Find places in Myanmar

Must-Haves

• Shwedagon Pagoda (Bahan)
  The gilded stupa on Singuttara Hill is the spiritual heart of the country and glows at sunset.
• Sule Pagoda (Downtown)
  An ancient octagonal stupa that sits in the middle of a downtown roundabout.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Botahtaung Pagoda (Botahtaung)
  A riverside pagoda with a hollow, mirrored interior you can walk through.
• Ngahtatgyi Pagoda (Bahan)
  A serene seated Buddha with a carved teak backdrop, across the road from Chaukhtatgyi.

Fun for Everyone

• Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple (Bahan)
  A huge reclining Buddha with finely painted feet, under a simple shed.

Fun for Everyone

• Kandawgyi Lake (Mingalar Taung Nyunt)
  A wooden boardwalk around the lake gives views of Shwedagon and the Karaweik barge.
• People's Park (Dagon)
  Shady lawns and fountains below the western stairway of Shwedagon.

Great for Date Night

• Inya Lake (Kamayut)
  The city's big lake, where locals gather on the embankment for sunset breezes.

Must-Haves

• Bogyoke Aung San Market (Pabedan)
  The colonial era covered market for longyi, lacquerware, jade and handicrafts.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Theingyi Zei (Pabedan)
  A sprawling wholesale market for spices, herbs and everyday goods where locals shop.

Fun for Everyone

• Junction City (Pabedan)
  A modern air conditioned mall with a food court and cinema, good on a hot afternoon.

Fun for Everyone

• 19th Street (Chinatown)
  Plastic stools, grilled skewers and draught beer on the liveliest street in Chinatown.

Must-Haves

• Rangoon Tea House (Pansodan Street)
  A stylish take on the Burmese teahouse with mohinga, tea leaf salad and milky tea.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Feel Myanmar Food (Dagon)
  A buffet of Burmese curries and salads where you point at what looks good.
• 999 Shan Noodle Shop (Downtown)
  A tiny downtown favourite for Shan noodles and tofu soup.
• Danuphyu Daw Saw Yee (Downtown)
  A long running Burmese curry house serving rich, oily curries with rice and sides.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Lucky Seven Tea Shop (Mingalar Taung Nyunt)
  A classic local teahouse for sweet tea, samosas and morning mohinga.

Great for Date Night

• The Strand Hotel (Strand Road)
  The grand colonial hotel by the river, also lovely for afternoon tea.

Must-Haves

• Sule Shangri-La (Downtown)
  A reliable international hotel in the centre near Sule Pagoda.

Fun for Everyone

• Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon (Tamwe)
  A large hotel beside Kandawgyi Lake with a pool and family rooms.

Must-Haves

• Yangon Circular Railway (Yangon Central Railway Station)
  A slow loop train through suburbs, markets and paddy fields that shows daily life.

Off the Beaten Path

• Dala ferry (Pansodan Jetty)
  A short ferry across the river to a village world away from downtown.

Must-Haves

• Thingyan Water Festival (Citywide)
  The April new year water festival turns the whole city into a joyful water fight.

Fun for Everyone

• Tazaungdaing Festival (Citywide)
  The November full moon brings lanterns, robe weaving contests and night markets.

Must-Haves

• Mandalay Hill (Chanayethazan)
  Climb the covered stairway past shrines to a sunset view over the plains.
• Kuthodaw Pagoda (Chanayethazan)
  Hundreds of white shrines hold marble slabs inscribed with Buddhist scripture.
• Mahamuni Pagoda (Chanmyathazi)
  The most revered Buddha image in the country, washed each dawn by monks.
• Shwenandaw Monastery (Chanayethazan)
  A teak monastery covered in carvings, the last surviving building of the royal palace.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Atumashi Monastery (Chanayethazan)
  A rebuilt monastery with tall stucco terraces beside Shwenandaw.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Zegyo Market (Chanayethazan)
  The old central market for textiles, spices and everyday goods.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mandalay Jade Market (Chanmyathazi)
  Watch traders cut, polish and haggle over jade in a busy, gritty market.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Nylon Ice Cream Bar (Chanayethazan)
  An old school ice cream parlour loved by locals for decades.

Must-Haves

• Mandalay Hill Resort (Chanayethazan)
  A large resort hotel at the foot of Mandalay Hill with a big pool.

Fun for Everyone

• Sedona Hotel Mandalay (Chanayethazan)
  A long standing hotel facing the palace moat.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mandalay palace moat walk (Chanayethazan)
  A flat walk along the moat at dusk with views to Mandalay Hill.

