Chiang Mai Shopping Centres and Supermarkets

Chiang Mai's modern retail spreads across four main shopping centres and a working network of supermarkets and convenience stores. Maya Lifestyle in Nimman, Central Festival on the Superhighway, Promenada in San Kamphaeng and Kad Suan Kaew on Huay Kaew Road cover brand shopping, cinema and food courts; Tops, Rimping, Tesco Lotus and the ubiquitous 7-Eleven and Family Mart cover the daily grocery.

Updated June 2026

Chiang Mai’s modern retail sits at a different rhythm to the city’s traditional markets. Where Warorot and the walking streets run on weekly cycles, daylight hours and the smell of sai oua (northern Thai herb sausage) on a charcoal grill, the shopping centres and supermarkets work to the standard Thai retail model: 10:00 to 22:00, air-conditioned, brand-fronted, with a cinema multiplex on an upper floor and a food court somewhere near it. For visitors the centres cover air-conditioned shelter in the hot months, the reliable place to find a phone charger or a specific imported grocery, and the easiest cinema experience in town. For residents they are simply the daily working shop. The four main centres and the four working supermarket chains between them cover most of the city’s modern retail needs.

What it is

The Chiang Mai shopping-centre landscape consists of four main centres, three smaller centres, four working supermarket chains and the dense network of 7-Eleven and Family Mart convenience stores that handle the city’s everyday grocery layer. The centres differ in tenant mix, location and clientele.

Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre opened in 2014 on the corner of Huay Kaew Road and Nimmanhaemin in the heart of Nimman. The youngest and most fashion-led of the four, Maya is the centre that has most successfully captured the Bangkok and East Asian visitor demographic; its rooftop bars run as evening destinations in their own right, with views west to Doi Suthep that are unusually good for any commercial building in the city.

Central Festival Chiang Mai opened in 2013 on the eastern Superhighway, 6 kilometres from the Old City. The largest centre in northern Thailand, with 250,000 square metres of floor space across four levels, Central Festival is the principal centre for international brand shopping, department-store anchors (Robinson, Tops, B2S, Power Buy) and the 9-screen Major Cineplex.

Promenada Resort Mall opened in 2013 in San Kamphaeng, 6 kilometres east of the centre. The only open-air centre in Chiang Mai, Promenada runs as a more relaxed, restaurant-led destination, with international cuisine, the city’s largest Rimping Supermarket and a Sunday craft fair.

Kad Suan Kaew, the oldest centre, opened in 1992 on Huay Kaew Road just west of the Old City moat. Lower-end than the three newer centres but the closest full-range mall to the Old City, with a Tops Supermarket, a Robinson Department Store and a 4-screen Major Cineplex.

Two smaller centres serve specific neighbourhoods: Mee Chok Plaza on the northern Superhighway, anchored by a Rimping Supermarket; and Central Plaza Airport, attached to the airport terminal, with a Tops Supermarket and a small mall floor.

What you’ll find

The four main centres each have a distinctive offer.

Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre

Five retail floors plus a basement supermarket and a rooftop. The basement Tops Food Hall is the smaller Tops format and stocks fresh produce, imported groceries, ready meals, bread, wine and the strongest single selection of Japanese and Korean groceries in the city. Floors 1 to 4 hold the fashion mix: Uniqlo, H&M, Levi’s, Adidas, Nike, Sephora, Apple, Charles & Keith, MUJI, Beams, and a long row of Thai and Korean independent brands. Asia Books on the first floor is the city’s strongest English-language children’s book section. The fifth floor runs the food court with Thai and Korean street food at 80 to 200 baht a main. The rooftop level holds the food trucks, beer gardens and bars facing Doi Suthep that give Maya its evening trade. The 6-screen SF Cinema multiplex sits on the fourth floor.

Central Festival Chiang Mai

Four floors, 250,000 square metres of floor space and the city’s largest single tenant mix. Anchor tenants include Robinson Department Store (the long Central Group department-store chain), Tops Supermarket, B2S bookshop and Power Buy electronics. International brand tenants include MUJI, Zara, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Uniqlo, Watsons and Boots pharmacies, and the country’s largest concentration of mid-range Asian fashion brands. The Major Cineplex on the third floor has 9 screens, including an IMAX and two premium-class screens. The ground-floor food court runs Thai, Japanese, Korean and Western options. Outside the main building, the Outdoor Zone holds Index Living Mall (furniture), Power Buy (electronics) and Home Pro (hardware), useful if you are setting up an apartment.

