{"id":115357,"title":"What to Do in Bangkok: My 15 Favorite Activities","modified":"2026-10-07T10:24:18+02:00","plain":"Bangkok refuses to stand still: between the temples, the street food and the chaos of everyday life, there's enough to fill a month. Here are my 15 favorite activities, from the khlongs to Muay Thai, with prices and pitfalls to avoid. For an overview, start with my complete guide to visiting Bangkok.\n\n\n\n\n1. Cruise the Chao Phraya and the khlongs\n\n2. Hunt for bargains at Chatuchak and other markets\n\n3. Eat at a floating market in Amphawa\n\n4. Explore the ruins of Ayutthaya\n\n5. Spend a night in Kanchanaburi on the River Kwai\n\n6. Watch the train pass through Maeklong Railway Market\n\n7. Watch a Muay Thai fight at Rajadamnern\n\n8. Get a massage at Wat Pho\n\n9. Have a rooftop drink at Octave\n\n10. Visit the Jim Thompson House\n\n11. Stroll through Lumpini and Benjakitti\n\n12. Explore Chinatown on foot, along Yaowarat\n\n13. Head out for the night, from Khao San to Thong Lor\n\n14. Take a Thai cooking class in Silom\n\n15. Discover Bang Krachao, Talad Noi and Pak Khlong Talat\n\nWhen to go?\n\nMy other Bangkok guides\n\n\n\n\n1. Cruise the Chao Phraya and the khlongs\n\n\n\nThe Chao Phraya cuts Bangkok in half, and getting out on the water shows you the city from a different angle. The most convenient option is the Blue Flag tourist boat, a hop-on\/hop-off service that stops at major sights like Wat Arun, the Grand Palace pier and Chinatown, for 15 to 40 baht per trip (less than 1 EUR): I took it just for the views.\n\n\n\nMy favorite activity on the water, which most visitors miss: the canals (khlongs). In a private long-tail boat, hired at Sathorn Pier or Tha Chang Pier, I headed deep into the canals of Thonburi on the west bank, past wooden houses on stilts, small temples and residents going about their day: it feels like another century.\n\n\n\nExploring Thonburi's khlongs by long-tail boat, my favorite activity on the water.\n\n\n\nA fair price: 1,000 to 1,500 baht (26 to 40 EUR) in total for the whole boat. If you're quoted 1,500 to 2,000 baht per person, walk away and negotiate at the pier rather than booking an overpriced tour online. My best stop was the Artist's House (Baan Silapin), a peaceful traditional wooden house beside a canal, with free puppet shows every day.\n\n\n\nArtist's House (Baan Silapin). Photo: Hong Chien Leong, Google Maps\n\n\n\nI find dinner cruises overpriced and disappointing: a mediocre buffet, crowded boats, and the same view as a 30-baht ferry (less than 1 EUR). Take the Blue Flag at golden hour instead and save over 2,000 baht (53 EUR).\n\n\n\n2. Hunt for bargains at Chatuchak and other markets\n\n\n\nMy favorite market, Chatuchak Weekend Market, is among the largest outdoor markets in the world: over 15,000 stalls across 11 hectares, on Saturdays and Sundays. A smaller version runs on Friday evenings from 18:00 to midnight, when it's cooler and less crowded, though not all the stalls open.\n\n\n\nI arrived between 9:00 and 10:00, the ideal time: shops are open, but the tour buses and intense heat haven't arrived yet. It gets stifling under the metal roofs between 13:00 and 15:00. Golden rule: buy it when you see it, because you won't find the stall again in this maze.\n\n\n\nChatuchak Weekend Market. Photo: Sasitorn T, Google Maps\n\n\n\nUse the Clock Tower as a meeting point, cool off at JJ Mall or Mixt Chatuchak right next door, and take the BTS to Mo Chit or the MRT to Chatuchak Park. My picks: young Thai designers in Sections 2-4, ceramics, vintage denim, and a coconut ice cream from a street vendor to beat the heat.\n\n\n\nFor food, I preferred three local markets. At Wang Lang Market, across the river from the Grand Palace, Siriraj Hospital staff and students come for lunch: the customers are almost exclusively local, with a minimal tourist markup. Or Tor Kor Market, next to Chatuchak, is cleaner and better organized than most, with some of Bangkok's best fresh produce and ready-to-eat dishes, plus premium tropical fruit you won't find at street stalls. Khlong Toei Market is the rough-and-ready fresh food market where locals do their daily shopping, with no tourists, no English signs and nothing staged for Instagram.\n\n\n\nIn the evening, Jodd Fairs, which replaced the old Train Night Market Ratchada, is the most popular night market: photogenic, good food, a mix of tourists and locals. For bargain hunting, Srinagarindra Train Night Market (Talad Rot Fai) is out of the way but huge, full of vintage finds and antiques, with almost no tourists, and worth the trip. Owl Night Market (Talad Nok Hook), near the MRT Purple Line, has a similar feel: low prices, local customers, no tourists.