11 Best Things To Do in Bangkok

Hearing fascinating stories about Thailand's capital city is not uncommon among tourist circles, but seeing it first-hand is something that cannot be compared. Bangkok is one of the most populated and cosmopolitan cities in Asia and you can find all kinds of atmosphere, flavours and feelings.

From visiting the most exclusive Buddhist temples and where there are more demonstrations of faith, to taking pictures of the most luxurious palace, while you buy food from the locals from a boat. Bangkok is a city of contrasts where every detail can be turned into an object of absolute dazzle. Would you like to be in such an environment? Then read on to find out what to see and do in this great city.

Let's get started! As an introduction to the city, I highly recommend taking one of the best hop on hoff bus tours. As soon as you start the tour, you'll realise that Bangkok is a very colourful city, so you'll be able to get an overview of many of the Thai capital's major attractions from the top of a bus.

Keep in mind that temperatures in Bangkok tend to be high for much of the year, so if you're looking for the best time to go to the city and you opt for a warm month, then take your precautions. If you're on a tour of the best things to do in Bangkok in summer, then wear sunscreen if you're on the open top.

You'll find that being on the open top part of the bus for a while will be great, but you may find that you want to collect yourself on the lower deck because of too much sun. That's the great thing about hop on hop on hop off buses, as they allow you to get as close as you can to your destination in comfort.

You can also hire the services of hop on hop on hop off bus companies for 24, 48 or 72 hours, so you can get off at major attractions like the Grand Palace and once you've finished, you can get back on the bus and continue on to another attraction.

Don't forget that the hop on hoff bus companies themselves offer routes according to attractions, such as entertainment tours, shopping or heritage sites. This is key if you want to optimise time and are looking for things to do quickly.

Thailand's capital is world famous for its palaces and among them, the Grand Palace is the most outstanding. Did you think that the only imposing royal palaces were in Europe? The Grand Palace was the official residence of the monarchs of Thailand, even under colonial rule, between 1782 and 1932, but even today it is still used for different official acts and stands out as the main one of the best palaces in Bangkok.

When you pass by here you will realise the majesty of the site, because the Grand Palace is not just a palace, but an architectural complex with numerous palaces and temples, for a total of 218 thousand square metres, protected on one of its flanks by the Chao Phraya River. This palace is open for tourism so you can enjoy it in all its splendour, so buying tickets for the Grand Palace is something you cannot avoid.

Within this complex of palaces is also the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, making it one of the biggest attractions in the whole city. This temple, one of the most important in Theravāda Buddhism, will captivate you with its portals and details, which combine with the entire palace system. Are you up for a visit to this fantastic palace complex?

Practical information

• Location: Na Phra Lan Road, Phranakorn (Rattanakosin).
• Price: usually 500 baht (about 14 euros), which includes access to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Queen Sirikit Textile Museum. Admission is free for Thais.
• Opening hours: daily, 8.30am-3.30pm.

Traveller Tip
Entering this complex of palaces and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha has a strict dress code that you must adhere to. No tank tops, shorts or Bermuda shorts, tight-fitting trousers, mini-skirts or sports shorts to enter.

Yaowarat is one of the most famous Chinatowns in all of Southeast Asia and is named after one of the most important streets in all of Bangkok. Yaowarat Street is also known as Dragon Street both for its shape and as a reference to the Chinese community, which keeps this area of Bangkok bustling with commerce and life.

If you want to buy both food and different products, then Bangkok's Chinatown is ideal. Alongside Yaowarat Street you'll find other tiny, narrow streets full of electronics shops and lots and lots of food. Especially in the evenings, Chinatown becomes a neighbourhood with all kinds of Chinese food, at the best prices and with the greatest variety. Eating on the street is one of the best things to do in Chinatown.

Keep in mind that along Yaowarat Street you will find a lot of shops on the pavements, so you should know that walking is not the most comfortable, although it is the most delicious for your palate. You'll also find street markets and many street shops with incredible prices. You can reach this neighbourhood via the blue line Wat Mungkorn metro station, or by public boats on the Phadung Krung Kasem canal.

