Nightmarket

Timing is everything here. The stated hours run 16:00 to 21:00 daily, but reviewers who turned up at six found shops already shutting. Come early, eat early, and you'll get the run of the place. Come at half seven and you're picking through whatever's left.

It's not a big market and it doesn't try to be. What it does have is food that people who used to live in Ayutthaya still come back for, most famously a Pad Thai stall that's now moved to the opposite side of the street. Grilled meats are the other draw, along with coconut pudding sold by an elderly Thai vendor. This is a market for locals doing their evening shop rather than a tourist set piece, which is exactly why I'd send you.

One practical catch worth knowing before you go hungry: seating is scarce. Tables and chairs belong to individual vendors, and you only get one if you're buying from that vendor. So decide where you're eating first, then order, rather than collecting food from five stalls and standing about with it.