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...

Bangkok's strangest conversion of a historic home is this diving school on a tiny riverside lane. Behind ornate gates, NAUI instructor Phusak Posayachinda...

This canal-laced royal estate explains court life through museums in fretworked 'tropical European' style mansions, most famously Wang Vimanmek. Start at...

This state zoological park in Rama V's former botanical garden is one of Asia's best, but but it does keep rare fauna in rather grim enclosures. Elephant...

Thais seamlessly fuse modernity with spirit beliefs. This ability is encapsulated at the frenetic, smoky Hindu shrine to Brahma, erected in 1956 to appease...

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...

Beside River City antiques mall, stands a spired Gothic confection built in 1787 on land given to the Portuguese for helping to fight the Burmese. Its...

The revival and global fame of Thai silk owes much to Jim Thompson, a US architect who came to Thailand at the end of World War II with the OSS (now the...

This tree-shaded former moat is lined with timber lamp-posts shaped like old city wall posts and offers a tranquil stroll. The western bank, Thanon...

Devotees of King Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V) gather on the anniversary of his death for rites at the six-metre (20-foot) equestrian statue he had cast...

Cast in 1951 by Silpa Bhirasri, this equestrian statue (a lucky 9m tall by 9m long) marks Thonburi's founder, who re-united Siam after the sack of Ayutthaya...

This rustic car-free island dotted with temples and wooden cottages makes for a languid half-day trip, though it gets busy on weekends. Legend says its...