Promenada Resort Mall

An open-air, single-level layout around a central fountain plaza. The Rimping Supermarket on the eastern side of the central plaza is the largest Rimping in the city and the best single supermarket for international groceries in northern Thailand: imported cheeses, wines, cured meats, baking ingredients, a deep Mediterranean and Middle Eastern aisle. The restaurant strip on the northern and western sides runs Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Indian, German and a Vietnamese pho house. The 6-screen Major Cineplex sits on the eastern side. A small ice rink and an indoor water park serve the family market. The Sunday craft fair runs 09:00 to 16:00 in the central plaza with about 100 vendors from the surrounding craft villages.

Kad Suan Kaew

Three retail floors plus a basement supermarket. Tops on the ground floor is the closest full-range supermarket to the Old City. The Robinson Department Store occupies floors 1 to 3. A 4-screen Major Cineplex sits on the fourth floor. A bowling alley occupies the lower basement. The centre is older, the upper-floor tenancies have rotated through the 2020s and several units are now empty, but the basement food court is reliable and the supermarket is genuinely useful for Old City residents. The centre is also home to the Theatre De La Vie, which runs a Thursday-evening Lanna dance and music show at 19:00 (tickets 700 to 1,200 baht).

Supermarkets across the city

Beyond the centres, three supermarket chains carry the working grocery market. Rimping, founded in Chiang Mai, has six branches across the city and is the local strong card on fresh produce, imported groceries and customer service. The Promenada branch is the flagship; the Huay Kaew and Mee Chok branches are the next strongest. Tops, owned by the Central Group, runs five city branches plus the in-centre stores. Tesco Lotus, now Lotus’s, runs four hypermarkets around the ring road and a network of Lotus Express convenience stores inside the Old City. Makro, the wholesale chain, has two warehouse stores on the southern and eastern sides for bulk grocery.

Convenience stores

7-Eleven and Family Mart between them cover every Chiang Mai neighbourhood. Most run 24 hours. The 7-Eleven network is denser (an estimated 350 stores in Chiang Mai province); Family Mart is smaller but carries a slightly stronger Japanese ready-meal range. Both chains accept card and PromptPay. Both sell SIM cards, top-ups, transport tickets, lottery tickets, basic medication and a working hot-food counter (steamed buns, hot dogs, microwaved ready meals). The Old City has roughly 25 7-Elevens within the moated area, none more than 5 minutes’ walk apart.

How to navigate and best time

Each centre is straightforward to navigate; all four publish floor plans at the main entrances. The single best window for shopping centres is weekday afternoons between 13:00 and 17:00: cooler, less crowded, with the supermarkets at their freshest stock. Saturday and Sunday afternoons are the busiest, particularly at Central Festival, where parking and queuing both lengthen. Friday evenings around 19:00 are the cinema peak.

For supermarkets, the working window is similar. Rimping Promenada is busiest on Saturday and Sunday afternoons; weekday mornings are the calmest. The standalone Rimping on Huay Kaew Road is busiest on weekday early evenings (17:00 to 19:00) when residents stop in after work. Tops Food Hall at Maya is consistently moderately busy and never quiet.

Practical notes. All four main centres have ATMs, currency exchange booths, free Wi-Fi, baby-changing rooms, prayer rooms and pharmacies. Pharmacies inside the centres carry both Thai and international medication; the Boots branches at Maya and Central Festival are the strongest single stops for travellers. Parking is free for the first 4 hours at most centres; longer stays attract a 20 to 40 baht fee.

Getting there

A red songthaew (shared pickup-truck taxi) from anywhere in the city reaches all four main centres for 30 baht per person. The route through Nimman covers Maya; the route through the eastern Superhighway covers Central Festival; the route along Huay Kaew covers Kad Suan Kaew. Promenada is served by the centre’s own free shuttle bus from Chiang Mai Gate, running every 30 minutes from 09:00 to 21:00; or by Grab at 100 to 150 baht.

Grab and Bolt cars run all four centres at 60 to 150 baht depending on distance. Tuk-tuks negotiate from 80 baht (Old City to Kad Suan Kaew or Maya) to 200 baht (Old City to Central Festival or Promenada). The free parking and the ease of driving make a private car a reasonable option for the larger centres; the road network around Central Festival and Promenada is built for car access. For Maya and Kad Suan Kaew, the Old City and Nimman traffic make a songthaew the easier choice.

