If you’re heading to Thailand, don’t just scoot through Bangkok and make your way out to the islands to some of the best beaches in the world, or dash up to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the Golden Triangle jungle region.
Bangkok is full of gems to enjoy, with its long winding Chao Phraya River running through it taxiing tourists and transporting goods – and diners on awesome buffet cruises!
I’ve just been back and stayed four nights in Thailand’s capital city and wrote this 4-day itinerary if you want to copy it, then another four nights in glorious Koh Samui – which wasn’t long enough! Six nights would be my recommendation, and a seventh to be decadent. You can read my five-day Koh Samui itinerary here, including where we stayed, shopped and played.
One of the best things about Thailand is it’s still cheap, relatively speaking, and especially since Covid when prices around the world seem to have gone through the roof! In fact why not stay longer and follow this 3 weeks in Thailand itinerary from the top of the country to the bottom?
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But let’s get back to Bangkok. Make time in the capital city to explore temples, do some shopping, indulge in daily massages, eat the food, tootle down the klongs, see a kick-boxing match, or visit one of the many breathtaking rooftop bars for a cocktail and a view.
Bangkok is also a good city to base yourself in a lovely hotel and take day trips from, like this Ayuttahya day trip from Bangkok.
But here are my picks for 14 things to get amongst in Bangkok:
Rooftop Bars in Bangkok
There are lots of amazing rooftop bars high in the sky above Bangkok where dress codes apply and a cocktail costs four times as much as a pedicure. You gotta weigh these things up!
But for the fabulous side of Bangkok, one of the best places to put your glad rags on and head out to is Sky Bar on the 63rd floor of the Lebua at State Tower. There are actually 11 bars and restaurants at Lebua, and I covered them in this post on bars and spas in Bangkok.
And also check our Moon Bar and the sky high alfresco restaurant Vertigo, at Banyan Tree.
Take an evening dinner cruise
To be honest, I thought this might be a bit cliche and wondered if I would like it. Spoiler: I loved it!
There are several river boats that offer buffet dinners whilst cruising along the Chao Phraya River from River City or ICONSIAM docks. We chose the Pearl Dinner Cruise that had 80s and 90s music, as well as some traditional Thai music and dance. It was such fun!
The buffet food was delicious – and I might have made more than one visit to the sushi and sashimi bar! The food stations are positioned around the boat so there’s never much of a line to pop up and back.
Drinks are not included, so just bring cash/cards to add your wine or Changi beers under the night sky.
You’ll cruise past famous Bangkok landmarks and monuments all lit up as the sun sets so charge your phone for plenty of photos on this boat ride, under bridges (yes you need to duck!), and past others doing the same thing on their boats.
Shop the Chatuchak Weekend Market
Shopping lovers will be gone all the day to this, this biggest outdoor market on Earth! It is open during the week mainly for wholesale, but Fridays and the weekends it’s all abuzz.
With over 15,000 stalls divided into themed sections, Chatuchak Market sells everything from clothes and shoes to jewellery, art, old hotel furniture, knick knacks, knock offs, genuine antiques and even pets. It’s a veritable maze of same-same alleys. This place is truly a top favourite for shopaholics.
For more of my shopping in Bangkok suggestions, have a read of my 4 day Bangkok itinerary. I include shopping malls like ICONSIAM, Siam Paragon and how to get there by skytrain.
Pick up a map when you arrive as you’ll be all turned around and will lose your friends unless you designate a meeting point.
The aim of game is to barter, but keep it friendly and have fun with the vendors. Remember, they need to make a living too! If you need tips for how to haggle, I’ve got you in this post. And if you need tips for shopping in Chatuchak Market, you’ve come to the right place.
Take the BTS to Mo Chit Station, Saturday and Sunday – and bring cash and a water bottle. You’ll be in for the long haul!
Take a klong tour
Bangkok’s waterways (klongs) are home to many families who live in houses, some on stilts, lining the tributaries off the Chao Phraya River.
A long-tail boat tour through the “klongs” (canals) is a unique experience offering a fascinating insight into how the locals live.
Look out for seamstresses sitting on their verandas with sewing machines and grandparents minding toddlers as the parents are at work. You’ll be sure to see monitor lizards basking in the sun or swimming along.
You’ll wonder how the verandas don’t fall into the river – and then you’ll see that have! You’ll meet vendors with floating kitchens and mobile shops working the river and coming alongside to try and sell you something.
Get your klong tour tickets here >
Visit the floating market and railway market
One of the most quintessential Thai things to do is visit the floating market as well as the railway market. There are tours that take you to both, as they are located outside of Bangkok.
