Phuket Old Town

Visiting the historical centre of Phuket, Thailand

One of the highlights of my trip to Phuket in Thailand was visiting Phuket Old Town for the last two nights of my trip. I wanted to get a glimpse of what Phuket might have looked like before the tourism boom. I suspected that there was more to Phuket than amazing long beaches, speedboats out to the islands or going by traditional long tail boats in the mangrove delta. Not to say that above mentioned things are not enough, but I suspected there was more to Phuket. Of course there was, Phuket Old Town is a beautiful city and definitely worth a visit, or a short overnight stay. In general, Phuket is not too big so you can take day trips but who wants to get stuck in traffic when you can walk around among beautiful buildings in the evening sun, or morning light. While walking you can stop here and there for some shopping or, coffee and food. I know which I prefer, that’s why I spent 2 nights in Old Town.

Of course I met some Indian nationals outside my hotel – the legendary On On Hotel – the oldest hotel in Phuket Old Town. I helped the Indian family, and their friends, to film a short video for social media. The North Indian family where celebrating that their daughter had finished 2 years of studies in London, or partying as she said herself. Originally they were supposed to go to Kerala but the younger family members wanted to go to Thailand instead. I guess this is a sign of the times, even if India is a big country with many different climates and cultures to visit on your holiday, Indians travel abroad for their vacation too. There has been an increase in Indian nationals going for a holiday abroad, in 2024 the increase was 8%. And, just like me, Indians like to visit countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Earlier I’ve written about my relationship with my iPhone and taking photos with it. All the photos in this post are taken with my iPhone, I guess the relationship has improved as much as the camera on the iPhone have. I’m using an iPhone 16 Pro and of course the photos does not have the same detail as the ones from a professional camera but, in my opinion, they portray the city very well. But do be careful when you use your iPhone for photography, Apple likes to introduce features that are quite useless and does not make your photos look better. I usually have to un-edit my phone photos, but things like that are changing, it seems like the camera is more intuitive. If you would like to receive a short guide as to how to edit your photos in an easy way, sign up here!

I’m not sure why I keep mentioning Apple in my posts when it’s Adobe and Lightroom that make my day. Every day. Adobes programs and apps help me edit my photos every day, and they have many more options than Apple. Of course Canon is my favourite too, all my cameras and lenses come from Canon. Got a bit sidetracked here in the beginning of my post about my visit to Old Town Phuket. Just as I got sidetracked while walking around in the town. There is so much to see!

What is Phuket Old Town and why should you visit?

Phuket Old Town is the historic heart of Phuket island — a vibrant cultural district filled with pastel-colored Sino-Portuguese architecture, bustling markets, heritage museums, hidden shrines, and a creative street art scene. Many people had told me to visit the Sunday Night Market in the city. I found it to be a great contrast to Phuket’s famous beaches and resorts, the city gave me atmosphere, culture, and food to still my curiosity as to what Phuket was really like before tourism hit the island. The town is thought to be between 100-200 years old and developed as a trading hub for the tin mining business. The city, and region, have been influenced by the many cultures that have inhabited the region like the Portuguese and the Chinese.

You can go on day or night trips to Old Town Phuket from where you’re staying in Phuket, but I found it great to stay at a hotel in Old Town. I stayed at the historic The Memory at On On Hotel which is Old Town Phuket’s oldest hotel, this could also mean it’s Phuket’s oldest hotel. The On On is a renovated building in Sino-Portuguese architecture and simply amazing. I loved staying there. It’s also kind of a tourist spot, I saw so many tourist stopping by and looking in, of course photos were taken from the outside. There was even a young Thai woman who was having her graduation photos taken in front of the hotel, so you understand the importance of the building and how good it looks. I was amazed when I saw the building and realised that this was to be my hotel for my last nights in Thailand. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from my trip to Thailand but it was such a nice vacation and very pleasant surprise.

The advantage with staying in the city for one or two nights is that you get to explore, and photograph, the city at different times of the day with different light. I loved sitting outside my hotel in the morning light seeing the city come to life.