\n\n\n\nAs for shopping malls, MBK Center is the place for electronics, phone repairs and bargains, while IconSiam is the luxury option, with its air-conditioned indoor \u201cfloating market,\u201d artificial but handy on a rainy day. Platinum Fashion Mall, in Pratunam, sells wholesale clothing cheaper than fast fashion.\n\n\n\n3. Eat at a floating market in Amphawa\n\n\n\nEvery itinerary includes a floating market, with the same question: which one isn't a tourist trap? Here's my honest answer.\n\n\n\nThe vendors' boats, the postcard image of floating markets around Bangkok.\n\n\n\nDamnoen Saduak, the most famous, has become a shabby theme park in my eyes: concrete canals, mass-produced souvenirs, inflated prices, tourist boats bumping into each other. You get the postcard scene of boats loaded with fruit, but at a steep price. A common scam: taxi drivers drop you at a private pier charging over 2,000 baht (53 EUR) for a ride, while the official one, farther into the market, costs 300 to 500 baht (8 to 13 EUR), so walk past the first one you see.\n\n\n\nMy top choice is Amphawa, from Friday to Sunday, in the late afternoon and evening, for its food, with seafood grilled on boats along the canal. I found a more relaxed and much more local atmosphere there, and the sunset boat ride to see the fireflies is worth the trip.\n\n\n\nIf you're more interested in eating than taking photos, Khlong Lat Mayom is, for me, the best floating market near Bangkok, with around 90% local customers. I ordered pla pao, the salt-crusted grilled fish to try here, and a short boat trip to orchid farms costs 100 to 200 baht (3 to 5 EUR). Weekends only.\n\n\n\nKhlong Lat Mayom. Photo: Sunflower, Google Maps\n\n\n\nTaling Chan, nearby and easy to reach, is enough for a half-day visit, and Tha Kha remains peaceful, authentic and little visited. If you can't get to any of these markets on the weekend, Khlong Bang Luang opens every day, with puppet shows at the Artist's House beside the canal.\n\n\n\n4. Explore the ruins of Ayutthaya\n\n\n\nAyutthaya was the capital of Siam for more than 400 years before the Burmese razed it in 1767. What remains is a UNESCO-listed site, with crumbling brick temples, headless Buddha statues and tree roots covering the walls, 80 kilometers north of Bangkok: for me, one of the best day trips in the region, a little like Pompeii, with centuries of Khmer and Buddhist history thrown in.\n\n\n\nThe ruins of Ayutthaya at sunset, one of my favorite trips from Bangkok.\n\n\n\nI recommend the classic option, the train from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (formerly Bang Sue): 15 to 20 baht in 3rd class (not even 1 EUR), 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours with open windows, no air conditioning and snack vendors passing through, or a little more for air-conditioned 2nd class. Minivans from the terminal are faster but cramped, with drivers who pay little attention to speed limits, and a Grab taxi costs 1,000-1,500+ baht (26-40 EUR) each way. Leave around 7:00-8:00, before the midday heat.\n\n\n\nAt the station, cross the street and take the little ferry (5-10 baht) to the island with the ruins before negotiating, as the tuk-tuks on the station side overcharge. The most practical option: a tuk-tuk at 200 to 300 baht per hour (5 to 8 EUR) for 3-4 hours, with a driver who waits at each temple and a total price agreed before you get in. Cycling (50-60 baht per day, around 1.50 EUR) requires being in good shape and setting off before 10:00, as the heat makes it dangerous after that.\n\n\n\nAt Wat Mahathat, I saw the Buddha head nestled in the roots of a banyan tree, probably the most photographed sight in Ayutthaya. I visited Wat Chaiwatthanaram, a Khmer-style complex with imposing prangs (towers), in the late afternoon, when its silhouette at sunset looks like a miniature Angkor Wat.\n\n\n\nWat Mahathat. Photo: Sunny Sun, Google Maps\n\n\n\nMy favorite moment was the sunset long-tail boat trip around the island, between 16:00 and 17:00, with 3 temples along the way: around 200 baht per person on a shared boat (5 EUR), 600-800 baht (16-21 EUR) for a private boat, and mosquito repellent is a must. Try the boat noodles, an Ayutthaya specialty served in tiny bowls that you will stack up by the dozen or more. After Wat Mahathat and Wat Chaiwatthanaram, the ruins start to look alike: allow 4 to 6 hours in total, without trying to see everything.