Bangkok Things to Do

There are 200 lists of “100 things to do in Bangkok” online. None of them is a recommendation. This is a list of about 20 things I’d actually plan time around.

The three essentials

If you do nothing else, do these three. All within a 30-minute walk of each other in the old royal city.

• Wat Pho – the Reclining Buddha. 46 meters of gold-leaf, lying on its side. Open 8am. Cool, less crowded before 10am.
• Grand Palace – the most spectacular royal complex in Southeast Asia. Open 8:30am. Wear shoulders and knees covered. Bring water; it gets hot.
• Wat Arun – the Temple of Dawn. Across the river from Wat Pho. Best at sunset rather than dawn. Climb the central spire.

Three temples in one morning is doable. Start at Wat Pho, walk to the Grand Palace next door, then take the ferry across to Wat Arun.

Markets

• Chatuchak Weekend Market (Saturdays and Sundays only, BTS Mo Chit). The most famous Bangkok market and worth the trip. 15,000 stalls. Allow at least 3 hours.
• Talad Rot Fai (Train Market) at Ratchada. Vintage stalls, food, beer. Open evenings.
• Bangrak Market during the day for the local food scene.
• Klong Toei Wet Market for hardcore food sightseers (not for the squeamish).

Skip the floating-market tours in the city. The good floating markets (Amphawa, Damnoen Saduak) are 60 to 90 minutes away and would consume a full day.

Museums and history

• Jim Thompson House. The silk king’s compound, preserved as a museum. The most atmospheric small museum in Bangkok. 90 minutes.
• Museum of Siam. Modern, interactive, the best one for kids. 90 minutes.
• Bangkok National Museum. Older, more traditional, less curated. For history-deep travelers.
• Erawan Museum. Outside the city. A giant three-headed elephant. Weird, beautiful, photogenic.

Day-only experiences

• Lumpini Park. Bangkok’s central park. Walk at sunset, watch the monitor lizards, see the city’s oldest joggers do their evening laps.
• River boat from Sathorn Pier. Cheap, scenic, kids love it.
• The Mahanakhon SkyWalk. Glass floor on the 78th floor. Sunset is the move.
• Asiatique. Evening shopping by the river. Touristy but not unpleasant.

Food experiences

• Half-day cooking class. Bo.lan Lite, Cooking with Poo, Silom Thai Cooking School. Take a class once on your first Bangkok trip.
• Chinatown (Yaowarat) at night. Walk Yaowarat after 7pm. Stop at whatever has a long local queue.
• Bangkok food tour. Bangkok Food Tours runs the best of them. Half-day, walking, mostly street food. Worth the money on a first trip.
• A tasting menu. Le Du, Sühring, Gaggan Anand, Sorn. Book 3 to 4 weeks ahead. See the Bangkok restaurants guide.

Day trips out of the city

• Ayutthaya. The old Thai capital. UNESCO temple ruins. 90 minutes north by train or van. One full day.
• Kanchanaburi. Bridge over the River Kwai, Erawan Falls. 2 hours west. One or two days.
• Amphawa floating market. Evening market with longtail boat rides. 90 minutes southwest. Half-day evening trip.
• Damnoen Saduak floating market plus Maeklong railway market. 90 minutes southwest. Long, touristy, photogenic. Half-day.

For most travelers I’d recommend one day trip out of Bangkok and no more. Use the time on the city itself.

Things to skip

• Crocodile farm. Cruel, depressing, skip.
• Tiger Temple replacements. Same. Skip animal photo ops.
• Most “ladyboy cabaret” shows. Tourist theater.
• Ping pong shows. No.

How I’d plan three days

Day 1: Temples and the river. Wat Pho, Grand Palace, Wat Arun in the morning. Lunch back at the hotel. Pool afternoon. Sunset cocktails on the river. Dinner at the hotel or at one of the riverside restaurants.

Day 2: Modern Bangkok. BTS to Asok or Phrom Phong. Lumpini Park walk. Lunch at one of the food halls. Afternoon shopping at the Em-District or a museum (Jim Thompson). Dinner on Sukhumvit at Soei or Le Du. Drinks at Lennon’s or Q&A.

Day 3: Food day. Morning cooking class. Lunch at the cooking school. Afternoon hotel pool. Evening walk through Yaowarat for street food.

Add a fourth day to do Ayutthaya or Amphawa.

For where to stay, see the Bangkok hotels guide. For getting around, see the Bangkok BTS guide.