Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre

The Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre is the best place to get a grounding in the city's story before, or after, you tour its temples. It occupies a historic building on Prapokklao Road in the centre of the Old City, built in 1924 as the administrative office of Monthon Phayap and later used as the Chiang Mai provincial hall.

The site has royal connections. It passed to Princess Dara Rasmi from the sixth ruler of Chiang Mai, and she later gave the property to the government. When the provincial offices moved to a new building, the municipality restored this one and turned it into a museum; the conversion won an architectural preservation award in 1999.

Inside there are 15 galleries arranged in chronological order. They begin with prehistory and move through the founding of Chiang Mai, its growth as the capital of the Lanna kingdom, local beliefs and knowledge, and on to the city's modern identity. The displays rely heavily on multimedia, including video, dioramas, interactive programmes and audio-visual material, which makes the content accessible for older children and for visitors with little background in Thai history. The rear half of the building is used for temporary exhibitions, and an inner courtyard hosts cultural activities.

The centre suits first-time visitors, families and anyone who wants to make sense of names such as Mangrai, Kawila and Lanna that appear at every temple. Allow around one and a half to two hours. Being indoors, it is a sensible choice for the hottest part of the day.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, including public holidays, and closed on Mondays. It stands on Prapokklao Road in the heart of the Old City, close to Wat Phra Singh, so it combines easily with the Old City temples.

A good plan is to visit the museum on your first morning in the city, before you tour the temples. The galleries give a clear timeline of the city and the Lanna kingdom, and that makes the inscriptions, chedis and murals you see later far easier to understand. The restored 1924 building itself is also worth a look. Check whether a temporary exhibition is running, as these change during the year and can add a different angle to the permanent displays.