16 Best Places to Visit in Bangkok (Thailand)

2. Wat Pho

Wat Pho is the temple that houses the giant statue of Reclining Buddha, which is measured 46 meters long and 15 meters high, its impressive view is one of the most Instagrammed views in the city, thus have a look at the statue is a must for every traveler to Bangkok.

Beside the Reclining Buddha, there are more than one thousand smaller Buddha images, and a number of towering stupas in the temple. Wat Pho is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai Massage, which is still taught and practiced in the temple today.

3. MahaNakhon

MahaNakhon is a supertall tower in the Central Business District of Bangkok, the tower is Thailand's tallest building by roof height, and is one of the most recognizable buildings for its spiral pixel ribbon on the facade.

The uppermost floors and the rooftop are opened to public as observation decks, offering fascinating views of the skyline of the city. The rooftop has a cantilevered glass skywalk on its southern edge, it's one of the highest and largest glass trays in the world, walking on the glass will make you feel like floating in the air.

Learn more about MahaNakhon Skywalk

4. Chao Phraya River

Chao Phraya River is the largest river in Bangkok, the section that flow through the city central area is on average 720ft wide, and has numerous canals feed off it, earning Bangkok the nickname of Venice of the East.

Compared to rivers in most other cities, Chao Phraya River is way much busier and known as the lifeblood of the city, it and its canals are filled with a large amount of boats, ferries, and cruises, they are used by around 50,000 people to get around the city each day.
The river has many soaring skyscrapers and temples on the sides, so taking a boat trip will be a interesting experience, from the river you will see many attractions of the city, including the State Tower, Iconsiam, the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. The boats on the river work similar to bus or metro, there are several boat lines, all run on a same 21-km route, which has 34 piers along the river, you can get on a boat at any pier along the river, and get off at a pier nearest to your destination. For best experience, consider take a dinner cruise at dusk time.

5. Wat Arun

Wat Arun is another notable temple in Bangkok, the temple is located not far from the Grand Palace, just across the Chao Phraya River from the palace. The name Wat Arun means Temple of Dawn, which is derived from the name of the Hindu god Aruna (God of Dawn).

The main structure of Wat Arun is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city, it's comprised of an 82-meter tall central prang (Khmer-style tower) and four smaller satellite prang surround its four corners. The central prang has colorful porcelain encrusted in intricate patterns, and the visitors can climb up to the middle level of the tower if they wish to climb through a series of steep steps.

From the high up they will get a spectacular view of the winding Chao Phraya River below, as well as the Grand Palace and Wat Pho on the opposite banks of the river.

6. State Tower

On the eastern banks of the Chao Phraya River, there's an iconic 68-story skyscraper called State Tower. The tower has a bulky shape, its total floor area reaches 300,000 sq m and makes it the largest building in Southeast Asia.
The tower is most characterized by a 30-meter tall golden dome on the rooftop, it's a part of a sky bar on the top of the tower, which is the highest open-air bar in the world and offers panoramic view of the Chao Phraya River and the skyline of the city.

The sky bar gained its high popularity after being featured in the Hollywood film The Hangover Part II, now it's the most crowded sky bar in Bangkok, while other sky bars in the city generally have much less visitors. If you just want to enjoy the views, you can get access to the sky bar for free, but waiters will not leave you until you ordered a drink.

SEE ALSO: 5 Best rooftop bars in Bangkok

7. Chinatown

Chinatowns can be found in lots of cities in the world, but none of them can compare to the one in Bangkok. The Chinatown of Bangkok is the largest Chinatown in the world and definitely one of the best to visit.

The Chinatown covers many blocks and streets, the main street is Yaowarat Road, which is an 1.5 kilometers road, here you can find many Chinese food restaurants, a lot of street food stalls, and a Chinatown Gate can be found on the eastern end of the road. If you want to have a view of the entire area of Chinatown and Chao Phraya River, you can go to the Sky View 360 Restaurant on the top floor of the Grand China Hotel, which is also on Yaowarat Road.
The Chinatown is also home to a few temples, the most notable one is the Wat Traimit, which houses a 3-meter-high solid gold statue of a seated Buddha. Wat Traimit also contains a museum that exhibits presentations detailing the history of Chinese immigrants in Bangkok.

8. Baiyoke Tower

The 88-storey Baiyoke Tower II is a towering landmark in the city, the tower is situated not far from the shopping malls in Siam area and has the Ratchaprarop Airport Rail Link station next to it, offers convenient access for travelers and worth a visit.

