Bangkok has more than 400 active Buddhist temples, places where Thai people actually come to pray, and attracts more than 20 million visitors a year. Here are my 13 favorites, from the 3 big riverside temples, which I visited in a single morning, to the hidden temples most tourists miss, with prices, opening hours, dress codes and scams to avoid. For places to stay, food and getting around, start with my complete guide to visiting Bangkok.
- 1. See the Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace
- 2. See the Reclining Buddha and get a massage at Wat Pho
- 3. Watch the sun set over Wat Arun
- 4. Climb to the top of the Golden Mount at Wat Saket
- 5. Climb the Metal Castle at Loha Prasat
- 6. Discover Wat Traimit’s solid gold Buddha
- 7. Admire the Carrara marble at Wat Benchamabophit
- 8. Photograph the Giant Swing in front of Wat Suthat
- 9. Visit the hidden temple of Wat Ratchabophit
- 10. Look up at Wat Paknam’s glass ceiling
- 11. Look for David Beckham in Wat Pariwat’s mosaics
- 12. Step inside the Mae Nak shrine at Wat Mahabut
- 13. Take a break at Wat Pathum Wanaram in Siam
- How much does it cost?
- My other Bangkok guides
1. See the Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace
The Grand Palace is Bangkok’s most famous landmark, and Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, sits within its walls. This Buddha, Thailand’s most revered image, measures just 66 centimeters, carved from a single block of jade, and the king changes its golden robes 3 times a year to mark the seasons. I viewed it from a distance: you can’t get close, and photography is forbidden inside the hall.
Every surface seems covered in gold leaf, colored glass mosaics and hand-painted murals, and the Ramakien murals, the Thai version of the Ramayana, run along the corridor across 178 panels. A little like stepping into the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles for the first time, the craftsmanship is hard to take in, and no other temple in Bangkok comes close to this level of intricate detail.
The Grand Palace divides opinion. The pros: it’s Thailand’s most important historic site, the architecture is exceptional, and skipping it is like going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. The cons: admission at 500 THB (about €13) is the most expensive of Bangkok’s temples, the crowds are unbearable (especially after 10:00, when the tour buses arrive), there’s barely any shade, and most buildings are closed to the public, so you walk around their exteriors in full sun.
My advice: go if it’s your first visit to Bangkok, at 8:30 when it opens, because by 9:30 the groups pour in and the experience quickly goes downhill. Allow 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours; the ticket office closes at 15:30. The 500 THB ticket includes a Khon performance (traditional Thai masked dance) at a nearby theater, with times available at the ticket counter: I think it’s really worth seeing, and you’ve already paid for it.
At every temple, men and women cover their shoulders and knees. The Grand Palace has Bangkok’s strictest dress code, and the guards turn away anyone who doesn’t follow it: for men, long trousers (no knee-length shorts or cropped trousers) and a top with sleeves, with no tank tops or ripped jeans; for women, shoulders and knees covered with a proper sleeved top, with no leggings (deemed too tight) or a scarf wrapped over a tank top. Flip-flops and sandals are accepted: you take your shoes off before entering each building, many times over, so bring a pair that’s easy to slip off. If you’re not dressed appropriately, you’ll find “elephant pants” (loose printed trousers) outside the walls for 100 to 200 THB (€2.50 to €5), poor quality but enough to get you through the gate; it’s still best to leave your hotel properly dressed.
The “palace is closed” scam is very common: near the outer walls or a side entrance, a friendly local tells you the palace is closed (for a ceremony, cleaning or a public holiday) and sends you off in a tuk-tuk to see a “Lucky Buddha,” a jewelry shop or a tailor. The Grand Palace is almost never closed during opening hours: it’s a scam, every time, and the local gets a commission from the jewelry shop or tailor. Walk straight to the main entrance on the north wall, ignore anyone who approaches you outside the walls, however convincing they sound, and only listen to the uniformed guards at the official entrance.
2. See the Reclining Buddha and get a massage at Wat Pho
The Grand Palace is impressive, but Wat Pho is my favorite: if you can only see a single temple in Bangkok, choose this one. A 46-meter Reclining Buddha, entirely covered in gold leaf, lies on its side in a hall that barely holds it, and its feet alone measure more than 5 meters, inlaid with 108 mother-of-pearl panels depicting auspicious symbols from Buddhist mythology.
It’s one of Bangkok’s largest and oldest complexes, with more than 1,000 Buddha images, and I found the atmosphere much more relaxed than at the Grand Palace: more shade, fewer pushy vendors, a calmer pace. Admission costs 200 to 300 THB (€5 to €8), about half or a third of the Grand Palace price, and you can explore everything on foot without a guide (open from 8:00 to 18:30, allow 1 to 2 hours).
