Why should you go there and how do you do it right?

This isn't a monument you can tick off in five minutes. It's a street. The shophouses along Thanon Dibuk line up in an endless array of colors, shutters, and ornate stucco work—a product of 19th-century tin currency and a unique fusion of Portuguese and Chinese architectural styles found nowhere else in Thailand. Walking the street from one end to the other, its meaning becomes immediately clear.

The corner where most visitors stop is teeming with souvenir stands, snack bars, and juice bars. Depending on your mood, this might be appealing or a reason to move on. My tip: Follow the advice of many other visitors and visit the Phuket Museum first. There you'll learn about the history of tin mining and—more importantly—get a map that shows you which buildings are truly significant. Without this map, one beautiful facade blends seamlessly into the next.

Go early. The light is softer, the street quieter, and you won't be walking in the midday heat. Even rain won't spoil the experience; the colors still look vibrant even under a gray sky.