Nan is a fairly typical provincial city with a vast, interesting history, some stunning wats and a very good museum to support it.

Nan, like Phrae, was an independent city-state for much of its early existence, making up part of the Lanna federation, and was only incorporated into Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century.

The city itself is small and laid-back, and is ideally explored on foot during the cooler hours of the day. It has a pleasant riverfront area and some quite good restaurants and bars.

Nan is gradually developing into an alternative trekking location, and when compared to over-trekked Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, is truly virgin territory. The trekking is generally a bit more pricey, but the experiences are generally very good. The biggest problem can be finding enough people to keep the cost down.

Nan is also home to six national parks, boosting its appeal to nature-loving domestic tourists and in October, the city is packed for the annual Nan boat races.