Bicycle access to Maya and Kad Suan Kaew is feasible from the Old City (10 to 15 minutes each, mostly flat). Central Festival and Promenada are too far and too car-dominated for a bicycle approach.

Where to eat and nearby

The food offer inside the centres is broad. Maya’s rooftop is the city’s strongest food-truck cluster. Central Festival’s third-floor food court runs Japanese, Korean, Thai and Western mains at 80 to 250 baht. Promenada’s restaurant strip runs full-service international cuisine at 250 to 600 baht a main. Kad Suan Kaew’s basement food court is reliable Thai at 60 to 120 baht a main. The Rimping at Promenada has a wine bar at the eastern end serving by the glass from 16:00.

Beyond the centres, Maya is the gateway to Nimman’s broader restaurant strip — Akha Ama, Free Bird Cafe, Rustic & Blue, Salad Concept, Tong Tem Toh — all within 10 minutes’ walk. Central Festival is more isolated; the in-centre options are the most practical. Promenada is best for an extended afternoon-and-evening visit and works well as a destination in itself. Kad Suan Kaew sits within walking distance of the Old City’s western moat and the restaurant strip on Suthep Road.

Tips and etiquette

Cash, card and PromptPay all work at the supermarkets and the chain stores; cash is preferred at the smaller centre tenants. Bargaining is not standard practice at any of the centres or supermarkets; the marked price is the price. The supermarkets charge a small fee for plastic bags (3 to 5 baht); bring your own bag if you can. The cinemas pause briefly before the main feature for the royal anthem; stand for the duration. Dress code is informal but modest; sleeveless tops and short shorts are fine at Maya and Central Festival, slightly out of place at Kad Suan Kaew. Photography inside the centres is generally fine; staff occasionally ask for permission for tripod or commercial-style setups.

Related and combine with

For traditional-market complement, Warorot Market in the Old City covers the fresh-produce side that the centres do not seriously contest. The Sunday Walking Street on Ratchadamnoen Road is the natural craft-market complement to the centres’ brand shopping. For source-quality versions of the craft sold in the centres’ souvenir tenants, Bo Sang umbrella village and Ban Tawai are the day trips. Central Festival and Promenada both have shuttle connections from the Old City; the easiest weekend run is a morning at Promenada, an afternoon Sunday craft fair stop and an evening at the Sunday Walking Street back in the Old City.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the main shopping centres in Chiang Mai?+

Four shopping centres cover most of Chiang Mai's modern retail. Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre in Nimman is the youngest and most fashion-led. Central Festival on the eastern Superhighway is the largest, with department-store anchors and a cinema multiplex. Promenada Resort Mall in San Kamphaeng, 6 kilometres east of the centre, is open-air with international restaurants and a Sunday craft fair. Kad Suan Kaew on Huay Kaew Road, near the Old City, is the oldest centre and the most local. Two smaller centres, Mee Chok Plaza and Central Plaza Airport, serve the eastern and southern suburbs respectively.

What are the main supermarkets in Chiang Mai?+

Three supermarket chains carry the working grocery market. Tops Supermarket, with branches at Central Festival, Kad Suan Kaew and a standalone store on Charoen Muang Road, is the broadest-range chain and the easiest for international groceries. Rimping Supermarket, a Chiang Mai-based chain with the strongest fresh produce, has branches at Promenada, Mee Chok Plaza, Nimman and a flagship on Huay Kaew Road; the Promenada branch has the city's best cheese and wine selection. Tesco Lotus, now branded as Lotus's, runs four full-size hypermarkets around the ring road. Small Lotus Express stores spread through the Old City.

What are the opening hours of Chiang Mai shopping centres?+

All four main shopping centres run 10:00 to 22:00 daily, including weekends and public holidays. Supermarkets inside the centres open earlier at 08:00 or 09:00 and close at the same 22:00. Standalone Tops and Rimping branches run 07:00 to 23:00. Tesco Lotus hypermarkets run 06:30 to 24:00. 7-Eleven and Family Mart convenience stores run 24 hours at most locations, with a few smaller Old City branches closing 23:00 to 06:00. The centres' cinemas run last screenings to roughly 22:30.

