Explore Bangkok

Wat Saket is a royal Buddhist temple in Pom Prap Sattru Phai, renamed by King Rama I on an older Ayutthaya-period site. Its landmark is the Golden Mount, an artificial hill left by a chedi that collapsed under Rama III, crowned by a gilded chedi finished under Rama V. A stairway winds up the hill to a terrace with views over the old city.

The Jim Thompson House is a museum in the former home of the American silk merchant Jim Thompson, who assembled it in 1958-59 from six traditional teak houses, most brought from Ayutthaya, beside the Saen Saep canal. It shows his collection of Buddhist sculpture, Thai paintings and Chinese porcelain, and the main house is seen on guided tours.

Yaowarat Road is the main street of Bangkok's Chinatown in Samphanthawong District, about 1.5 km long and built between 1892 and 1900 under King Rama V. Its name means young king, after Crown Prince Vajirunhis. Gold shops, Chinese restaurants and stores line it by day, and in the evening food stalls fill its pavements.

Wat Traimit is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok's Chinatown. Its four-storey marble Phra Maha Mondop, opened in 2010, enshrines the Golden Buddha, a Sukhothai-style solid-gold image found inside a plaster shell in 1955; the lower floors hold an exhibition on the statue and the Yaowarat Chinatown Heritage Center.

A Muay Thai stadium on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue, commissioned by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram in 1941 and opened with its first bouts on 23 December 1945. Built as an open-air arena, it received a concrete roof in 1951. Fights are staged every evening around its circular ring, with seating for some 3,000 spectators.

Wat Suthat Thepphawararam is a first-class royal temple in the old city, begun by King Rama I in 1807 and completed under Rama III in 1847, with the Giant Swing standing in front of it. Its main hall enshrines Phra Si Sakyamuni, an eight-metre bronze Buddha brought from Sukhothai, and is ringed by 28 Chinese-style pagodas.

Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram, known as the Marble Temple, is a royal temple in Dusit begun in 1899 for King Chulalongkorn near his new palace. Prince Naris designed its cruciform ordination hall, faced with Italian Carrara marble and fitted with stained glass. The hall holds a 1920 replica of the Phra Buddha Chinnarat, and a cloister behind it displays 52 Buddha images.

An aquarium inside the Siam Paragon shopping centre, opened as Siam Ocean World in December 2005 and now part of Merlin Entertainments' SEA LIFE chain. Its galleries cover about 10,000 square metres and hold some five million litres of water, with zones for rainforest animals, coral reefs, sharks, jellyfish, an ocean tunnel and gentoo penguins.

Khaosan Road is a 410-metre street in the Banglamphu area of Phra Nakhon, about a kilometre north of the Grand Palace, laid out in 1892 under King Rama V. Its name means milled rice. Since the 1980s it has been lined with guesthouses, bars, street food stalls and travel agents, and it was rebuilt as a walking street in 2020.

Wat Pho is a royal Buddhist temple complex on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace, rebuilt by Rama I on an older temple site and expanded by Rama III. It houses a gilded reclining Buddha 46 metres long, four tall tiled chedis of the first four Chakri kings and a school of traditional Thai medicine and massage.

Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is the royal temple in the outer court of the Grand Palace, begun in 1783 under Rama I. Its ordination hall houses the Emerald Buddha, a small jade-green image whose robes the king changes with the seasons; around it stand gilded chedis, the Royal Pantheon and cloisters painted with the Ramakien.

The Grand Palace is the walled complex of halls, pavilions and courtyards on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River that served as the residence of the Kings of Siam from 1782, when Rama I founded Bangkok. It is still used for royal ceremonies; visitors walk through the outer and middle courts to buildings such as the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall.

The Bangkok National Museum occupies the former Front Palace (Wang Na) of the vice kings, facing Sanam Luang, and traces its origins to a museum King Chulalongkorn opened in 1874. Run by the Fine Arts Department, it shows Thai art and history from prehistory to the Bangkok period, including the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, and Buddhist art from across Asia.

Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, is a Buddhist temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok Yai, named after the Hindu god Aruna. Its central prang, raised in the early 19th century under Rama II and Rama III, is encrusted with pieces of coloured Chinese porcelain, and four smaller prangs stand at its corners.

A 314-metre skyscraper in Bang Rak, designed by Ole Scheeren's practice and opened in 2016, whose glass façade is broken by a spiralling band of pixel-like cut-outs. The Mahanakhon SkyWalk occupies its top floors: an indoor observation deck on the 74th floor and an open-air rooftop on the 78th with a glass floor 310 metres above the street.

An open-air Mediterranean restaurant on the 64th floor of State Tower in Bang Rak, run by lebua Hotels & Resorts beneath the tower's golden dome and looking out over the Chao Phraya River. It was lebua's first restaurant and appeared in the film The Hangover Part II; tables are booked in advance and a smart-casual dress code applies.

Lumphini Park is a 57-hectare public park on land King Rama VI gave to the nation in 1925, and it is regarded as Thailand's first public park. It is named after Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace. Around an artificial lake with rowing and pedal boats run about 2.5 km of paths used by joggers, and a statue of Rama VI stands at the main gate.

Asiatique Sky is a 60-metre Ferris wheel on the Chao Phraya riverfront at Asiatique, the open-air night market built in the former docks of the East Asiatic Company. Its enclosed gondolas make a ride of about 20 minutes, with views over the river, the Charoen Krung district and the city skyline.

Chatuchak Weekend Market is a market on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road in northern Bangkok with more than 15,000 stalls in 27 sections, selling clothing, crafts, ceramics, plants, antiques, furniture, books, pets and food. It began at Sanam Luang in 1942 and moved to land beside Chatuchak Park by 1983. A clock tower built in 1987 marks its centre.