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Gay Chiang Mai welcomes LGBTQ+

Gay Chiang Mai in 2023

If you are already familiar with Thailand’s second largest city, Chiang Mai, you’ll likely understands what attracts so many LGBT people to come here. For new visitors, we’d like to accompany you on your journey and help you discover what many have already learned about why our beautiful city is such a popular LGBTQ+ destination, both for tourists and longer term visitors. We will give you an incite into life in Gay Chiang Mai, as well as provide plenty of information about where to go, and what to do.

After two years in the COVID-19 wilderness, Gay Chiang Mai has come back to life with a bang and 2023 is seeing the return of both tourists and a big growth in the nightlife sector for locals, particularly for students of which Chiang Mai, as a large university town, has many.

gay-in-chiangmai.com aims to be the most up to date, comprehensive and informative internet resource for everything in Chiang Mai relevant for LGBT tourists and the gay ex-pat community. We provide a full guide to the city’s nightlife and restaurants complete with maps and reviews, as well as news of openings and events along with interesting articles on related topics.

Banner for LGBT Guide to gay Chiang Mai

About Chiang Mai

The Pink Rose of the North

Known as Thailand’s “Rose of the North”, Chiang Mai is an attractive city for LGBTQ+ people, with plenty of openly out Thais living happily in a uniquely relaxed, friendly and cultural environment surrounded by peaceful mountains and jungle landscapes. It is also home to a large ex-pat community of mainly retirees from all around the world, a high percentage of whom are LGBTQ+. Of course, this makes Chiang Mai a popular gay tourist destination too, particularly in the winter when the splendid dry and warm climate makes Chiang Mai a veritable paradise for several months.

Chiang Mai Garden city panorama view
Chiang Mai – The rose of the North – A garden city surrounded by mountains and jungle

Although Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second biggest city, and capital of the old Lanna Kingdom, the city is relatively compact and life progresses at a relaxed pace. It is a city full of antiquities and temples dating back hundreds of years, and a water filled moat still surrounds the original old city together with remnants of the city walls.

However, there has been a massive and very evident construction boom in the city, as modern condominiums, shopping malls and shop houses have sprung up everywhere creating new districts. This is changing the city into a more cosmopolitan place for gay metrosexuals.

Wat Phra Singh Chiang Mai © Takeaway - Wikimedia  Licence: Creative Commons
One of Chiang Mai’s beautiful Temples (Source: wikimedia)
Cool season skies at Chiang Mai's Thapae Gate © Takeaway - Wikimedia  Licence: Creative Commons
Thapae Gate and the old city walls (Source :wikimedia)

Chiang Mai Districts

The traditional centre of the old city was around Thapae gate and the famous Night Bazaar which still remains the main tourist area. In recent years another major neighbourhood has grown up along Nimmanhaeminda Road with many restaurants, boutiques and coffee shops located there, as well as an abundance of new modern condominiums. At the end of Nimmanhaeminda Rd, the Maya Lifestyle Mall and Nimman One shopping complex epitomise the new modern side of Chiang Mai.

Maya Lifestyle Mall Chiang  Mai
Maya Lifestyle Mall – Restaurants, Food Courts, and roof top bars, as well as shopping.

The Chiang Mai Gay Scene

Our Chiang Mai Gay News Pages provide all the gossip, latest news, events and happenings about everything gay in Chiang Mai. From ladyboys to masculine hunks, birthday parties to pride events and drag queens to new bar openings you will find it here. If you have any news, or are opening new venues or holding special events please let us know so we can give it a mention (provided it’s legal 😉 ).

For a more detailed description and explanation of the different aspects of the Chiang Mai scene, read our introductory page Chiang Mai Gay Scene Overview. This page describes the different areas of town, the social segmentation and where best to stay and what you will find there.

Gay bars and Clubs

Ram Bar Cabaret Show cast
Glamorous cast from the Ram Bar Cabaret Show

Our LGBTQ+ Guide and bar listings covers all the main gay themes in Chiang Mai, our Gay Bar Guide includes Bars, Pubs, Cafés Restaurants, wine bars and Cabaret Show Bars that are gay friendly or catering predominantly for LGBTQ+ patrons.

The gay orientated nightlife in Chiang Mai has seen constant change over the years, currently, most of the LGBT bars where foreigners meet to socialise are along Chiang Mai’s Gay Soi 6 (Charoen Prathet Road Soi 6), just off the main Night Bazaar street, Chang Klan Rd. Here and in the night bazaar, you will find several beer bars as well as the very popular Ram Bar with its nightly Cabaret show. A must see Chiang Mai attractions for LGBT visitors.

The late night entertainment guide covers venues such as Discos (Discotheques), Night Clubs and Karaoke bars which are gay friendly and open late.

Gay Saunas in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai has two gay Sauna’s, the most popular is Club One Seven, is located in a beautiful traditional northern Thai style teak wood houses right on the banks of the Ping River. It is also a romantic guest house and popular with local Thai’s, especially students as well as foreigners. See our Chiang Mai Gay Sauna Guide for more information.

cute boys at club one seven pool chiang mai
Lazing by the pool at Club One Seven – Chiang Mai’s premier gay sauna

Commercial bars and massage for men

Gay Chiang Mai Boys at Adam's Apple Club
Cute dancers at Adam’s Apple Club – Chiang Mai’s best known male go-go club

The commercial bar scene cannot be ignored as it is a prominent part of nightlife everywhere in Thailand and venues exist for gay customers just as they do for straights. Our “Gay for pay” guide covers male Go-Go or dance show bars and male host bars, and our comprehensive guide to male massage in Chiang Mai

Details of commercial venues are provided for information only. It does not imply we either condone this business or pass any judgement on those people involved in it.

Gay Maps of Chiang Mai

As well as the descriptions provided in our Gay Guide we provide an interactive Chiang Mai Gay Map (courtesy of Google Maps) showing the locations of all the gay venues and many more gay friendly restaurants, coffee shops and other amenities as well. or you can download our quick reference listing which has all Chiang Mai’s main venues listed on a single page with a addresses in Thai you can show to a taxi driver.

Enjoy Gay Chiang Mai

Please follow the site navigation tabs to find out more about Gay Chiang Mai. Thank you for visiting, we hope the information is useful. Feedback is always welcome; if you’d like to leave a comment, please send us a message or you can comment on any news article we’ve published on Chiang Mai Gay News And don’t forget to like our Facebook Page @ChiangMaiGay