Bangkok can feel overwhelming on the first afternoon: heat, traffic and a skyline that never seems to end. Give it a couple of days and the city starts to make sense. The river ties the old royal quarter together, the Skytrain glides over the traffic and good food is never far away. Here are the sights worth your time, what to eat, where to stay and how to get around.<\/p>\n
Few capitals pack so much contrast into one place. On the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, the historic Rattanakosin district holds the Grand Palace and some of Thailand’s most important temples, while Siam and Sukhumvit, a short train ride away, are all malls, caf\u00e9s and rooftop bars. Most first-time visitors spend three or four days here; if you only have one, follow our one-day route along the Chao Phraya River<\/a>.<\/p>\n The former royal residence and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha share one walled compound and are the city’s headline sight: glittering spires, guardian giants, galleries painted with scenes from the Ramakien (the Thai version of the Ramayana) and the small, deeply revered Emerald Buddha image. The official website lists daily opening from 8:30 am, with tickets sold until 3:30 pm. Foreign visitors currently pay 500 baht; Thai nationals enter free with an ID card.<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> the dress code is strict, so cover your shoulders and legs, and arrive at opening time to beat the crowds and the heat.<\/p>\n A short walk south, Wat Pho houses a gilded reclining Buddha about 46 metres long, the soles of its feet inlaid with mother-of-pearl, along with quiet courtyards and chedis covered in ceramic mosaics. It is also a long-standing school of traditional Thai massage, and you can book a treatment on site. Foreign visitors currently pay 300 baht. Wat Pho closes later than the palace, so it makes a good afternoon stop.<\/p>\n Across the river, Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) is known for its tall Khmer-style prang, decorated with thousands of pieces of coloured porcelain. Small ferries from Tha Tien pier, near Wat Pho, cross in a few minutes, and foreign visitors currently pay 200 baht.<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> for the classic photo, look back at Wat Arun from the Tha Tien side at sunset.<\/p>\n Chao Phraya Express boats work like a floating bus service, stopping at numbered piers on both banks. Useful stops include Sathorn (linked to BTS Saphan Taksin), Tha Chang for the Grand Palace and Tha Tien for Wat Pho and the Wat Arun ferry. Fares and routes change from time to time, so check the boards at the pier, and ignore touts who claim the public boat is not running.<\/p>\n Yaowarat Road comes alive after dark, when food stalls spill onto the pavement beneath a canopy of Chinese signs; come hungry and graze. By day the lanes are busy with wholesalers, gold shops and incense-filled shrines. Next door, Talat Noi is an older riverside quarter of shophouses, engine workshops and street art. MRT Wat Mangkon station puts you right in the middle.<\/p>\n The Golden Mount at Wat Saket is a man-made hill crowned with a golden chedi. A spiral staircase leads to a terrace with wide views over the old city, and there is a modest entry fee. From here you can walk on to the Giant Swing, Wat Suthat and the leafy lanes of Banglamphu.<\/p>\n Chatuchak is a vast maze of thousands of stalls selling vintage clothing, ceramics, plants, homeware and snacks. The full market opens on Saturdays and Sundays during the day; on Wednesdays and Thursdays only the plant section trades. It sits next to MRT Chatuchak Park and Kamphaeng Phet stations and BTS Mo Chit.<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> go in the morning, carry small notes and use the central clock tower as a meeting point. Or Tor Kor Market, across the road, is excellent for tropical fruit.<\/p>\n Bangkok’s best-known park is a welcome break from concrete, with joggers and tai chi groups in the early morning and monitor lizards lounging on the lawns. If you are there at 6 pm, everyone stands still while the national anthem plays; do the same.<\/p>\n For street food, head to Yaowarat or Banglamphu in the evening; for air-conditioning and clear prices, try the food courts in major shopping centres. Ask for phet nit noi<\/em> (“a little spicy”) if you are unsure about chilli.<\/p>\n Location matters in a city this size, so stay within walking distance of a BTS or MRT station.<\/p>\n Most international flights land at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)<\/strong>, while many budget airlines use Don Mueang (DMK)<\/strong>. From Suvarnabhumi, the Airport Rail Link reaches Phaya Thai, where it meets the BTS, in about half an hour. Don Mueang has a station on the SRT Red Line to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, the departure point for most long-distance trains.<\/p>\n The cool, dry months from about November to February are the most comfortable and the busiest. From March to May the heat builds, peaking in April, when Thailand celebrates Songkran, the Thai New Year, on 13\u201315 April; our guide to Songkran in Bangkok<\/a> explains what to expect. The rainy season runs roughly from June to October, with heavy but often short downpours, cheaper hotels and fewer crowds.<\/p>\n Spend your mornings on the river and in the old town, your afternoons somewhere cool and your evenings eating your way through Chinatown or a night market. Stay near a train line, dress for temples and pace yourself in the heat, and Bangkok soon turns from overwhelming to addictive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plan your Bangkok trip: riverside temples, Chinatown street food, the best areas to stay, getting around by train and boat, and when to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4223,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"province":[161],"class_list":["post-5085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-attractions-en","province-bangkok"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5160,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5085\/revisions\/5160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5085"},{"taxonomy":"province","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/songkran.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/province?post=5085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Top things to do in Bangkok<\/h2>\n
The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew<\/h3>\n
Wat Pho<\/h3>\n
Wat Arun<\/h3>\n
A ride on the Chao Phraya<\/h3>\n
Chinatown (Yaowarat) and Talat Noi<\/h3>\n
The Golden Mount and the old town<\/h3>\n
Chatuchak Weekend Market<\/h3>\n
Lumphini Park<\/h3>\n
What to eat in Bangkok<\/h2>\n
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Where to stay in Bangkok<\/h2>\n
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Getting there and getting around<\/h2>\n
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Best time to visit<\/h2>\n
Good to know<\/h2>\n
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In short<\/h2>\n