Nimman bar scene

It is in Nimmanhaemin, west of the Old City, spread across a grid of sois off the main road. It is a ride from Tha Phae Gate and Loi Kroh, so use Grab or a red songthaew and agree the fare first. Once you are in Nimman, most bars are within walking distance.

They are craft beer bars, cocktail bars and cafes around Nimman's sois, with a young feel that is a world away from Loi Kroh's beer bars, and a calmer pace. Expect cafes by day and drinks by night, with a young crowd.

Not in the bar-girl sense. Nimman is a cafe, cocktail and club district with a young Thai crowd, so treat it as a place for drinks and a different kind of evening. For bar girls and massage shops, Loi Kroh Road is the strip, and the two are easy to combine in one trip.

Nearby are Club Cafe, D-fine, Lantana, Mood of Spirits, Madbar and Arisara. That is a mix of bars and a couple of massage shops, so you can drink, have a massage and move on in a few minutes. Warm Up Cafe, the Nimman club, is in the same area.

Nimman is craft beer, cocktails and cafes with a young Thai crowd, while Loi Kroh Road is Chiang Mai's bar strip, with beer bars, a few gogos and massage shops. Pick Nimman for a relaxed, stylish evening and Loi Kroh for the nightlife many visitors come for.

Stay in Nimman if you prefer cafes by day and the club crowd by night. If the Loi Kroh bars are the point, the east side of the Old City is better. Chiang Mai is compact, and short rides are easy to arrange, so neither choice cuts you off from the other.

Late afternoon and evening suit best, when the cafes turn into bars and the sois fill up. Clubs such as Warm Up Cafe run later. Hours vary, so check on the day, and remember that the cool dry months from November make the outdoor seating more pleasant.

Pick two or three sois, walk them once, and choose bars by what is on the menu and who is in. Start with coffee or a craft beer, move on to a cocktail bar and finish at a club. Take a Grab home, and keep your phone in a front pocket.