Northern Thailand's most layered city
Chiang Mai is known for its tranquility, but there's so much more to this place than meets the eye
Get the Chiang Mai Map →Discovery is easier than ever. Then why does it still feel so hard?
Chiang Mai is the cultural heart of Northern Thailand - a laid-back mountain city where centuries-old structures and traditions meet buzzing food and coffee scenes. The question is, how do you make sense of it all?
You get tons of recs from too many sources
Carousels, reels, TikToks, subreddits, group chats. You bookmark everything and still struggle to find whatever you were looking for.
Your "saved places" become a junk drawer.
Cafés mixed with temples mixed with night markets and massage spots. When you finally want to go somewhere you scroll indefinitely and still can't find the right vibe.
Decision fatigue is real.
You don't want to spend 30 minutes picking a restaurant before every meal. So you end up going back to the same spots. Every. Time.
I've felt this myself.
After years of traveling, I realized that my problem — and what many others also felt — wasn't about finding new places, but knowing which ones are worth picking, and how to remember them. I wanted a system that could make our decision process easier, faster and more convenient.
So I built one.
Right in Google Maps.
I've Spent Years Curating the Good Stuff So You Don't Have To
Built over years of traveling and exploring. I've personally used all these lists and continuously refined them to make my own decision-making process faster. They're now available to you, too.
Pick a vibe with curated filters
Every place in this Chiang Mai guide is tagged across categories. Whatever you're in the mood for, tap a tag and see what's already been curated.
More context with personal notes
All places saved include notes about either my experience or why I chose to save it if I haven't yet visited it.
Updated regularly by someone who's lived here
I've spent multiple stints in Chiang Mai and personally use this list on every visit — based on my own discovery and recs from people whose tastes I trust. Now it can be yours.
Yours in 3 steps
Pick a list
Choose a list and proceed with the simple checkout process.
Get your link
After checkout you'll see the link to access it directly on Google Maps.
Save and start exploring
After saving it you'll see it under "Lists that you saved" on your Google Maps app.
Explore Chiang Mai with Your Own Curated Guide
A living Google Maps list, built from years of time spent here.
Ed's Curated Chiang Mai Map
200+ places across cafés, Thai food, Asian eats, markets, temples, bars, hikes, wellness, and more. The definitive insider map for Chiang Mai.
How I map out Chiang Mai
My scooter is my best discovery tool. There's no algorithm for the feeling of turning down an unfamiliar street and spotting something worth stopping for — a coffee shop tucked behind a temple wall, a som tam stall with a queue of locals, a market you'd never have Googled. I've spent years doing exactly this in Chiang Mai, covering every neighbourhood, always looking for what's next. That's where the list comes from.
