Bangkok: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Everything Bangkok was before it became a metropolis sits on one island inside the canals. Start at the Grand Palace — the royal residence until 1925 — walk to the forty-six metre reclining Buddha, and cross the river to Wat Arun. Dress: shoulders and knees covered or you will not get in. And go early; by ten the humidity is unbearable.
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A short history of Bangkok
For centuries Bangkok was a small trading village on the Chao Phraya River, on the way to the capital, Ayutthaya. In 1767 the Burmese destroyed Ayutthaya, and King Taksin set up a new capital at Thonburi, on the west bank. In 1782 King Rama I, founder of the Chakri dynasty that still reigns today, moved the capital to the east bank, and in the same year construction of the Grand Palace began. The city's full ceremonial name is one of the longest in the world, and Thais call it Krung Thep for short. Thailand was never conquered by a European power. In 1999 the city's first elevated railway opened.
The ten best sights in Bangkok
1Grand PalaceCovered shoulders and knees, or you are not coming in
2Wat Phra KaewThe Emerald Buddha, carved from a single block of jade
3Wat PhoA reclining Buddha 46 metres long, and the first massage school
4Wat ArunAcross the river, and best at sunset from the other bank
5Wat TraimitFive and a half tonnes of solid gold, hidden under plaster for 200 years
6Wat BenchamabophitThe marble temple, and the one on the five-baht coin
7Jim Thompson HouseSix teak houses, and an American who vanished in 1967
8Museum SiamWhat it means to be Thai, told well and in English
9Khao San RoadGo once, at night, and do not stay
10Golden Mount318 steps to the only hill in Bangkok
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Bangkok →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Bangkok:
Free walking tours in Bangkok
The Old City
Everything Bangkok was before it became a metropolis sits on one island inside the canals. Start at the Grand Palace — the royal residence until 1925 — walk to the forty-six metre reclining Buddha, and cross the river to Wat Arun. Dress: shoulders and knees covered or you will not get in. And go early; by ten the humidity is unbearable.
- Grand Palace · Two hundred and eighteen thousand square metres built in 1782, when the capital moved across the river for safety. The king no longer lives here, but the coronation still happens inside.
- Wat Phra Kaew · The Emerald Buddha is sixty-six centimetres of jade, and the king changes its robes three times a year with his own hands. It has no resident monks — this is the royal chapel, not a monastery.
- Wat Pho · The reclining Buddha is forty-six metres long with mother-of-pearl soles, and the temple holds the first public university in Thailand — including the school where Thai massage is still taught.
- Tha Tien Pier · Four baht and three minutes across the Chao Phraya. The boat is how the city moved for three hundred years and is still the fastest way west.
- Wat Arun · The tower is covered in broken Chinese porcelain — ballast from trading ships, pressed into the plaster. Climb it; the steps are steep on purpose, to make the ascent an effort.
- Golden Mount · An artificial hill made from a collapsed temple that the swampy ground could not hold. Three hundred and eighteen steps spiral up it, and from the top you see the whole old city at once.
Chinatown by night
Yaowarat is one street that changes job at six in the evening: the shops pull down their shutters and the pavement becomes a kitchen. This is Bangkok’s original Chinatown, from 1782, when the king asked the Chinese traders to move so the palace could be built. Bring cash, arrive hungry, and do not order everything at the first stall.
- Wat Traimit · Five and a half tonnes of solid gold, plastered over centuries ago to hide it from invaders and forgotten. In 1955 the plaster cracked when a crane dropped it, and the gold was found underneath.
- Wat Mangkon Kamalawat · The largest Chinese temple in the city, and the centre of the Vegetarian Festival each autumn, when the whole street turns yellow and eats no meat for nine days.
- Talat Noi · Lanes a metre wide, stacked with salvaged engine parts, where Chinese families have lived for two hundred years. Street artists have painted the walls between the workshops.
- Yaowarat Road · At six the shutters come down and the woks come out. Oyster omelettes, grilled prawns, and a queue at a stall that looks like every other stall and is not.
- Sampeng Lane · A wholesale alley where the city buys its buttons, ribbons and plastic flowers. Motorcycles push through it at walking pace and nobody moves.
- Hua Lamphong · The 1916 station, built by Italians in the style of Frankfurt, where every train in Thailand used to begin. The trains have moved north; the hall is still there.