Here, as at Wat Arun and most temples, the dress code is more relaxed: knee-length shorts are generally accepted, shoulders must be covered, but tank tops and very short skirts will get you turned away at some temples. My go-to outfit: lightweight long linen or cotton trousers, breathable and accepted everywhere, a T-shirt covering the shoulders, and for women a large scarf or sarong as a makeshift skirt. For footwear, flip-flops, slip-on sandals or Birkenstock, because with 5 temples or more in a day you’ll take your shoes off dozens of times (avoid lace-up sneakers, socks are accepted).
Wat Pho houses Thailand’s oldest traditional massage school, and I had a massage there, in an open-air pavilion with fans and no air conditioning. If you’re picturing a spa, brace yourself: this is real traditional Thai massage, vigorous, therapeutic and sometimes painful, with stretching, pressure points and firm manipulation. The wait is 1 to 2 hours: I booked my slot as soon as I arrived, and by the time I’d seen the Reclining Buddha and the gardens, it was time for my massage.
The neighborhood around the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun is Rattanakosin, the historic old town: narrow streets lined with food vendors, good lunch spots around Tha Tien pier, Khao San Road about 15 minutes’ walk to the north. For me, the neighborhood around a temple is often as interesting as the temple itself, and staying near the temples you want to see saves time and taxi fares.
Wat Pho is a 5 to 10-minute walk from the Grand Palace, and the MRT stops at Sanam Chai, a few steps from Wat Pho and the Museum of Siam, one of Bangkok’s most elaborately designed stations. Getting to Wat Arun from Wat Pho is simple: at Tha Tien pier, right next door, the ferry costs 4 to 5 THB (a handful of cents), runs frequently throughout the day and makes the crossing in about 2 minutes.
3. Watch the sun set over Wat Arun
Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, is Bangkok’s most iconic image, the one on guidebook covers and Instagram: a tall Khmer-style prang (tower) on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, covered in thousands of pieces of colorful Chinese porcelain and seashells, unlike anything else in the city. For me, Wat Arun looks its best from the east bank: at sunset, bathed in an orange-gold glow, it is Bangkok’s most famous view, and after dark, the illuminated temple offers a completely different spectacle.
It is still worth visiting, especially early in the morning: I climbed the very steep central prang to see the porcelain up close and the surroundings from above. The white porcelain reflects the sun intensely, and around midday the heat and glare soon become unpleasant. Admission costs just 100 THB (€2.50), the cheapest of the 3 major riverside temples, for a visit of around 45 minutes (open from 8:00 to 18:00). My photo-focused itinerary starts here at 8:00, when it opens, with soft light on the porcelain and minimal crowds, then a ferry to the east bank around 9:00, Wat Pho and its massage, and the Grand Palace or lunch: the best temples at their best times.
If there is 1 thing to book ahead in Bangkok, it is a sunset dinner facing Wat Arun. On the east bank, my first choice is Sala Rattanakosin (the clearest view, fairly upscale), followed by Chom Arun (good food, lovely view), The Deck by Arun Residence (the classic choice) and Eagle Nest Bar for a drink on the terrace. Golden-hour tables (17:30 to 18:30) get booked weeks, even months ahead in high season.
The free or almost-free option: the ferry at sunset, with an excellent view from the water for less than 5 THB. To reach the riverside temples, I prefer going by water: BTS Skytrain to Saphan Taksin, Sathorn Pier beneath the station, then the orange-flag Chao Phraya Express Boat for 16 THB (€0.40), without a single traffic jam, with stops near all the major riverside temples. On Wat Arun’s side of the river, Thonburi is a quieter, more residential neighborhood.
4. Climb to the top of the Golden Mount at Wat Saket
Wat Saket, better known as the Golden Mount, is the temple I recommend first to anyone who already knows Bangkok. Less well known than the 3 major riverside temples, it offers something none of them does: a 360-degree panoramic view across the whole city, from a hill rising well above the surrounding flat landscape.
More than 300 steps lead to the top along a shaded path, with mist sprayers and water features that cool you down far more than you might expect: I found the climb pleasant rather than exhausting. At the top, a golden chedi (stupa) containing a relic of the Buddha is surrounded by open-air viewing platforms looking out over Bangkok in every direction, peaceful and breezy, far from the crowded, stifling temples at street level.
Admission costs around 50 THB (€1.30) and crowds are sparse (open from 7:30 to 19:00, allow 45 minutes to 1 hour). In November, during the Loy Krathong festival, the temple holds an annual fair with a candlelit procession to the summit, 1 of Bangkok’s most memorable events.
I saved it for the afternoon, after the riverside temples, a 15 to 20 minute taxi or tuk-tuk ride from the Wat Pho area. Near the tourist temples, tuk-tuks routinely overcharge, and a ride quoted at 300-500 THB can cost 50 to 80 THB if you walk a block farther and use Grab, Southeast Asia’s equivalent of Uber. Taxis work if you insist on the meter before getting in, but between temples away from the river, Grab saves you the haggling.
