Chiang Mai Flower Festival

When is the 2027 festival?

The 2027 festival is expected from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 February. It's always on a weekend in early to mid February.

The city confirms the exact dates only a few weeks ahead, and we update this page the day it does.

The dates do move: in 2025 the festival went back a week because provincial elections fell on the parade day. Ask Tanner to hold a room you can cancel until the city confirms.

What time does the parade start?

The parade leaves Nawarat Bridge on the Saturday morning. In 2026, the floats moved off at 7:30am, with the opening ceremony at 8am.

The floats take a few hours to reach the park, and roads on the route close on Saturday morning, so walk, don't drive. Ask Tanner for a room you can walk out of at 6:45.

Where should you stand?

The parade heads west along Tha Pae Road to Tha Pae Gate, goes around the moat and ends at Buak Haad Park.

• Near Nawarat Bridge you see the floats first, as they set off.
• Tha Pae Gate is the busiest spot, with performances in the square, and it fills first.
• The moat side near the park is quieter, and you walk straight into the gardens after the last float.

The park sits inside the southwest corner of the Old City moat, on Arak Road, and opens daily from 5am to 9pm.

• Before 7am, be on the route; the floats leave the bridge at about 7:30am.
• At about 8am the opening ceremony starts, then the bands and dancers come between the floats.
• After the last float, walk on to the park to see them up close.

Ask Tanner which corner suits your group.

What it's like to be there

The Chiang Mai Flower Festival is a three-day show of fresh-flower floats, gardens and Lanna culture, timed for Chiang Mai's cool, dry season.

• The floats are covered in tens of thousands of winter flowers.
• School marching bands, drum groups and Lanna-costumed dancers fill the gaps, and performers hand flowers to the crowd.
• The Flower Festival Queen is crowned, and the candidates ride the floats.

Each year has its own theme. Ask Tanner to book dinner in Nimman for after the parade.

How did the festival start?

The festival grew up around floats dressed in fresh winter flowers. The Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2026 ran 13 to 15 February, its 49th edition, as Chiang Mai City Life reported.

• Yellow and white chrysanthemums and damask roses are the classic blooms.
• The festival is held on a weekend in early to mid February.

Tanner's take: if you only see one flower festival in Thailand, make it this one, for the parade. It's the daytime opposite of Yi Peng. Ask Tanner which of the two fits your trip.

In the park

The park holds the gardens, a plant market and food stalls for all three days. In 2026 the gardens held more than 170,000 flowers of 52 varieties, with a flower tunnel, tulips, hydrangeas and an orchid pavilion.

• The contests in 2026 were a children's painting competition and a photo contest.
• The market sells plants, seedlings and local products to take home.
• The food stalls run all weekend.
• Choirs sang at Tha Pae Gate last year.

Go back in the late afternoon, when it's cooler and the lanterns come on. Ask Tanner to fit it in before dinner.

What to book first

The Old City rooms go first. February is high season, so book early and pick a room you can cancel until the dates are confirmed.

• A room in or just east of the Old City, near Tha Pae Gate, means you walk to the parade, no car needed.
• Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027 too, so the weekend is busy; see Chinese New Year in Thailand.
• Flights and trains fill for the Friday, so book early; see Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
• The car for day trips out of town is a luxury van for up to 4, from ฿6,500 for 10 hours with us.

Ask Tanner to hold the room near the gate.

Can you drink during the festival?

Yes. The flower festival isn't a Buddhist holy day, so bars, shops and clubs open as normal, and Chinese New Year isn't a public holiday in Chiang Mai either.

The next dry day is Makha Bucha, Sunday 21 February 2027. On the five Buddhist holy days, shops, ordinary bars and restaurants stop selling alcohol, but licensed entertainment venues, hotels, international airport terminals and listed tourist-area venues can still serve, under the Office of the Prime Minister's notice (checked November 2026).

See our Chiang Mai guide for the evening after the parade. Ask Tanner for your VIP section at the best club in Nimman.

Your weekend, day by day

Three days cover it: Friday 5 February to arrive, Saturday 6 February for the parade from 7am, and Sunday for a day out, on the projected dates.

• Friday is for flying in, dinner and an evening in Nimman or the Old City.
• Saturday morning is the parade, then the gardens.
• Saturday evening brings Chinese New Year, then the bars.
• Sunday is a day out; see things to do in Chiang Mai and Chiang Mai adrenaline. Be back for the Sunday Walking Street, which starts at Tha Pae Gate at 4pm.

February averages about 33°C by day and 17°C at night, so bring a light layer for the early start. Haze from crop burning usually starts from mid February, so the earlier weekend tends to be clearer. Plan it with Tanner, and the Sunday day out is sorted.

The flower festival or the lantern festival?

The Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2027 is the daytime one: floats, roses and cool mornings in February, and it's free.

The lantern festival, Yi Peng, is the night one, in November at the full moon of the 12th lunar month.

Tanner's pick: come in February for an easy, sunny weekend, and in November for the photo everyone back home asks about. A full party week for 12 around either one, with the villa, the cars and the tables, runs from about ฿300,000 all in.

Ask Tanner which one fits your dates.

Chiang Mai Flower Festival in short

• What it is: Chiang Mai's February festival of fresh-flower floats and gardens.

• Dates: 5 to 7 February 2027 (projected); 2026 ran 13–15 February.
• Parade: Saturday 6 February, from about 7:30am, Nawarat Bridge to Buak Haad Park.
• Where to stand: Tha Pae Gate or the bridge end, by 7am.
• Cost: free.
• Same weekend: Chinese New Year, 6 February 2027.

Checked October 2026.