The modern city
The other half of Bangkok is malls, parks and a railway over your head — and it is also the half where Thais themselves spend their time. Start at the Jim Thompson House, an American who revived the Thai silk industry and then walked into a Malaysian jungle in 1967 and was never found. Finish in a park that used to be a tobacco factory.
- Jim Thompson House · Six teak houses brought from across Thailand and reassembled without a single nail. He left for a walk on Easter Sunday 1967 and vanished; the house was kept exactly as it was that morning.
- Erawan Shrine · Built in 1956 after a string of accidents during a hotel’s construction. People who get what they prayed for come back and pay dancers to perform here on their behalf — which is why there is always music.
- Bangkok Art and Culture Centre · Nine floors spiralling upward, free, air-conditioned, and the only major art space in the city. The spiral is a direct quote of the Guggenheim.
- Lumphini Park · Given to the city by the king in 1925. Monitor lizards two metres long walk the paths and nobody reacts; at six every evening the national anthem plays and everybody stops where they are.
- Benjakitti Park · A state tobacco factory until 2016, now a constructed wetland that filters the city’s own water, with a kilometre of walkway raised above the reeds.
- Khlong Toei Market · The wholesale market where every restaurant in Bangkok buys, open from four in the morning. Wet, loud, and the least staged thing in the city.
Getting to Bangkok and getting around
- Suvarnabhumi · The Airport Rail Link reaches the centre in 26 minutes
- Don Mueang · The old airport, and where the low-cost flights land
- Bang Sue Grand Station · The largest railway station in South-East Asia
- Siam BTS · Where the two Skytrain lines cross
- Sathorn Pier · The river boat — faster than any road in Bangkok
Museums in Bangkok
- Bangkok National Museum · The royal collection, in the old palace of the viceroy
- Museum Siam · What it means to be Thai — the best-explained museum here
- Jim Thompson House · Six teak houses, no nails, and an unsolved disappearance
- Bangkok Art and Culture Centre · Free, air-conditioned, nine spiralling floors
- Dusit Palace · The largest golden teak building in the world
Parks and gardens in Bangkok
- Lumphini Park · Two-metre monitor lizards, and the anthem at six
- Benjakitti Park · A tobacco factory turned wetland with a raised walkway
- Bang Krachao · The green lung — rent a bicycle at the pier
Things to do in Bangkok with kids
- Sea Life Ocean World · Under Siam Paragon, and a tunnel through the sharks
- Safari World · Drive through the lions, an hour out of town
- Asiatique · A ferris wheel over the river, and a free boat to it
Cheap eats in Bangkok
Eight places where you sit on a plastic stool or do not sit at all. A woman in goggles who cooks over charcoal and has a Michelin star, a noodle shop in its fourth generation, a rice-and-curry counter where you point at what you want. Thirty to eighty baht, except the one with the star.
- Jay Fai · Michelin star, charcoal, ski goggles. Queue early
- Thip Samai · Pad thai since 1966, wrapped in egg, 80 baht
- Nai Ek Roll Noodle · Peppery pork noodle soup in Chinatown, 50 baht
- Jake Puey · Rice and curry — point at four things, 60 baht
- Wang Lang Market · A student market by the ferry, with no English menus
- Or Tor Kor · Government-run, spotless, and the mangoes are the best
- Yaowarat street stalls · From six at night, on the pavement, cash only
- Khlong Toei Market · Where the cooks buy, from four in the morning
Nightlife in Bangkok
- Iron Fairies · A blacksmith’s workshop with live jazz upstairs
- Train Night Market Ratchada · Tin roofs lit in colour, seen from the mall car park above
- Soi Cowboy · One neon street, and that is all it is
Holy places in Bangkok
- Wat Suthat · The giant swing, and the quietest great temple
- Wat Benchamabophit · Carrara marble, and the one on the five-baht coin
- Wat Saket · 318 steps, and bells to ring on the way up
- Wat Mangkon Kamalawat · The largest Chinese temple, and incense you can taste
Frequently asked questions about Bangkok
What is there to see in Bangkok?
The top sights in Bangkok are Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Bangkok?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Bangkok without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Bangkok?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Bangkok, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The Old City.
How do you get to Bangkok and get around?
The main ways are Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Bang Sue Grand Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Bangkok, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Bangkok that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Bangkok for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.