A guide to Phuket City
Phuket city, which is locally still called Phuket Town, is becoming increasingly popular, perfect for an exploration day away from the beach and to please selfies and Instagram enthusiasts. The architecture in the old town is beautiful, and many streets have been renovated and repainted colourfully. While many buildings are redesigned to entertain tourists in the central area, there is a much bigger Phuket Town where only a few travellers walk around and feel the true history. Phuket is a very safe city; you can go anywhere without worrying, even on the tiniest streets. Here we share all the places we enjoy in the entire Phuket Town, including the suburbs, which are worth visiting.
What to see and do in Phuket City?
Explore the old streets
Phuket City is quite large, but most people walk around the renovated streets, mostly Thalang Road, Phang Nga Road and Dibuk Road. Those streets are fun and colourful but start to look a bit like a selfie theme park. We prefer roaming Ranong Road, the side of Phuket City, which still looks like the city was in the past.
Thai Hua Museum
This museum narrates how Phuket started and evolved to become what it is today, with the arrival of Chinese immigrants and the tin mining period that made Phuket wealthy before tourism. It’s a modest museum, but the building is beautiful and very near the city centre, making it a convenient attraction in case of rain.
Address: 28 Krabi Road, Phuket Town, Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 9 am – 5 pm
Phone: 076 211 224
Built: 1934
Chinpracha House Museum
This privately-owned house is also a museum that will give you a glimpse of what a wealthy house looked like in the tin mine era. Surprisingly, the ground floor is superbly preserved, but the upper floor is run down and out of bounds.
Location: Phuket Town
Address: 98 Krabi, Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Hours: 9 am – 4.30 pm
Phone: 076 211281
Built: 1903
Khao Rang Hill
Khao Rang Hill and its panoramic views are a bit away from the city centre, and the view from up there might not be strikingly beautiful, but if you have time and transportation, you can get a view, see some monkeys, and eat at the excellent Tunk Ka Cafe. On the way up from the back road, you can stop at the modest Wat Khao Rang, where the first sitting Buddha of Phuket was, long before the white marble Buddha was built.
Street Art
You will discover mural art and street paintings all around town, from immense frescoes to modest graffiti. Many of them were ordered a couple of years ago; some are slowly fading away.
Temples and shrines of Phuket City
Shrine of the Serene Light
The Shrine of the Serene Light, or Sang Tham Shrine, is a beautiful Chinese Shrine on Phang Nga Road. It was hidden for decades, but you can now spot its massive ornamented gate on the street sidewalk, not far from the famous On On Hotel.
Wat Mongkol Nimit
Wat Momnkol Nimit is one of the most important Buddhist temples in Phuket City. That’s the one you see in all the photos of Soi Romanee, where many people take selfies with the temple’s roof in the background.
Jui Tui Shrine
This Chinese shrine is usually quiet but plays an important role during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival and Chinese New Year. It is a little away from the old streets, at the end of Ranong Road.
Where to shop
Chillva Night Market
Everyone seemed to love night markets, Thais and tourists, and Chillva Night Market was a success from the very first day. It kept growing in size, and beyond just shopping, it is a chance for travellers to try local dishes at one of the many stalls. The market is open on weekdays so if you missed the Sunday Walking Street Market in old Phuket Town, go to Chillva, just on the city’s outskirts, on the way to Patong.
Address: 141/2 Yaowarat Road, Phuket 83000
Hours: 5 pm – 11 pm – Wednesday to Saturday – Sunday closed
Phone: 099 152 1919
Price: Free
Indy Market
Address: Limelight Avenue, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: Wed, Thu, Fri, 4 pm – 10 pm
Phone: 089 474 5253
Price: Free
Sunday Walking Street Market
Phuket Sunday Walking Street Market is called ‘Lard Yai Market’ by locals and is the most popular attraction in Phuket Town. This 360-metre long street market on Thalang Road opens every Sunday from 4 pm to 9 pm (and often beyond).
Location: Thalang Road, Phuket Town
Open: Sunday 4 pm – 9 pm
Price: Free
Central Floresta and Central Festival
Central Phuket consists of two enormous wings on each side of a busy road on the outskirts of Phuket Town. The original wing called Central Festival is connected to Central Floresta, the new wing, by a covered bridge above the road. You will find all the usual fashion brands, a department store, and the usual cinema, but as the visitors’ focus has changed, a huge amount of restaurants and no less than two food courts. Central Floresta also features Aquaria an immense aquarium with a restaurant in a water tunnel.
