Attraction
The Grand Palace
Bangkok's former royal residence, a walled complex of throne halls, courtyards and the revered Temple of the Emerald Buddha beside the Chao Phraya River.
Temples, markets and street food are at the centre of most things to do in Bangkok, Thailand's capital and its main entry point for international travellers. The old royal district of Rattanakosin holds the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho, with Wat Arun across the Chao Phraya River. Chinatown, centred on Yaowarat Road, is known for its night-time food stalls, while Siam is the main shopping area. Sukhumvit and Silom are the business and nightlife districts, and the riverside has many of the city's larger hotels.
Bangkok is one of the best cities in the world for street food, with dishes such as pad thai, boat noodles, mango sticky rice and grilled meats sold from stalls and markets. There are also many restaurants serving regional Thai food and a growing number of fine-dining kitchens. Three to four days is enough for the main temples, a river trip, a market or two and some time in Chinatown. Many visitors use Bangkok as a base for day trips to Ayutthaya or the floating markets before moving on to the islands or the north.
Attraction
Bangkok's former royal residence, a walled complex of throne halls, courtyards and the revered Temple of the Emerald Buddha beside the Chao Phraya River.
Attraction
One of Bangkok's oldest and largest temples, famous for its 46-metre gilded Reclining Buddha and as the historic home of Thai traditional massage.
Attraction
A riverside temple on the Thonburi bank, known for its towering central prang encrusted with colourful porcelain and seashell mosaics.
Attraction
The canal-side teak home of the American silk entrepreneur Jim Thompson, now a museum of Southeast Asian art shown on guided tours.
Attraction
An old-town temple crowned by a gilded chedi on an artificial hill, reached by a spiralling stairway with sweeping views over Rattanakosin.
Attraction
Thailand's principal national museum, set in the former Front Palace near Sanam Luang, with collections spanning Thai art, archaeology and royal heritage.
Café
A white-wicker tea lounge in the original wing of the Mandarin Oriental, serving traditional afternoon tea beneath portraits of the writers who stayed there.
Café
A small specialty coffee bar on the ground floor of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, focused on hand drip and cold brew using Thai beans.
Café
A Thai-Chinese coffee shop founded in 1952 near the Giant Swing, serving old-style iced coffee, kaya toast and egg breakfasts in a vintage setting.
Hotel
Bangkok's grand old riverside hotel, first opened in the 1870s, with a historic Authors' Wing, acclaimed restaurants, a renowned spa and the Bamboo Bar.
Hotel
A 37-storey luxury hotel on the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya, where every room has river views and a private boat shuttles guests across.
Hotel
An intimate riverside hotel of 101 suites and villas on Charoen Krung, home to Mauro Colagreco's two-Michelin-star Côte and the Auriga Wellness spa.
Hotel
A 68-room riverside hotel on Phra Athit Road, a short walk from Khao San Road and the old-town temples, with a pool beside the Chao Phraya.
Hotel
A restored 1940s family villa at the end of Sukhumvit Soi 1, turned into a 24-room garden boutique hotel with a saltwater pool and spa.
Hotel
A Chinatown boutique hotel on Yaowarat Road styled after 1920s and 1930s Shanghai, with a jazz bar, spa and indoor fish pond atrium.
Bar
An open-air bar on the 64th floor of State Tower, famed for its glowing circular bar and sweeping views over the Chao Phraya and the city…
Bar
Bangkok's first jazz venue, opened in 1947 inside the Mandarin Oriental, with nightly live bands and inventive cocktails in a 1950s setting.
Bar
A polished cocktail bar and restaurant on Convent Road, listed on Asia's 50 Best Bars every year from 2016 to 2025.
Bar
A glamorous cocktail bar at the Four Seasons riverside hotel, mixing Latin American style with Thai hospitality, ranked on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2026.
Bar
A two-storey shophouse bar on Chinatown's Soi Nana where nightly bands play Thai classics on traditional instruments alongside cocktails made with local spirits.
Restaurant
Chef Gaggan Anand's theatrical tasting-menu restaurant, serving progressive Indian cuisine with an emoji menu, ranked third on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026.
Restaurant
A fine-dining restaurant in a converted house off Sukhumvit 26, devoted to Southern Thai recipes, regional ingredients and traditional cooking methods.
Restaurant
A celebrated shophouse kitchen where the goggle-wearing chef Jay Fai cooks crab omelettes and drunken noodles over charcoal, awarded a Michelin star in 2018.
Restaurant
A long-running old-town shophouse dedicated to pad thai, best known for its noodles wrapped in a thin egg omelette with fresh river prawns.
Restaurant
Chef Pam's Michelin-starred tasting-menu restaurant in a century-old Chinatown shophouse, blending Thai and Chinese flavours with fermentation and ageing.
Restaurant
Chef Ton's modern Thai restaurant in Silom, offering seasonal four- and six-course tasting menus built on produce from Thai farmers.
Thing to do
One of the world's largest weekend markets, with more than 15,000 stalls across 27 sections selling clothes, crafts, plants, antiques and street food.
Thing to do
Bangkok's Chinatown, a 1.5-kilometre stretch of gold shops, neon signs and evening street food stalls along Yaowarat Road.
Thing to do
An observation deck 314 metres up on the King Power Mahanakhon tower, with 360-degree city views and a glass-floored walkway over the edge.
Thing to do
Bangkok's main wholesale flower market near Memorial Bridge, operating around the clock and busiest before dawn when blooms arrive from the provinces.
Thing to do
A riverside shopping and entertainment complex in restored East Asiatic Company warehouses, with a 60-metre Ferris wheel, restaurants and evening market stalls.
Tour operator
A Bangkok tour company based at River City by the Chao Phraya, running guided bicycle, longtail boat, walking and tuk-tuk tours through the city's backstreets.
Tour operator
A Bangkok food tour company running guided tasting walks and tuk-tuk trips through Bang Rak, Yaowarat, Thonburi and other neighbourhoods.
Tour operator
A Bangkok bicycle tour company offering four-hour culture, jungle and night rides, plus early-morning walking tours of the old town and riverside.
Tour operator
A boutique Bangkok operator running insider food, heritage walking and bike tours that document the city's historic villages and communities.
Tour operator
A Thai food and culture tour company founded in 2012, offering Bangkok food walks, floating market trips and countryside cooking classes.
Three to four days covers the main temples, a river trip, markets and some of the food scene. Add a day for a trip to Ayutthaya or a floating market.
Sukhumvit and Silom are well connected by the BTS and MRT and have plenty of restaurants and bars. The riverside and the old town are closer to the main temples.
The Airport Rail Link runs from Suvarnabhumi to Phaya Thai, where you can change to the BTS Skytrain. Metered taxis and ride-hailing apps are also widely used.
Bangkok is good value compared with most major cities, especially for street food and local transport. Rooftop bars, international hotels and imported goods cost considerably more.
Bangkok is generally safe, though visitors should watch for common scams, such as being told a temple is closed and steered towards a tour or gem shop. Dress modestly when visiting temples and the Grand Palace.