The tower has observation decks (both indoor and outdoor) on the uppermost floors, includes a revolving deck, from there you will get impressive 360-degree aerial view of the city. The tower also contains the highest restaurant in the city at 81st and 82nd floors, every day after 5:00pm the restaurant offers buffet to visitors, you can pick from a wide variety of delicious foods, including grilled meats, seafood, fruits, parfaits and more, in the same time to enjoy the beautiful city views.

9. Central World

Central World is one of the largest shopping malls in the world, the mall has 550,000 square meters (5,900,000 sq ft) of retail space, that is almost 2 times as large as the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

The mall has 7 floors and has more than 500 stores, 100 restaurants and coffee shops, a large supermarket, a lineup of banks, bookshops, a SF World Cinema with 15 screens, and an open ice skating rink called The Rink. With so many things available, you can definitely find something that interests you and spend hours at there.
Before November 2018, Central World was the largest mall in Bangkok, now it has been surpassed by Iconsiam on the western banks of Chao Phraya River, but Central World is in a better location, it's situated in the center of shopping in the city, which is also home to several other largest malls in the city, including Siam Paragon and MBK center.
Central World is also very close to Erawan Shrine, a very famous shrine and also a popular attraction in the city.

10. Jim Thompson House

Sitting by a canal in central Bangkok, about 1.2 km west of Central World, Jim Thompson House is an art museum that was once the private residence of Jim Thompson, an American businessman and architect.

The museum is comprised of six wooden houses, designed in traditional Thai style by Jim Thompson himself and was built in 1959.
The museum features a wide collection of artifacts of Southeast Asia, including traditional Thai paintings, historical Buddhist statues, etc., they were collected by Jim Thompson from within Thailand and also some surrounding countries.

11. Lumphini Park

Lumphini Park (pronounced as LumPini Park) is the Central Park of Bangkok, as it's located near the Central Business District of the city. The park is home to a variety of flora and fauna and covers an area of more than 500,000 square meters, it's one of the largest green spaces in the city.

The park is an ideal place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, it's a popular gathering spot for citizens, here you will see people jogging, practicing Tai Chi, relaxing on benches, and doing many other leisure activities. There are two artificial lakes in the park, you can rent a rowing or paddle boat for only 40 Baht (a little more than 1 US dollar) per hour to enjoy the scenery on the lake.
Similar to the Central Park in NYC, Lumphini Park is also witnessing a series of skyscrapers under development next to it, a 442-meter building will rise up in the adjacent block.

12. Wat Saket

Wat Saket is a temple built on an 80-meter high hill called Golden Mountain, thus the temple is also known as temple of Golden Mount. Wat Saket is located not far from the famous walking street Khaosan Road, the distance between the two is only one kilometer.

The Golden Mountain is actually an artificial hill that was formed from the debris of a collapsed chedi commissioned by King Rama III. The hill was once the highest point of Bangkok when there were no highrise buildings existing in the city.
A gilded chedi is built on the top of the artificial hill, visitors need to climb more than 300 steps to reach there, and then will be rewarded with a spectacular view of the city.

An annual festival that lasts one week is held at Wat Saket every November, during the event a long red cloth will be used to wrap around the chedi, and there will be a candlelight procession of worshipers ascending to the chedi.

13. Khaosan Road

Khaosan Road is a 410-meter long walking street in central area of Bangkok, only about 1 km north of the Grand Palace.

The street is one of the busiest areas in the city, with about 50 thousand tourists every day in the high season. It has a variety of shops, bars, restaurants, and street food stalls. There are many hotels that offer cheap accommodation, making it a popular destination for travelers from around the world.

14. Nana Plaza

Within a short walk of the BTS Skytrain's Nana Station, there is a red-light district called Nana Plaza, which is one of three major adult playgrounds in Bangkok (other two are Soi Cowboy and Patpong).

The Plaza is basically a 3-story U-shaped building with a courtyard in the middle. The building houses 30 go-go bars, including 7 ladyboy bars. Visitors can get into one of the bars to enjoy shows after order a beer or drink. The top floor has a few short-time "hotels" that rent out rooms by hour, patrons can privately take a bar girl to one of such hotels after paying a bar fine. The visitors to the Plaza are mostly foreign tourists, also many are local costumers.