It's no New York, but at times, Bangkok seems to rival it. In Southeast Asia, Bangkok stands out among cities for its towering skyscrapers, some of which are more than 300 metres high. It would be a great shame to miss the view from the top of the observation decks of Bangkok's best skyscrapers, which at night make for a stunning visual spectacle.

Bangkok's skyscrapers are very striking because the city is so large and predominantly flat, making these 200 and 300-metre buildings look like huge towers. The most important tower is the Baiyoke, which is the tallest in all of Thailand and has 85 floors, but the best part is one floor up, at 84, where you can eat in a rotating restaurant that moves 360° while you enjoy a delicious meal.

This experience is incredible and I highly recommend it, but you can also complement it with other skyscrapers in the city, such as the one that houses the Cloud 47 restaurant on Silom Street. This restaurant is at the top of a 47-storey building, quite simple and office-like, but from here you can eat at the best price and with an exceptional view.

At food fairs at many, many restaurants around the world, Thai food is everywhere. But how about spending a few hours during your stay in Bangkok taking part in the best Thai cooking classes, taught by the Thais themselves? This is a plan that I highly recommend if you enjoy eating and cooking and want to get the most out of your trip.

For example; you have different options. You can go to a cooking school like the Blue Elephant, where they offer courses for tourists, but the best is to take a tour that takes you to different markets to buy the local produce and then, with one or more chefs, you can learn how to make a series of dishes, so that you have at least a starter, a main course and perhaps a dessert. You'll also see this if you take one of the best food tours of the city.

Thai cuisine places a lot of emphasis on large stir-fries such as woks, but it's also important to learn how to use spices particular to the area and also how best to fry and prepare soups. In short, the idea of these classes is to give you access to the best flavours that you can now learn to prepare when you return home.

Whenever postcards about Thailand or about Bangkok in particular are popularised, some curious means of transport appear, where a driver rides a kind of elongated and roofed motorbike. These are the tuk-tuks, very characteristic of Southeast Asia, which make it possible to solve the difficult mobility of these big cities. And believe it or not, they are great for a tour, so I invite you to book one of the best tuk-tuk tours in the city.

The tuk-tuk tours are very quiet because the driver can show you the different attractions of Bangkok at low speed. The great advantage of the tuk-tuk in this case is that it does not need to go as fast as a motorbike, so you will see everything patiently, and also, you can be in a couple and outdoors, so the breeze will play in your favour to calm down the high temperatures.

It is important to know that most of the tuk-tuk tours are done at night, so the temperatures are also quite pleasant. These tours are one of the best things to do with kids in Bangkok and can take up to four hours if you make a lot of stops or if the tour includes entrance to different attractions in the city.

I recommend that these tours are high on your list of priorities, although you may also be interested in the best bike tours in Bangkok if you want to control the whole itinerary.

In Southeast Asia, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism coexist, but when you go to Bangkok, you'll realise that Buddhism is a really important part of Thai culture and the theravāda Buddhist temples in Bangkok are the greatest representation of this in the whole region. That's why a must-do part of your excursions and tours should be to visit the city's best temples.

Naturally, the temple that steals the show is the Emerald Buddha Temple, located inside the Grand Palace. But I suggest you go further afield and visit the Wat Trimit temple, which I'm sure you've seen in many photos thanks to its huge pure gold Buddha. This 3.5 tonne statue is the largest solid gold statue in the world, so it's mind-boggling that you can just walk up to it and take some photos.

But there's more: the Wat Po temple will show you a reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf. It's a 46-metre long statue that you can walk around from end to end. And what about the marble temple? It is a beautiful building that combines oriental architecture through its roofs with Italian marble.

My advice is to take one of the best tours in Bangkok where you can visit at least these three temples, accompanied by a guide, and learn about their differences and importance for Buddhism in the country.

Bangkok is a city on the edge of the sea and, incredibly, it sometimes seems to be below sea level, because many of the roads share space with small waterways. That's why many of the markets are not on land, but floating. Some of them are adapted for tourists to enjoy and get to know these beautiful places.

That's why I recommend that you don't leave Bangkok without taking a day tour of the city's floating markets. There is no room for doubt, the most famous is Damnoen Saduak, which, although it is located on the outskirts of the city and it takes a long way to get there, is the largest and most varied.

