singh (the most revered, pure Lanna style, beautiful inner garden), Wat Chiang Man (the oldest in the city, founded in 1297). For brave early risers, witnessing the monks' alms round (tak bat) at dawn in the Old City streets is a moment of rare reflection.

Doi Suthep, 15 km west of the city on its wooded hill, is the most venerated temple in Northern Thailand. You reach it by a stairway of 309 steps flanked by nagas (sacred serpents) — or by a funicular for those whose legs decline the offer. The view from the terrace over the Chiang Mai plain is worth the trip. The road up Doi Suthep passes through Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, which offers fine forest hikes and birdwatching for rare species.

Beyond temples, Thai cooking classes are an iconic Chiang Mai experience: the best schools include a morning visit to a local market (Talat Warorot or Meuang Mai market) to pick the ingredients, followed by 4 to 6 hours of guided cooking and a meal of your own creations. For outdoor lovers, one- to three-day treks in the hills around Chiang Mai allow visits to Karen, Akha or Hmong villages, walks alongside waterfalls (Monthatan Falls, Mae Klang Falls) and bamboo-raft descents on the Wang river. Doi Inthanon (2,565 m, 2 hours from Chiang Mai), the roof of Thailand, deserves a day trip for its high-altitude royal temples, its misty montane forest landscapes and its tea-grower villages.

In the evening, the Night Bazaar (Changklan Road, every evening) and the Sunday Walking Street (Wualai Road, Sundays only) are the unmissable markets for local craftsmanship (silk, lacquer, carved teak, hill-tribe silver jewellery). For nocturnal gastronomy, the khao soi stalls (curry noodles in coconut milk, a northern speciality) alone justify the detour — the reference address is Khao Soi Khun Yai, a no-frills stall whose reputation reaches well beyond the city.