What to see and do in Phuket Old Town

• You can wander along Thalang Road or Yaowarat Road, both of them are among the most famous heritage street with cafes, shops & pastel buildings.
• You can also snap photos in Soi Romanee, one of the most Instagrammable alleys. But honestly, all of the central Old Town is very photogenic, I walked around participating in a school webinar and snapping photos with my phone at the same time.
• You can visit museums like the Thai Hua Museum to explore local history.
• Discover hidden shrines — or bohemian street art murals across town I almost didn’t get to dinner since I was so distracted by the street art.
• Check out temples like Wat Mongkhon Nimit and Jui Tui Shrine.

• Browse markets — especially the Sunday Walking Street Market for food, crafts, live music, and local life.
• You can visit Aquarium next to Central Phuket which was amazing, they have mermaids swimming along with the fishes. A very nice experience and if you follow me on Instagram where I am “helenaisthlm” I’m sure the movies I took in the aquarium of the mermaid show will show up there. Visiting aquariums is one of my favourite things to do while travelling. Of course I love meeting the fishes in their natural habitat, the sea, but you get to study them better in an aquarium.

What food should I try while visiting Phuket, or Thailand?

Phuket Old Town is a foodie’s paradise, from street eats to heritage cafes. Since I was only there for 2 nights I did not have time to thoroughly explore the citys food scene but, the food I had was great like a restaurant with pan-asian tapas. I love when things are changing a bit and there’s a fusion of different cuisines just like the Japanese-Mexican fusion food I had in Mazatlan.

I also ordered breakfast from Grab one day, and that was a great meal with innovative packing. You should definitely download the Grab app, I have found it super helpful on all my recent travels in Asia. Grab has really been my loyal companion throughout my travels. Sometimes Grab taxis are not available but at least you get an estimate about how much a taxi should cost, and there’s so much more in the app like ordering food, groceries and pharmacies.

In general, in Phuket, just like Bali, you can find all kinds of food and it’s generally very very good. When staying in Karon Beach I had some great Middle Eastern food, as well as great vegan food, and proper Italian food. So, there are lots of options.

Markets and shopping in Phuket

• Sunday Walking Street Market (Lard Yai) — the biggest and most exciting weekly market, full of street food and crafts. This is an institution in Phuket.
• Indy Night Market — lively weekday vibe.
• Small boutiques and artisan shops along heritage streets for unique souvenirs and textiles.
• Phuket also has great shopping malls with both local and international brands. I visited both Jungceylon in Patong and Central Phuket not far from Old Town. There are some big stores in the malls with K-beauty. I bought some good beauty products there since K-beauty suits my skin, better than western brands, while I’m in tropical climates.

I think it’s fun to discover local brands while traveling. In Jungceylon I found Good Goods, which is a brand that’s preserving local artisan traditions, and their products are beautiful. I wanted to buy everything in the store but settled for two bags in fabric, both practical and now sitting on my desk as decoration since they are beautiful too. I also bought a cute Asian inspired baseball shirt from Jelly Bunny at Jungceylong.

You can also use the Grab app for some shopping. Grab came in very handy since my bags where more than 24 hours late. Basically I had nothing besides the clothes I left a wintery Stockholm in. And Thailand in the winter has quite a different climate, and sunshine, I didn’t even have a sunscreen but could buy all the necessities from Grab and have them delivered. After some hours of rest I could take a taxi to Jungceylon where there’s a Uniqlo so I could get some T-shirts and shorts, and a pair of sandals from Birkenstock. So nice. Not like all those times way back when I went to India and my bag was at least one stop behind me. Back then it wasn’t easy to find a pair of flip flops in my size in India. Anyhow this time in Phuket, my bags got delivered to my hotel after 36 hours which was extremely nice since I pack carefully so I don’t have to buy the same things twice, and I pack with great care for my travels.

I hope you find this post helpful if you’re going to Phuket. Or, appreciate seeing the wonderful places there are on this planet. And, if you know somebody who’s going there please share this post. If there’s anything else you have questions about, just write it in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them!