\n\n\n\nIf you don't have a full day, Ancient City (Muang Boran), a park south of Bangkok, brings together well-made scaled-down replicas of Thai historical sites. It is closer (BTS then a short taxi ride) and less tiring, and you can rent a golf cart to explore the grounds.\n\n\n\n5. Spend a night in Kanchanaburi, on the River Kwai\n\n\n\nKanchanaburi has the Bridge on the River Kwai (familiar to French people thanks to the film), the Hellfire Pass museum and Erawan National Park with its 7-tier waterfall, more than 3 hours from Bangkok each way. My advice: forget the day trip (6 hours or more of travel), choose Ayutthaya if you can't stay overnight, and with 1 or 2 nights, Kanchanaburi is excellent, at around 30 to 50 EUR per night for pleasant accommodation through Booking.com.\n\n\n\nThe train leaves from Thonburi Station (confusing it with the main terminal is a common mistake that wastes hours) and follows sections of the Death Railway, scenic but slow, with fans but no air conditioning. Air-conditioned minivans from the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai), taking around 2 hours 30 minutes, are the most practical option.\n\n\n\nFor me, the highlight is Erawan, 7 tiers of turquoise pools where you can swim. I climbed to level 7 first thing in the morning, before the crowds arrived, then headed back down, swimming at each tier with fish nibbling my feet. The last bus from Erawan to Kanchanaburi town leaves around 16:00: miss it and you are stranded. For me, the Hellfire Pass museum is one of the best World War II museums in Southeast Asia, more moving and informative than the bridge itself.\n\n\n\n6. Watch the train pass through Maeklong Railway Market\n\n\n\nMaeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hup) is built on an active railway track: 8 times a day, vendors fold back their awnings and move their goods to let a train pass with barely 30 centimeters of clearance on either side, then everything goes back out. Trains pass around 6:20, 8:30, 9:00, 11:10, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 17:40 (schedules change, so check locally), and I arrived 15 to 20 minutes before a train to get a good spot. Entry is free, weekdays are less crowded, and Amphawa Floating Market is just 15-20 minutes away, making for a combined afternoon and evening outing.\n\n\n\nMaeklong Railway Market. Photo: Sava\u015f \u00d6zs\u00f6z, Google Maps\n\n\n\n7. Watch a Muay Thai fight at Rajadamnern\n\n\n\nMuay Thai, the national sport, doesn't translate to a screen: the sound of a shin striking a rib cage, the crowd betting and shouting, the ritual Wai Kru dance before each fight. It is raw and gripping.\n\n\n\nA Muay Thai fight in Bangkok: from ringside, you hear every impact.\n\n\n\nFor me, Rajadamnern Stadium is the best option: recently renovated, centrally located, with the best atmosphere on Friday evenings and tickets costing 1,000 to 2,000 baht (26 to 53 EUR) for foreigners. I chose ringside, the option to go for if your budget allows: the difference compared with the upper stands is enormous.\n\n\n\nLumpinee Stadium, the other historic venue, has moved near Don Mueang Airport, which is inconvenient (fights on Tuesday and Friday evenings). Channel 7 Stadium sometimes offers free standing admission on Sunday afternoons, with a local crowd.\n\n\n\nTo train, drop-in classes cost 300 to 500 baht per session (8 to 13 EUR) throughout the city: Khongsittha, clean, modern and welcoming, for beginners, Petchyindee Academy for its excellent facilities and structured classes, Sor Vorapin, a more basic gym near Khao San Road, which has trained real champions. Choose a gym near your hotel, as traffic turns 5 kilometers into 45 minutes of misery, and budget 500 to 1,500 baht (13 to 40 EUR) for a private session to really improve your technique.\n\n\n\n8. Get a massage at Wat Pho\n\n\n\nThai massage is everywhere, starting at 200-300 baht per hour (5 to 8 EUR) in street-side parlors, but the quality ranges from miraculous to painful. My benchmark is the Wat Pho Traditional Thai Massage School, in the Wat Pho temple complex where traditional Thai massage was codified: I had a 1-hour massage there for around 500 baht (13 EUR), with a depth of experience no anonymous Sukhumvit parlor can offer.\n\n\n\nHealth Land, reliable, clean and mid-range, with several locations, is my other choice: 600 to 800 baht (16 to 21 EUR) for 2 hours, when the same treatment easily costs 150 to 200 EUR in France. Avoid the parlors on Khao San Road, with their inflated prices and aggressive touts: 1 street over, it is better and cheaper.\n\n\n\nTry a traditional massage at least once (no oil, lots of stretching and pressure points) rather than an oil massage, which is relaxing but available anywhere in the world. Done properly, it feels as though someone is trying to fold you into quarters, and I felt incredibly good afterward.