There are several markets within cooee of Bangkok, but this tour is great because you’ll head out of the hustle and bustle of the big city and into the quieter countryside and see two very different markets.
Choose a private tour or a small group and visit Maeklong Railway Market, which is located literally on the rail tracks and you’ve probably seen the photos, it’s the largest fresh seafood market in Thailand.
It’s such a photogenic place as all the awnings and produce are pulled aside to allow trains to rumble through. Not to mention the fun you’ll have buying food and wares from the local vendors.
Then you’ll visit Damnoen Saduak Floating Market by long boat with a guide poling you through it. This is one of the most famous floating markets in Thailand and you’ll meeting the vendors sell directly from their boats. Make sure you try the mango sticky rice!
Book your tour to both markets here >
Take a cooking class in Bangkok
There is nothing as cool as learning to cook ethnic cuisine than in the country of ethnicity!
Take a Thai cooking class and learn from a professional Thai cook about flavours, ingredients and techniques. Learn how to make pastes from scratch, then sit down and eat it at the end of your class.
Try Baipai Thai Cooking School. They will pick you up from your hotel and take you to visit the market to taste and buy your ingredients, then onto their school set in a beautiful house with surrounding garden filled with herbs.
You will taste and learn and end up eating your creation and go home satisfied on so many levels.
Warning: be careful of chilli oil burns! I got some under my thumbnail at a cooking class years ago and my nail has never grown right since!
Book this highly rated White Lotus Cooking Class which includes a market tour. You’ll make 4 dishes and eat them.
Visit Wat Pho
Less crowded than Wat Phra Kaew, Wat (meaning temple) Pho is one of Bangkok’s largest temples and home to the largest reclining Buddha (46 metres long) and the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand.
It’s been built on the site of another temple which was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. Pieces of that Buddha are inlaid into this one.
If you haven’t been around Buddhism or seen the effigies that go with it, you need to know that it is very demon heavy. You’ll see more demon sculptures and statues than you will buddha actually, so if this isn’t your thing, now you know.
Wat Pho is also the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage, with two massage pavilions on site.
Visit the Grand Palace
The dazzling “official” residence of the royal family and kings of Siam from 1782 until 1925 is still used for royal ceremonies and events on the banks of the Chao Phraya River today.
The royal palace has been expanded over 200 years with the addition of new pavilions, halls and buildings and is now 218,000 sqm, divided into several courts. It is one of the main attractions for visitors to Bangkok.
It also houses Wat Phra Kaew, the temple of the Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th Century and whose robes are changed with the seasons.
Book this Grand Palace guided tour that includes Wat Pho and Wat Arun.
Take a cycle tour of Bangkok
It might not be the first thing you think of doing with so many tuk tuks and motorbikes with entire families on each one, but a bicycle tour in Bangkok means you’ll actually get out of the hustle and bustle to green spaces and see a different side of Bangkok.
Book this bicycle tour of Bangkok that includes temples, canals and off the beaten track sightseeing through local neighbourhoods.
Have the best Spa Treatment in Bangkok
Thailand constantly wins awards for the Best Spas in the World, so while you’re in Bangkok it’s only right you should partake!
You’ll find cheap massages, facials and pedicures everywhere, but for the ultimate pampering, head to one of the hotels or a day spa.
I had a glorious two-hour treatment at Oasis Spa, in Sukuhmvit. They have two spas in Bangkok and 15 throughout Thailand. (I had a four-hour treatment at their Phuket spa!) Choose from a menu including traditional Thai massage to hot stones and relaxation.
Bangkok Songkran Festival
Join the biggest water fight in the world in mid-April!
Songkran is a celebration of Thai New Year and the water fight is about washing away any bad luck so good luck can come for the coming year.
Traditionally it’s a time for washing Buddhas and your house and a formal cleansing ceremony. Businesses are shut for the week and families celebrate together.
But out on the streets it’s quite a different matter. Bring your water pistols and put cameras and phones into waterproof bags to join the fun.
If you don’t want to get wet then you need to avoid Bangkok’s busy streets in mid April as it’s hoses, buckets and water bombs everywhere!
Street Food at Sukhumvit Soi 38
This is a great place to come for the best street food in town. The best time to get to Soi 38 for your authentic Thai food experience with the locals, is after 6pm when street food stalls dish up affordable and great tasting food, although there are also surrounding restaurants and bars.
You’ll find everything from mango sticky rice to pad Thai and dine on the wobbly furniture along the street. Come hungry, bring cash, and let your nose do the decision-making.
