Image by Carina Hofmeister fro
Bangkok has many facets: the ancient temples and palaces; the world renowned shopping - both market and mall; the food… and then it’s all topped off with the wonderful activity of the streets and the genuine friendliness of the people. This is a city to lose yourself in, and find yourself in, and as long as you know where you’re staying you’re just a tuk-tuk ride from a nap and a change of clothes. So you can get on out there again and keep exploring.
Bangkok is both old and lived in, and new and exciting - if you want to relax here you need to do it consciously, because the natural state of visitors should be explorative. As with most big cities, there’s a wide range of different neighbourhoods to stay in, all with their own unique traits and atmospheres, so it’s a good idea to match your travel dreams with a neighbourhood. For example Rattanakosin is great for seeing the sights, Sukhumvit for nightlife, Siam for shopping, and Khao San Road for great value. There are many more great neighbourhoods to discover, as you’ll find when you read on.
Rattankosin Island has the river to its west, and a series of man-made canals to the east - which make it an island neighbourhood. The canals date from the time this area was the heart of the city, and they were there as moats, to help fortify the Grand Palace, the Wat Phra temple complex - also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, and the Pillar Shrine. As well as being home to some of Bangkok’s most historic sites, Rattankosin is famous for its view of the Temple of Dawn, which is directly opposite on the right bank of the Chao Phraya, and is also known for its range of markets. museums, elegant parks, and its wide pavements. Don’t skip the Bangkok National Museum. Rattankosin makes a great base, because you can explore the rest of the city by river - on the river bus. Rattankosin has some great boutique hotels, some very Thai-style hotels, and some great value options too.
Siam Square, and the area around it, is known for high-end shopping, but also for hip shopping! Up-and-coming designers test their styles here, only moving into the huge local malls when they know they can compete with big international fashion. This is also a cool neighbourhood for restaurants, and for accommodation, with new ideas tested here, as well as classic winners, and a very good range of price points. Siam Square is a great spot for the Skytrain too, both lines pass through Siam Station, and for a lot of people this neighbourhood is the centre of Bangkok. This is a square that isn’t a square, though, it’s a collection of huge malls with small sois running off - which are also lined with boutiques and cafes, bars and restaurants. Beyond the incredible shopping and eating opportunities, Siam has the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre - an interactive arts museum; Thailand’s Madam Tussaud’s; Siam Ocean World - which is the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia; and the Queen Savang Vadhana Museum - which is her former royal residence.
Pratunam is the budget shopping heart of Bangkok - not too far from the central areas, either. From market shopping, to low-cost boutiques, wholesale fashion factory outlets, and street-food markets, Pratunam knows how to price competitively. Not everything buy here will be of the highest quality, but it will be cheap! The northern side of the neighbourhood, which is where all the hotels are, is becoming a bit more touristy, and prices there may be inflated? but other parts of the neighbourhood still have an authentic commercial craziness. Pratunam doesn’t quieten down much of an evening either! expect lively nightlife, snd great food with it.
The Sukhumvit neighbourhood is famously home to several of Bangkok’s red light districts, but at the end of the neighbourhood closest to the centre of Bangkok it’s also known for being a popular residential area, with high-end shopping and boutique and luxury hotels. The neighbourhood corresponds with the start of Sukhumvit Road, which is one of the longest boulevards in the world, linking central Bangkok to the Cambodian border. This can be a pretty exciting place to stay, but if you’re looking for something in the neighbourhood, but a bit quieter, look down the side streets coming off Sukhumvit Road. A couple of hundred metres down the road makes a huge difference here! The roads are numbered, and the neighbourhood of Sukhumvit probably encompasses the streets up to about Soi 63 - soi means side street or alley. Soi 11, Soi 55 and Soi 63 are probably the main hubs, with the best known bars and clubs. Sukhumvit is also known for its food, with dining options that range from Michelin-starred to street food. Sukhumvit is also known for its malls - the Thailand Creative and Design Centre especially. During the day much of Sukhumvit Road’s pavement is covered in markets, and come the evening that ages way to bars and restaurants. As far as major sightseeing destinations, Sukhumvit has the National Science Centre and the Kamthieng House Museum, One of the reasons Sukhumvit has become such a popular neighbourhood is the Skytrain, which runs straight along the road, so the public transport links here are super easy.
One of the best known parts of Banglamphu is the tiny stretch of road called Khao San Road - just 400m long, but a famous place to stay if you’re backpacking the world, or just through Southeast Asia, this small area is packed with hostels, guesthouses and great value hotels. The backpacker support businesses are here too - hair braiders, breakfast cafes, tattoo parlours. Come the evening things get a little more sophisticated, because the bars and restaurants popping up here have attracted the attention of local cool kids too. And later in the evening the trendy clubs will start to open too. Away from Khao San Road Banglamphu is a surprisingly leafy and authentically Thai neighbourhood, with lively wet markets, friendly antique stores, and some beautiful temples - including Golden Mount, Wat Suthat and Wat Bowonniwet. Banglamphu’s other sites include the King Prajadhipok Museum, the Queen’s Gallery, and the Mahakan and Phra Sumen Forts - both whitewashed and impressive. Banglamphu has good transport links too, so while you could spend your entire visit to Bangkok wishing strolling distance of your accommodation on Khao San Road, you certainly don’t have to.