\n\n\n\n9. Have a rooftop drink at Octave\n\n\n\nBangkok has more rooftop bars than almost any city in the world, and sunset from the 50th floor is something to experience at least once. My favorite is Octave, at the Marriott Hotel in Sukhumvit, also a favorite among expats: 360-degree views, a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere, and a happy hour with 50% off cocktails before sunset (usually 300-500 baht, or 8 to 13 EUR). I arrived around 17:00 to get a good spot and had the full rooftop experience for less than 15 EUR.\n\n\n\nOctave. Photo: Ben Archbold, Google Maps\n\n\n\nTichuca, with its younger crowd and Instagram-ready setting, has a giant LED \u201cjellyfish tree,\u201d a trendy clientele and cocktails at 400-600 baht (11 to 16 EUR). It can get packed and lively on weekends. Vertigo and Moon Bar, at the Banyan Tree Hotel, are the classic upscale alternative, an open-air restaurant with panoramic views: more expensive, but I think the experience justifies the price better than its competitors. Cielo Sky Bar, in Phra Khanong, is little known among tourists, less crowded and more affordable, with a lovely view, while Above 11 serves a Peruvian-Japanese menu overlooking the park, without the pretension.\n\n\n\nThe one I avoid: Lebua (Sirocco\/Sky Bar), the bar from \u201cThe Hangover.\u201d The view is superb, but everything else is mediocre: crowded, overpriced, pushy staff steering you around, a place that lives entirely off the film. Choose Octave or Vertigo instead.\n\n\n\nThe view from Sky Bar is superb. It's everything else that I find mediocre.\n\n\n\nMost rooftops enforce a smart casual dress code: no shorts, flip-flops or tank tops. My budget strategy: sunset happy hour (17:00-19:00), 1 or 2 drinks, then spend the rest of the evening somewhere more affordable, for 90% of the experience at 20% of the price.\n\n\n\n10. Visit the Jim Thompson House\n\n\n\nJim Thompson, an American businessman, built a Thai silk empire after World War II before disappearing without a trace in the Malaysian highlands in 1967. His house, a collection of traditional teak buildings reassembled along a canal, is an air-conditioned museum, ideal on a rainy day, with a guided tour in English included in the admission price (around 200 baht, or 5 EUR).\n\n\n\nNear National Stadium BTS station, I followed it up with the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), right next door, which is free and has rotating contemporary art exhibitions. The Jim Thompson House divides opinion: fascinating for architecture and design lovers, skippable if old teak houses don't appeal to you.\n\n\n\n11. Walk through Lumpini and Benjakitti\n\n\n\nLumpini Park is a tropical version of the Luxembourg Gardens: morning joggers, tai chi at dawn and giant monitor lizards around the ponds. These lizards are harmless, even when they're 2 meters long and cross the path in front of you.\n\n\n\nI prefer the newer Benjakitti Forest Park, linked to Lumpini by elevated walkways: this is the only place in Bangkok where you can walk above the canopy. I went after dark, when the walkways light up against the skyline, without the daytime heat: for me, it's one of the city's best free experiences, and one of its most underrated. Both parks are free and accessible by BTS\/MRT.\n\n\n\n12. Explore Chinatown on foot, Yaowarat\n\n\n\nBangkok's Chinatown (Yaowarat) is best explored on foot in the late afternoon, when the heat eases and the neon lights come on. Yaowarat Road is lined with gold shops, street food stalls and red lanterns, but the real discoveries are in the side alleys (sois). For Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha), at the entrance to Chinatown, see my most beautiful temples in Bangkok.\n\n\n\nThe old shophouses of Soi Nana hide a growing bar scene, not to be confused with the \u201cNana\u201d neighborhood in Sukhumvit, which is completely different. I had a drink at Teens of Thailand, the gin bar that started the trend, and Tax, from the same collective, serves vinegar-based cocktails in a punk-chic setting.\n\n\n\n13. Go out at night, from Khao San to Thong Lor\n\n\n\nNightlife is split into areas, and my guide to neighborhoods to stay in Bangkok helps you choose a base to suit your nights out. Khao San Road is backpacker central: cocktail buckets at 80-150 baht (2 to 4 EUR), thundering music, a young international crowd. It's the kind of place you either love or avoid: I found it entertaining in its own way, even though it doesn't represent Thai nightlife at all.