Wander from stall to stall trying skewers sizzling over charcoal, bowls of noodle soup made to order, crispy-fried bites you’ll eat standing up because you can’t wait, and sweet finishes like mango sticky rice or coconut-based desserts.
Take the BTS to Thong Lor and wander along Sukhumvit Road. Most menus are in English and the street is popular with locals and tourists.
If you don’t want to do this on your own, you can also book a Michelin Street Food Tour by tuk tuk with a local guide. And if there are a few of you the tuk-tuk drivers make it fun, racing through the traffic to your next destination.
Book this Michelin Street Food tour by tuk tuk >
Shop Khao San Road
Khao San Road is Bangkok at full volume; a neon-lit, people-watching melee where backpacker energy meets Thai street life, and every few steps there’s something new to taste, buy, or take a photo of.
Come late afternoon and stay into the evening when the lights come on and it turns into an open-air party. Eat sizzling food from the stalls, pop into cheap-and-cheerful bars with live music, and hit the souvenir shops for elephant pants, keyrings, fans, and all manner of tat.
Even if you’re not here to party it’s worth visiting for the the buzz, the characters, the chaos, plus it’s a handy base for budget accommodation and a jumping-off point for temples and river sights nearby.
Muay Thai Kick-Boxing
If kick-boxing is your thing, then Rajadamnern Stadium is where you need to go. This is the birthplace of Muay Thai in southeast Asia.
Built in the 1940s, this stadium attracts great crowds. Check what fights are on, as you may end up with the lightweight young age group – and let’s face it, watching teenagers fight is not what you came here for!
Get your Muay Thai boxing tickets here >
Visit Jim Thompson House
The American silk maker is as famous for his fabrics and changing the face of the silk industry as he is for his mysterious disappearance. Tucked just off the chaos of Patham Wan, Bangkok, the Jim Thompson House feels like you’ve stepped into a cool, leafy secret.
Wander through the cluster of teak buildings surrounded by tropical gardens and koi ponds. One of the best ways to do it is with a guided tour (they run regularly through the day), because the stories are half the magic: Jim Thompson’s role in reviving Thailand’s silk industry, his love of Southeast Asian art, and the mystery around his disappearance.
The house is filled with clever design details and rooms filled with ceramics, art and textiles. And then there’s the silk. The onsite shop is filled with silk tops, jacketd and dresses (warning: you may suddenly convince yourself you’re the kind of person who wears silk scarves). There is also a restaurant serving delicious Thai cuisine, so plan to come for lunch.
Learn Tai Chi
Tai chi in Bangkok is one of those lovely “less FOMO more SLO-MO” travel moments in the middle of this big, buzzy city, but at sunrise it’s calm and quietly magical.
Head to Lumphini Park early (around 7am, or anytime between 6am and 8.30am before the heat cranks up) and you’ll notice groups gliding through slow, graceful moves under the trees.
If you’re a beginner, don’t stress just ollow along and do your best. People are usually friendly if you hover nearby and copy the flow. And yes, you can absolutely learn properly too: there are guided tai chi sessions in Lumpini Park you can book, or if you want a more structured class, look for an English-friendly school like Sawasdee Tai Chi for ongoing lessons.
Where to stay in Bangkok
If you’re a long time reader of this blog you’ll know I’m more duvet than sleeping bag, and happily five star luxury hotels are not too pricey here, so here are my picks for places you’ll really enjoy.
Shangri La Bangkok on the river. This luxury hotel is at a great location for ease of getting around via water taxis to the shopping mall, walk to the BTS Sky Train next door to venture around the city, and beautiful waterfront bar and outdoor dining.
Mandarin Oriental is next door with the even more luxurious features (and price point) and the famous Veranda Bar. They have 11 restaurants onsite including the two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Normandie by Alain Rouxor.
Banyan Tree Bangkok is not located on the river but boasts the amazing rooftop Moon Bar on the 61st floor, and Vertigo, their outdoor rooftop restaurant, also high in the sky as well as their famous Banyan Tree spa. It is in Sathon, about 2km towards the city centre from the river.
Eastin Grand Hotel Phaythai is located more centrally, within walking distance to Jim Thompson House and the MBK shopping mall. It has 2 pools and free onsite car parking – if you’re brave enough to drive here!
You might also like:
Read my fun 4-day Bangkok itinerary and copy or adapt it as you like.
Read all about shopping at Bangkok’s best markets here (including enormous Chatuchak)>>
Plus you might like my Bars, Spas and Shopping post!
After this visit we went to Koh Samui and stayed in a fabulous resort with a walk-in pool from our veranda!