Address: 74-75 Wichitsongkran Road, Phuket 83000
Open: 10.30 am – 10 pm
Phone: 076 291 111
Where to eat in Phuket City?
Tu Kab Kao
Address: 8 Phang Nga Road, Phuket Town (the restaurant with a giant lobster hanging on the side)
Open: Daily 11 am – 12 midnight
Phone: 076 608 888
Speciality: Southern Thai Food
Price: Affordable
Raya Restaurant
Address: 48/1 Dibuk Road, Tambon Talat Yai, Phuket Town, Phuket 83000
Open: 10 am – 10 pm
Phone: 076 218 155
Cuisine: Southern Thai
Price: a little expensive
One Chun
Address: 48/1 Thepkrasattri Rd., Talat Yai, Phuket Town, Phuket 83000
Open: 10 am – 10 pm daily
Tel: 076 355 909
Cuisine: Southern Thai
Price: Affordable
Day and Night of Phuket
Address: 1/5 Dibuk Rd. Taladyai, Phuket Town, Phuket 83000
Open: 9 am – 12 am
Phone: 076 219 788
Price: a bit high
Tunk Ka Cafe
Address: Khosimbi Road, Khao Rang, Phuket Town
Open: 11 am – 10 pm
Phone: 076 211 500
Cuisine: Thai
Price: Affordable
Blue Elephant
Address: 96, Krabi, Tambon Talat Nuea, Amphoe Mueang Phuket, Phuket 83000
Open: 11.30 am – 10.30 pm
Phone: 076 354 355
Price: High
Dress Code: smart casual
Where to eat the best local food in Phuket Town
Go Benz Noodle Soup and Porridge
Address: Krabi Road, Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 7 pm – 2 am
Phone: 084 060 7799
Price: Cheap
Ang Seafood
Address: 226/2 Phuket Road, Phuket Town, Phuket 83000 (on the way to Sapan Hin)
Open: 6 pm – 12 am
Phone: 076 221 460
Price: Moderate
Speciality: Phuket seafood and local Thai food
Mee Ton Poh Hokkien Noodles
Address: 214, 7-8 Phuket Rd, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 9 am – 6.30 pm
Phone: 076 216 293
Price: Cheap
Speciality: Hokkien Noodles
Khun Jeed Yo Pak Radna Restaurant
Address: 31 Phangnga Rd, Talat Yai, Phuket Town, Phuket 83000
Open: 9 am – 8:30 pm, closed on Wednesday
Phone: 084 1875 737
Price: Cheap
Where to Stay in Phuket City
There are a few large hotels in Phuket Town, including a few known brands, and the old town is packed with guesthouses set in renovated Sino-Portuguese shophouses.
Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town
Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town is the latest luxury hotel to open on the Island, with an excellent location and at a short distance from the lovely streets of Old Phuket Town. The hotel is just next to the iconic clock circle, and the building itself is well known by locals and long-time residents as it used to be the old Metropole Hotel.
Location: Phuket City
Address: 1 Soi Surin, Tambon Talat Yai, Muang, Phuket 83000
Phone: 076 643 555
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtyardbyMarriottPhuketTown/
The Memory at On On Hotel
Address: 19 Phangnga Rd, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Phone: 076 363 700
Open: 24 hours
Range: 3-star
Bookings: see the rates
Phuket 346 Guesthouse
Phuket 346 is a typical Sino-Portuguese architecture shophouse converted into a guesthouse with small but comfortable rooms, a cafe, and a contemporary art gallery, located on Soi Romanee.
Address: 15 Soi Rommani, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Phone: 076 258 108
Bookings: see the rates
Casa Blanca
Address: 26 Phuket Rd, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Phone: 076 219 019
Range: 3-star
Bookings: see the rates
Novotel Phuket Phokeethra
Location: Phuket City
Address: 40/5 Chanacharoen Rd, Amphur Muang, Phuket 83000
Open: 24 hours
Phone: 076 397 777
Bookings: see the rates
Map of Phuket City
Walking Map of Old Phuket Town
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