Off the Beaten Path

• Yankin Hill (Chanmyathazi)
  A quieter hilltop temple with views and fewer visitors than Mandalay Hill.

Fun for Everyone

• Taungbyone Nat Festival (Taungbyone)
  A loud, colourful August spirit festival with dancing nat kadaw mediums.

Must-Haves

• Ananda Temple (Old Bagan)
  The best known temple on the plain, with four standing Buddhas and gilded spires.
• Shwezigon Pagoda (Nyaung U)
  A golden bell shaped stupa that set the style for later pagodas.
• Dhammayangyi Temple (Bagan Archaeological Zone)
  The biggest temple on the plain, with mysteriously sealed inner corridors.
• Sulamani Temple (Bagan Archaeological Zone)
  Fine murals and elegant brickwork in one of the late great temples.

Fun for Everyone

• Thatbyinnyu Temple (Old Bagan)
  The tallest temple in Bagan, a white landmark you see from everywhere.

Must-Haves

• Mount Popa (Popa)
  A dramatic volcanic plug crowned with a monastery, home of the nat spirits.

Great for Date Night

• Ayeyarwady sunset boat (Nyaung U jetty)
  A slow boat on the great river as the temples turn gold.

Fun for Everyone

• Nyaung U Market (Nyaung U)
  The morning market for thanakha, longyi, produce and snacks.

Off the Beaten Path

• Myinkaba lacquerware workshops (Myinkaba)
  See the many layered craft of Bagan lacquerware being made by hand.

Fun for Everyone

• Ananda Pagoda Festival (Old Bagan)
  A full moon festival in January or February with ox cart pilgrims and markets.

Must-Haves

• Inle Lake boat trip (Inle Lake)
  A day on the lake with leg rowing fishermen, stilt villages and floating gardens.

Fun for Everyone

• Inle floating gardens (Inle Lake)
  Tomato gardens on floating mats of weed, tended from canoes.

Must-Haves

• Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda (Inle Lake)
  The lake's holiest shrine, its Buddha images covered in gold leaf.

Fun for Everyone

• Nga Phe Kyaung (Inle Lake)
  A teak monastery on stilts with a fine collection of Shan Buddha images.

Off the Beaten Path

• In Dein pagodas (In Dein)
  Hundreds of crumbling stupas in bamboo groves up a narrow creek.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery (Nyaungshwe)
  A teak monastery with oval windows where young monks study.
• Yadana Man Aung Pagoda (Nyaungshwe)
  The oldest stupa in town, with a small museum.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mingalar Market (Nyaungshwe)
  The town market for Shan noodles, snacks and hill tribe produce.

Off the Beaten Path

• In Paw Khone weaving village (Inle Lake)
  Weavers turn lotus stem fibre and silk into cloth on wooden looms.

Fun for Everyone

• Cycling to Maing Thauk (Maing Thauk)
  An easy ride to a village with a long wooden bridge into the lake.

Great for Date Night

• Red Mountain Estate (Nyaungshwe)
  A hillside vineyard for sunset wine tasting over the valley.

Must-Haves

• Phaung Daw Oo Festival (Inle Lake)
  In autumn, the sacred images tour the lake on a golden barge with leg rowing races.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Nyaungshwe teahouses (Nyaungshwe)
  Morning tea and Shan noodles with locals before the boats leave.

Must-Haves

• Ngwe Saung Beach (Ngwe Saung)
  A long, quiet silver sand beach on the Bay of Bengal.

Fun for Everyone

• Lovers Island (Ngwe Saung)
  A small island you can walk to at low tide at the south end of the beach.

Off the Beaten Path

• Chaung Tha Beach (Chaung Tha)
  A lively local beach town, busy with families from Yangon.

Off the Beaten Path

• Ngwe Saung village cycle (Ngwe Saung)
  Ride past fishing boats, drying fish and village life.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ngwe Saung beach seafood restaurants (Ngwe Saung)
  Simple places grilling the day's fish and prawns.

Must-Haves

• Shwemokhtaw Pagoda (Pathein)
  The golden pagoda that anchors the delta city of Pathein.

Off the Beaten Path

• Pathein parasol workshops (Pathein)
  Watch painted cotton and silk parasols being made by hand.

Great for Date Night

• Ngwe Saung sunset beach bars (Ngwe Saung)
  Sand, a cold drink and the sun dropping into the sea.