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Silom is home to the Chulalongkorn University and Lumphini Park, and these key landmarks lend the neighbourhood a calm, but youthful atmosphere, to what is otherwise a neighbourhood of glittering skyscrapers. Many of the skyscrapers bear the names of international banks and other global corporations, so it may not surprise you to see big name luxury hotels alongside them, especially around Bang Rak - which still has a very European feel, with colonial buildings. This is one of the best neighbourhoods in Bangkok for rooftop bars - the views are glorious! After dark Silom gets livelier, especially in the sois between Silom Road and Surawong Road - which becomes a sort of red light district. There aren’t many major sdraws for sightseers in Silom, but here is a Snake Farm? if you’d like to see snakes milked? a seashell museum, Bangkok’s only photography gallery, the Kathmandu Photo Gallery, and the Bangkokian Museum, which is a traditional family home from the 1930s, repurposed into a gallery of Thai life during that period. Silom also has a traditional Thai puppet theatre. Silom is a great place to go to a spa, though! or take a cooking class. Expect a lot of four and five star hotels.
Not everyone would travel to Bangkok, and then stay in Chinatown, but if you’re a foodie, then this is often touted as being one of the best neighbourhoods to stay in. It’s a bit of a rabbit warren of alleyways, all packed with commerce - both the edible kind and the inedible kind, and tables laid out across the pavements at all hours of the day and night. This isn’t a vast area, but there are still some definitely highlights, Sampheng, for example, which is a pedestrianised alleyway turned market, lined with shops, and the Talat Mai market is great for spices, sauces and dried goods. Bangkok’s Chinatown is busy by day, but super busy come the evening - the food here is so good that even some of the street food vendors have Michelin stars. Many Chinese cooking styles and techniques have moved into Thailand, so that there’s fusion even in dishes you may think of as traditionally Thai. As well as markets, street food vendors, and restaurants, Chinatown has a surprising number of religious buildings, and not all of them are Chinese - keep an eye out for Wat Traimit, which has a 3metre, solid gold Buddha statue, supposedly worth $250million. There’s a decent variety of accommodation here, but not masses of it - this is a relatively densely packed neighbourhood. There are some good options on the borders, too. Chinatown also has good transport links, including long-distance trains.
Bangrak has some of Bangkok’s best hotels. There are many high-end options, but some of the hotels in this neighbourhood appear regularly in lists of the world’s best hotels. Expect spas too. In addition to elegant restaurants, pools by the water, and often tropical gardens. This neighbourhood has so many nice hotels that there are some extra facilities laid on, for example, shuttle boats. As well as the nice hotels, Bangrak is known for its architecture - including colonial architecture close to the river, and some impressive skyscrapers, which are further back from the river. The Mahanakhon building is one of the tallest buildings in the country, and State Tower and the Jewellery Trade Centre are ‘up there’ as well. If you’re looking for more reasons to choose Bangrak as your Bangkok neighbourhood, you’ll be pleased to hear that the area has its own major local sights, including the Bangkokian Museum, the Thailand Creative and Design Centre, Wat Maha Phruettharam, and the Sri Mahamariamman.
Home of the Ratchada Train Night Market, the Ratchada neighbourhood is something of an extension of its landmark market: bustling, colourful, and pervasive with its sounds and smells. In an exciting way! The Train Market draws visitors to the neighbourhood, and it’s a fantastic place to have on your ‘to-see’ list: a maze of shopping and eating opportunities that includes some of the best vintage shopping in Bangkok, cool bars, and live music and entertainment. The offshoot: Thailand Cultural Centre Night Market is worth visiting too, this is where you’ll find traditionally made handicrafts and local products. The neighbourhood is more recently built than you might guess from the market, and the pubs, bars, department stores and hotels have all gone up in the last 40years or so. It’s a friendly spot for testing Bangkok’s nightlife, and popular with locals as well as visitors. Great transport links too.
Bangkok has been attracting tourists for hundreds of years, so it’s not easy to find neighbourhoods you haven’t come across a hundred photos of. Thonburi is a good bet if that’s what you’re looking for: a relatively residential neighbourhood right on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, and run through with canals. Bangkok used to have lots of canals - it was The Venice of the East, but many of them were filled as the city expanded. Not Thonburi’s though. Thonburi might not be an obvious pick for contemporary travellers, but this was briefly the capital of Thailand (in 1768), so it does have a landmark or two, including Wat Arun - which you will definitely have seen more than a hundred photos of! Other sights include Wat Kalayanamit, Wichai Prasit Fort, and the Artist’s House. Thonburi is close to Banglamphu, which is known for its clubs, bars and restaurants, so it’s not too remote if you’re hoping to enjoy Bangkok’s nightlife, but it’s not in the thick of things if you’re hoping to avoid the nightlife. Because it’s less touristy, Thonburi has some less touristy shopping opportunities, including a small mall where prices will be lower than the big malls of central Bangkok.
Ari is a hip neighbourhood in north Bangkok, with a hipster coffee scene, indy art galleries, and plenty of craft beer bars. It’s off central, so if you stay here you have to do a bit of travelling to get to Bangkok’s major sights, but if you want to live like a local this is a good place to try it. Ari is just to the north of the Chatuchak Weekend Market, so you’re not totally out of it! Expect plenty of great value street food options being eaten by Bangkok locals, a cool night market - equally frequented by Thais, and chic little restaurants.