Is there an entry fee at the shopping centres?+

No. All Chiang Mai shopping centres are free to enter. Free parking is available at all four main centres; Maya Lifestyle has a multi-storey car park with 1,000 spaces, Central Festival has 4,500 spaces, Promenada has 1,200 spaces, Kad Suan Kaew has 600 spaces. Some centres charge a small parking fee (20 to 40 *baht*) for cars staying longer than 4 hours; motorbike parking is free everywhere. Cinema tickets cost 200 to 300 baht (standard screen) and 400 to 600 baht (premium screen). Free Wi-Fi is available at all main centres.

What can I buy at Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre?+

Maya Lifestyle is the most fashion-led centre and the most Western-brand-heavy. Anchor tenants include Tops Food Hall (basement), Uniqlo, H&M, Levi's, Adidas, Nike, Sephora and Apple. The fifth-floor food court runs Thai and Korean street food; the rooftop level has food trucks and bars with views toward Doi Suthep. The first floor of Maya holds the Asia Books branch, which is the city's strongest English-language children's book section. The cinema is a 6-screen SF Cinema multiplex. Maya is the best centre for fashion shopping and the most pleasant for an evening out.

What is at Central Festival Chiang Mai?+

Central Festival is the city's largest shopping centre. The 250,000-square-metre building on the eastern Superhighway has anchor tenants including Robinson Department Store, Tops Supermarket, B2S bookshop, Power Buy electronics, MUJI, Zara, Marks & Spencer and Major Cineplex (a 9-screen multiplex). The food court runs Thai, Japanese, Korean and Western options at 80 to 250 *baht* a main. The centre's outer ring holds the Index Living Mall furniture chain, Power Buy and Home Pro for hardware. Central Festival is the city's principal centre for international brand shopping, electronics and home goods.

What is at Promenada Resort Mall?+

Promenada is the city's open-air resort-style mall, 6 kilometres east of the centre toward San Kamphaeng. The mall has international restaurants — Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Indian — and the city's largest Rimping Supermarket, with the best imported cheese and wine selection in northern Thailand. A 6-screen cinema, a small ice rink, an indoor water park and a Sunday craft fair (09:00 to 16:00) complete the offer. Promenada is the most relaxed centre and the best for an extended afternoon-and-evening visit. The shuttle bus from Chiang Mai Gate runs every 30 minutes from 09:00 to 21:00.

What is at Kad Suan Kaew?+

Kad Suan Kaew is the oldest Chiang Mai shopping centre, opened in 1992 on Huay Kaew Road just west of the Old City moat. The centre carries Tops Supermarket on the ground floor, a Robinson Department Store, a multiplex cinema (Major Cineplex, 4 screens) and a bowling alley. Sales are lower than the newer centres and several upper-floor tenancies have rotated through the 2020s, but the basement food court is reliable, the supermarket is the closest full-range option to the Old City, and the centre as a whole remains a useful daily-shopping resource for residents on the western side.

Where can I buy international groceries in Chiang Mai?+

Rimping Supermarket has the strongest international section in the city. The Promenada branch carries imported cheeses (French, Italian, Dutch, British), a respectable wine selection, imported cured meats, baking ingredients (gluten-free, sourdough starter, specific flours), and a deeper Mediterranean and Middle Eastern aisle than the other chains. The Huay Kaew flagship and the Mee Chok branch are slightly thinner but carry the same core lines. Tops at Central Festival and Maya holds a strong second place. Specific specialty ingredients — Korean fermented pastes, Japanese miso, Spanish jamón — are usually at Rimping Promenada or at the smaller Tops Food Hall at Maya.

How do I get to the Chiang Mai shopping centres?+

Maya Lifestyle sits at the southern end of the Nimman district, on Huay Kaew Road. A red *songthaew* from the Old City costs 30 *baht*; ask for Maya. Central Festival is on the eastern Superhighway, 6 kilometres from the Old City; a *songthaew* costs 30 to 50 baht, a Grab car 80 to 120 baht. Promenada is in San Kamphaeng, 6 kilometres east; the centre's free shuttle bus runs from Chiang Mai Gate every 30 minutes 09:00 to 21:00, or a Grab car costs 100 to 150 baht. Kad Suan Kaew is on Huay Kaew Road, 1 kilometre from the western moat; a *songthaew* costs 30 baht and walking is feasible in 15 minutes.