\n\n\n\nThong Lor (Sukhumvit Soi 55) is the neighborhood for wealthy Thais and expats: no shorts or flip-flops, bottle service in clubs, and prices to match. I had a warm-up drink at The Commons, a community mall with good restaurants and bars, before heading deeper into the soi. Sukhumvit Soi 11 strikes a balance between expats, tourists and locals, with rooftops, pubs and clubs within walking distance, while RCA (Royal City Avenue), away from the center but popular with young Thais, is lined with EDM and festival-style clubs like Route 66 and Onyx.\n\n\n\nMy speakeasy picks: Find the Locker Room, hidden behind a wall of lockers, and Havana Social, entered through a phone booth on Soi 11. For me, the Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental is the city's best jazz bar, expensive and old-school, while Smalls, in Sathorn, is a late-night jazz and absinthe haunt popular with expats.\n\n\n\n14. Take a Thai cooking class in Silom\n\n\n\nFor me, a Thai cooking class is Bangkok's best non-religious activity. The best ones start with a morning visit to a fresh market where you buy your ingredients, followed by several hours preparing 3 to 5 dishes from scratch, including curry paste with a mortar and pestle. These are the ones worth paying for, rather than those that open a ready-made jar, and a group of fewer than 10 people guarantees you more attention.\n\n\n\nMy go-to is Silom Thai Cooking School: a market visit, small groups, a hands-on approach, 1,500 to 2,000 baht (40 to 53 EUR) for a half-day. Cooking with Poo, in Klong Toey, is community-focused and moving, and fills up very quickly, so book on Booking.com or their website several days in advance. Blue Elephant teaches royal Thai cuisine in a colonial building, the most upscale option at 3,000-4,000 baht (80 to 105 EUR). I cook green curry and massaman curry at home: my Thai green curry recipe and my massaman curry recipe are on the site.\n\n\n\nWant to make it again at home? My massaman curry recipe is on the site.\n\n\n\nFor shows, Calypso Cabaret, at Asiatique, is a well-known ladyboy cabaret, and Siam Niramit is a large-scale stage production about Thai history and culture. Both target tourists, but Siam Niramit's sound and light show is worth the trip. For something more intimate, the puppet shows at Baan Silapin (Artist's House), on the canals of Thonburi, remain traditional and far from mass tourism.\n\n\n\n15. Discover Bang Krachao, Talad Noi and Pak Khlong Talat\n\n\n\n3 places most visitors miss. Bang Krachao, the \u201cGreen Lung,\u201d is an island of tropical greenery across the river from the city center, a short ferry ride away. I rented a bike there (50-100 baht, or 1 to 3 EUR) to follow the raised concrete paths through the jungle. On weekends, eat local food at Bang Nam Phueng market.\n\n\n\nTalad Noi, a historic neighborhood near Chinatown, mixes street art, narrow alleys, trendy caf\u00e9s and old auto repair shops. I had coffee at Mother Roaster, above a spare parts shop, which captures the spirit of an old Bangkok in transition.\n\n\n\nMother Roaster. Photo: Mori Hiro (Hiro Boy Travel), Google Maps\n\n\n\nPak Khlong Talat, Bangkok's main flower market, is busiest before dawn, when retailers come to stock up. Nothing is staged for tourists, and at 4:00, there are colors you won't see during normal hours.\n\n\n\nWhen to go?\n\n\n\nThe BTS (Skytrain) and MRT (metro) serve most activities in the center, and Grab, Southeast Asia's equivalent of Uber, covers the rest. Transport, budgets and tips to avoid overpaying are in my guide to planning a trip to Bangkok.\n\n\n\nSet off around 7:00-8:00 for excursions (Ayutthaya, Amphawa, Maeklong) and set aside a night for Kanchanaburi. Aim for around 17:00 for the rooftops in Sukhumvit and Silom, and Rajadamnern is at its best on Friday evenings, with tickets booked ahead in high season.\n\n\n\nMy other Bangkok guides\n\n\n\nWith Ayutthaya, day trips from Bangkok offer a historical dimension you won't find in day trips around Phuket, which focus more on islands and beaches. Compared with things to do in Bali, Bangkok swaps rice terraces and volcano hikes for urban exploration and cultural immersion. For another stop on your trip, here are my favorite things to do in Hanoi, including Ha Long Bay, and for places to stay, food and getting around, head back to my complete guide to visiting Bangkok.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115357"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115485,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115357\/revisions\/115485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}