Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Wat Pho is our absolute favorite among Bangkok's biggest sights. In fact, the compound incorporates a host of superlatives: the city's largest reclining…
Must-see attractions in Bangkok
Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
The Grand Palace (Phra Borom Maharatchawang) is a former royal residence in Bangkok that was consecrated in 1782. Today, it’s only used on ceremonial…
Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Wat Arun is the missile-shaped temple that rises from the Chao Phraya River's banks. Known as Temple of Dawn, it was named after the Indian god of dawn,…
Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Architecturally fantastic, the Wat Phra Kaew temple complex is also the spiritual core of Thai Buddhism and the monarchy, symbolically united in what is…
Banglamphu
Even if you're wát-ed out, you should tackle the brisk ascent to the Golden Mount. Serpentine steps wind through an artificial hill shaded by gnarled…
Bangkok
Named after the Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal (Lumbini), Lumphini Park is central Bangkok’s largest and most popular park. Its 58 hectares are home to an…
Banglamphu
Other than being just plain huge and impressive, Wat Suthat also holds the highest royal temple grade. Inside the wí·hăhn (sanctuary for a Buddha…
Chinatown
The attraction at Wat Traimit is undoubtedly the impressive 3m-tall, 5.5-tonne, solid-gold Buddha image, which gleams like, well, gold. Sculpted in the…
Bangkok
You might recognise this iconic temple from its impression on the back of the ubiquitous Thai 5B coin. Also referred to as the Marble Temple, it was…
Chinatown
With some two centuries of commerce under its belt, New Market is no longer an entirely accurate name for this strip of commerce. Regardless, this is…
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Bangkok
Comprising three early-20th-century wooden bungalows, the charming Bangkokian Museum illustrates an often-overlooked period of Bangkok's history. The main…
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Chinatown
This microcosm of soi (lane) life is named after a small (nói) market (đà·làht) that sets up between Soi 22 and Soi 20, along the atmospheric Soi Wanit…
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SkyWalk at King Power Mahanakhon
Bangkok
Offering an unparalleled 360-degree view of Bangkok's cityscape, this two-tiered viewpoint is perched atop King Power Mahanakhon, currently Thailand’s…
Bangkok
Following his first European tour in 1897, Rama V (King Chulalongkorn; r 1868–1910) returned with visions of European castles and set about transforming…
Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Thailand's National Museum is home to an impressive collection of items dating from throughout the country's glittering past. Most of the museum's…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Much of the saga that followed Thailand’s transition from monarchy to democracy has unfolded on this quiet riverside campus. Thammasat University was…
Banglamphu
Founded in 1826, Wat Bowonniwet (known colloquially as Wat Bowon) is the national headquarters for the Thammayut monastic sect, a reformed version of Thai…
Phra Sumen Fort & Santi Chai Prakan Park
Banglamphu
Formerly the site of a sugar factory, Santi Chai Prakan Park is now a tiny patch of greenery with a great river view and lots of evening action, including…
Banglamphu
Dating back to the late 18th century, whitewashed Mahakan Fort is one of two surviving citadels that defended the old walled city. The octagonal fort is a…
Chinatown
Centuries before Sukhumvit became Bangkok's international district, the Portuguese claimed fa·ràng (Western) supremacy on a riverside plot of land given…
Chinatown
In 2016, as part of a cleaning drive, Bangkok's famous and formerly streetside flower market – also called Pak Khlong Talat – was moved indoors. Within…
Bangkok
Sort of a gallery, kind of a coffeeshop, more a cultural centre… It's tough to categorise this old wooden house on Khlong Bang Luang in Thonburi. There's…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
On a hot day, Sanam Luang (Royal Field) is far from charming: a shadeless expanse of dying grass and concrete pavement ringed by flocks of pigeons and…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
The royal barges are slender, fantastically ornamented vessels used in ceremonial processions. The tradition of using them dates back to the Ayuthaya era,…
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Banglamphu
This museum assembles old photos and memorabilia to illustrate the rather dramatic life of Rama VII (King Prajadhipok; r 1925–35), Thailand's last…
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Banglamphu
The Democracy Monument is the focal point of the grand, European-style boulevard that is Th Ratchadamnoen Klang. As the name suggests, it was erected to…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Collectively dedicated to anatomy, pathology and forensic sciences, this museum has a somewhat atypical (bordering on macabre) array of exhibits ranging…
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Banglamphu
This spindly red arch – a symbol of Bangkok – formerly hosted a Brahmin festival in honour of Shiva, in which participants would swing in ever higher arcs…
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Banglamphu
The residents of Ban Baat inhabit the only remaining village of three established in Bangkok by Rama I (King Phraphutthayotfa Chulalok; r 1782–1809) to…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
This fun museum's collection employs a variety of media to explore the origins of the Thai people and their culture. Housed in a European-style 19th…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Thailand’s universities aren’t usually repositories for interesting architecture, but Silpakorn (pronounced sĭn lá þà gorn), the country’s premier art…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
Easily mistaken for a European public garden, this Victorian-era green space was originally designed as a royal residence in the time of Rama IV. After…
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Banglamphu
This temple was built for Rama III (King Phranangklao; r 1824–51) in the 1840s, and its design is said to derive from metal temples built in India and Sri…
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Bangkok
Arrestingly flamboyant, this Hindu temple is a wild collision of colours, shapes and deities. It was built in the 1860s by Tamil immigrants and features a…
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Chinatown
Many South Asian traders set up shop in Bangkok's small but bustling Little India, where everything from Bollywood movies to bindis is sold by…
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Bangkok
Construction on Sathorn Unique – known colloquially as the Ghost Tower because locals believe the plot of land it occupies to be a former cemetery – began…
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Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi
This arcane and fascinating market claims both the footpaths along Th Maha Rat and Th Phra Chan, as well as a dense network of covered market stalls that…
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Bangkok
The bronze figure on horseback is Rama V (King Chulalongkorn; r 1868–1910), the monarch widely credited for steering the country into the modern age and…
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Bangkok
The domed neoclassical building behind the Rama V Memorial was originally built as a royal reception hall during the reign of Rama V, but wasn't completed…