5. Climb inside the Metal Castle at Loha Prasat
Loha Prasat, literally “Metal Castle,” is less than 5 minutes on foot from Wat Saket: they are a natural pairing. This temple within Wat Ratchanatdaram has 37 black iron spires arranged in a geometric pattern unlike anything else in Buddhist architecture, and it is the only metal prasat (castle-shaped structure) still standing in the world, the other 2, in India and Sri Lanka, having disappeared long ago.
This is the Bangkok temple that draws photographers the most, and the repeating spires against the sky are particularly photogenic in the late afternoon. I climbed through the levels of the prasat: the interior is understated compared with the exterior.
Admission is free or costs around 20 THB (€0.50), open from 8:00 to 17:00, allow 30 to 45 minutes. It is near Khao San Road, and hardly any tourists visit, even though it is unique in the world. Along with Wat Saket, it sits on the edge of Rattanakosin, near the Banglamphu neighborhood, 1 of Bangkok’s best areas for budget accommodation and street food.
6. Discover Wat Traimit’s solid gold Buddha
Wat Traimit houses the world’s largest solid gold seated Buddha: 5.5 tonnes of pure gold, with an estimated value today of around 250 million dollars (more than 230 million euros). I find its story more interesting than the statue itself.
For centuries, it stood in a temple beneath a thick layer of plaster, with no one suspecting the gold underneath. In 1955, while it was being moved to a new building, the crane cables gave way under the unexpected weight, the statue fell and the plaster cracked: the next day, workers discovered solid gold shining through the cracks. The plaster had probably been applied hundreds of years earlier to hide the gold from Burmese invaders, then the secret had been lost, and a small museum in the temple tells the story in detail.
Wat Traimit is at the entrance to Chinatown (Yaowarat), a natural starting or finishing point for a food outing, near Hua Lamphong and Wat Mangkon MRT stations. Admission costs 40 to 100 THB (€1 to €2.50) for 20 to 30 minutes on site (open from 8:00 to 17:00). It is not worth the trip just for this temple; if you are coming to explore Bangkok’s street food in Chinatown, the detour takes almost no time.
This is where I ended my day of temples, at the table, because Chinatown comes alive in the evening with 1 of Asia’s best street food scenes. I also recreate Thai food at home: my pad thai recipe and my som tam recipe are on the site.
7. Admire Wat Benchamabophit’s Carrara marble
The Marble Temple owes its English nickname to the Carrara marble imported from Italy, the same marble used in Europe’s great cathedrals, unique in Bangkok where temples are usually built from brick, stucco and wood. Its symmetrical design and clean white surfaces are very photogenic, and the grounds are noticeably less chaotic than the riverside temples.
The downside is the location, far from the riverside cluster: you need a taxi or a Grab, so plan your transport options in Bangkok ahead. With just 1 day for temples, I would skip it; with 2 full days, add it to the 2nd. Admission 20 to 50 THB (€0.50 to €1.30), open from 8:00 to 17:30, allow 30 to 45 minutes. It is in the Dusit district, near government buildings and wide European-style boulevards built during the reign of King Rama V, a very different atmosphere from the dense old town.
8. Photograph the Giant Swing in front of Wat Suthat
Wat Suthat, one of Bangkok’s oldest and most important royal temples, has monumental murals and an imposing Buddha image in its main hall. I rank its interior paintings among the finest in Thailand, and it gets far fewer tourists than the Grand Palace or Wat Pho.
In front of the temple stands the Giant Swing (Sao Ching Cha), made of red teak and 21 metres tall. During a Brahmin ceremony, participants would swing high to catch bags of gold coins hanging from a pole, until the ceremony was banned in the 1930s after several fatal accidents. Today, it is a photogenic monument in a neighbourhood with good street food options. Admission to Wat Suthat is 100 THB (€2.50), it is open from 8:30 to 21:00, and you should allow 30 to 45 minutes.
9. Visit the hidden temple of Wat Ratchabophit
Beyond the famous temples, Bangkok has several little-known temples that I find better than the crowded major sights. If I had to pick just one, it would be Wat Ratchabophit, within walking distance of the Grand Palace and Wat Suthat, and almost completely deserted.
Its intricate exterior tiles reward a close look. The interior is unusual for a Thai temple: a strong European architectural influence, closer to a Gothic chapel than a Buddhist prayer hall, and a royal cemetery on the grounds adds another dimension.
Admission is free (open from 8:00 to 17:00, allow 30 to 45 minutes). It is rumoured to be a filming location for season 3 of White Lotus, which could draw crowds, but for now you might well be the only foreign visitor there. Visit it between the Grand Palace and Wat Saket, as it is on the way.