Here you can find better options for touring it as a tourist, as well as shopping without getting off your small boat. Going to this market would be one of the best day trips from Bangkok for the time it takes.

But it's not the only one: Taling Chan market is considerably closer to the centre of Bangkok and allows you to experience the charm of a floating market, with more locals and fewer tourist-focused services, for a shorter time. The problem with this market is that it is only open on weekends.

Your options may also include the Amphawa or Bang Nam Pheung floating markets, so it's a matter of adjusting your itinerary and making sure you don't miss these picturesque wonders of Thai commerce.

When you think of Bangkok, you probably don't associate the city with cabaret, but the truth is that it is one of the great nightlife industries of the Thai capital and for that reason, I recommend that you at least treat yourself to one of the best things to do at night in Bangkok and attend the most splendid cabaret shows on a global scale. You'll be spoilt for choice, both in terms of theme, location and duration, but there are many that make the grade.

The most famous of these is undoubtedly Calypso Cabaret, which emulates Broadway with a staging that highlights the best of the Thai tropics, but with a theatrical representation of American greats such as Elvis Presley. The performers are mainly transgender artists, while others opt to cross-dress or be drag queens, making it an experience full of inclusion and talent.

But they are not the only alternative, as cabaret in Bangkok is a constant. Another of the most important is the Golden Dome, where phonomimic artists and drag performers will also perform performances of the greatest hits of world music, to entertain all tourists regardless of their origin. At the end of this fantastic event, you will be able to take pictures with the artists. Don't miss the opportunity and book your tickets for the cabaret and the best night shows.

A huge sea flanks the city of Bangkok, which seems partially submerged by hundreds of canals and small waterways. But in Bangkok you can also go on one of the city's cruise tours, as the majestic Chao Phraya River is crossed every day by many cruises for the enjoyment of tourists visiting the city.

One of the most popular plans in this regard is the dinner cruise. The idea is that you get on board at the end of the evening so that you can watch the sunset and enjoy a fantastic Thai meal. But there is something for everyone, because while there are more romantic cruises, focused on couples, others will have very loud musical performances that will not go unnoticed for anything in the world.

The quietness of the Chao Phraya River also allows you to offer tourists daytime cruise tours, which allow you to see a panoramic view of the city and you can take the best photos with all kinds of approaches. This is one of the activities to do in Bangkok in winter because it will not be affected unless there is a huge storm.

Moreover, it is a perfect time to relax, breathe fresh air and appreciate the magnitude of the huge city you are getting to know, because Bangkok is one of the most imposing cities in the world.

If you're lucky enough to spend several days in the Thai capital I recommend exploring other nearby places such as the Erawan National Park, which you can tour from Bangkok to see the Bridge over the River Kwai, made famous by the 7 Oscar-winning film about the construction of the Burma Railway by prisoners of war.

Another highly recommended tour is the one that takes you to discover Ayutthaya from Bangkok, the former capital of the kingdom and where you will see Thailand's finest temples where sacred relics, palaces and places of worship are still preserved and will continue to delight lovers of this land.

With its tropical climate, Bangkok welcomes tourists almost every season of the year. Temperatures tend to be high all year round, as is the humidity, although this spikes in the rainy season. If you're deciding when to travel, perhaps the dry season, between November and February, is the best time to visit so that you don't suffer so much from the region's typical heat. In any case, this destination offers amazing activities every month. Here is a sample:

• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in March
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in April
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in May
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in June
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in August
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in September
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in October
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in November
• 10 things to see and do in Bangkok in December

Or why not... 10 things to see and do in Bangkok at Christmas?

Plan your trip well

In a city as cosmopolitan as Bangkok it is important to plan your trip to try to condense everything without stress but also without leaving anything to see. For this reason, in Hellotickets we have prepared these travel guides to facilitate your task and in which you will see distributed the plans according to the days of your stay in the city:

• What to see and do in Bangkok in 2 days
• What to see and do in Bangkok in 3 days
• What to see and do in Bangkok in 4 days
• What to see and do in Bangkok in 7 days

As a last recommendation, take a look at our post about the transfers between the airports and the centre of Bangkok, you will like to know what the options are so that, once you land, you can get to your hotel in the most comfortable and quickest way possible.