Designed by Italian sculptor Corrado Feroci (founder of Silpakorn University; p59), this memorial to the 1932 end of absolutism pointedly sits in a traffic...

Standing in City Hall square, the Giant Swing (Sao Ching Cha) was originally erected in 1784 as part of the adjacent Devasathan, a Brahmin compound of...

Assembled from canal diggings, the Golden Mount (Phu Khao Thong) was intended by Rama III to be clad as a giant chedi. Proving unstable, the rubble was...

Bangkok's paramount must-see sight is this architectural and spiritual treasure, which is twice as dazzling if you see it on a sunny day. Ignore the gem...

Thais believe the guardian spirits of a Thai town reside at its foundation pillar. Bangkok's birth thus dates from the auspicious time on 22 April 1782 when...

The Museum Siam doesn't mythologise 'Big Man' heroes or mould facts to the nation-building ideology. It presents in plain speaking, 'edutaining' displays,...

Siam's first public museum, and South-east Asia's largest, originated in 1874 as King Rama IV's collection of regalia within the Grand Palace. Opening...

Dedicated to Queen Sirikit, this major multi-floor space offers world-class exhibitions by leading Thai and foreign artists. Selections by top-line alumni...

The old town doesn't yet have its own full museum, but this major new permanent exhibition gives the official version of its heritage. Itssophisticated...

Fringed by tamarind trees, this large oval lawn is one of the city's few truly open spaces. Here elaborate pyres are constructed to resemble sacred Mount...

This vast, mellow temple rewards wandering, despite some touristy aspects. Its popular name derives from the 16th-century Wat Photharam, which was rebuilt...

The only version of this step-pyramidal tower style still standing, the Loha Prasat ('Metal Palace') is modelled on a Sri Lankan metal temple from the third...

Looming behind the Giant Swing, Bangkok's tallest vihaan houses the awe-inducing 8m (26ft) Phra Sri Sakyamuni Buddha. One of the largest surviving...