10. Look up at Wat Paknam’s glass ceiling
Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen owes its fame to its green glass ceiling inside a large white stupa: a glowing emerald-glass tree surrounded by painted celestial scenes. It is one of Bangkok’s most photographed temple interiors, and I find the images almost unreal. It is on the Thonburi side, accessible by BTS to Wutthakat station.
11. Look for David Beckham in Wat Pariwat’s mosaics
At Wat Pariwat, the monks have incorporated pop culture figures into traditional Buddhist mosaic art. Looking closely at the decorations, I found David Beckham, Pikachu, Captain America, Popeye and various superheroes hidden among the traditional patterns: a quirky modern touch that makes you look twice at every surface. Very few tourists know it exists.
12. Step inside the Mae Nak shrine at Wat Mahabut
Wat Mahabut houses the shrine of Mae Nak Phra Khanong, a famous ghost from Thai folklore whose legend, one of the country’s best known, has been adapted into dozens of films and television series. Thai people regularly come here to make offerings and ask for blessings, especially in love and fidelity. It gave me a glimpse of Thai supernatural beliefs that no tourist temple ever has; admission is free, and almost no Western tourists visit.
Here, as everywhere, take off your shoes before entering a building and step over the threshold (the raised wooden bar in the doorway) without treading on it; when sitting on the floor, tuck your legs behind you so your feet point neither towards the Buddha nor towards monks. Never touch a monk (especially if you are a woman) and do not point at sacred objects with your finger: gesture with your whole hand, palm facing up. Keep your voice low in prayer halls, and bring small notes (20 to 100 THB, or €0.50 to €2.50) for the donation boxes; Thai people are generally kind to respectful foreigners, and you are unlikely to be corrected for a misstep.
13. Take a break at Wat Pathum Wanaram in Siam
Wat Pathum Wanaram is a quiet space between Siam Paragon and CentralWorld, two of Bangkok’s largest shopping centres, amid the concrete and commerce. While shopping in the Siam district, I left the air-conditioned walkway, stepped through the gates, and found a peaceful, shady temple garden for my midday break. Free admission.
How much does it cost?
After two or three temples in the heat, the gold, mosaics and Buddhas start to blur together: alternate them with food breaks, air-conditioned restaurants and other things to do in Bangkok, with three or four temples a day at most. Here are my itineraries and their admission costs.
My half-day itinerary (4 to 5 hours): the Grand Palace at 8:30, 1 hour 30 minutes there before the tour buses, a 10-minute walk south to Wat Pho for an hour (book your massage straight away), then the Tha Tien ferry (5 THB, 2 minutes) to Wat Arun for 45 minutes. You finish around 12:30, ready for lunch by the river, for about 800 THB (€21).
My full-day itinerary (8 to 9 hours) builds on this. After Wat Arun, lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant for a breather, a taxi to Wat Saket and Loha Prasat (1 hour 30 minutes for both), a taxi to Wat Traimit (30 minutes for the Golden Buddha), then Chinatown street food for dinner on Yaowarat Road, and if you still have energy, back to the river around 18:00 to see Wat Arun lit up: about 950 THB (€25).
My budget itinerary skips the Grand Palace to put those 500 THB towards food: Wat Pho (200 THB), the ferry to Wat Arun (100 THB), Wat Ratchabophit on foot (free), lunch, Wat Saket (50 THB) and Loha Prasat (free), then Wat Traimit and Chinatown. About 400 THB (€10.50) in admission fees, compared with 500 THB for the Grand Palace alone, and I find it more enjoyable than a route that includes the Grand Palace. Over two days, I fit the big three plus Wat Saket and Loha Prasat into the first, and on the second, Wat Benchamabophit in the morning, Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing, Wat Ratchabophit, then Wat Traimit with dinner in Chinatown.
Budget at least 700 to 1,000 THB (€18 to €26) per person for each day of temple visits, including admission, transport and water, with plenty of water and sunscreen: the heat is relentless, especially between 11:00 and 14:00, when shade is scarce in the complexes. If you are travelling from France, bring your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) even though it does not cover Thailand, and take out travel insurance such as Chapka Cap Aventure or ACS Globe Trotters instead, which cover Southeast Asia for a few euros a day. Everything else, from the BTS to the MRT and boats, is in my guide to planning a trip to Bangkok.
My other Bangkok guides
Bangkok’s major temples are more ornate and more laden with gold than almost anything else in Southeast Asia, and the detail of the Grand Palace is unmatched in the region. Further south, Phuket has its own temple scene, with the Big Buddha and Wat Chalong on a more modest scale, while Bali’s temples are Hindu, built from carved stone in jungle settings, far removed from Bangkok’s gold and glass mosaics. For a different temple culture, here are my sights in Hanoi, from the Old Quarter to thousand-year-old temples, and for everything else in Bangkok, head back to my complete guide to visiting Bangkok.
