This free Bangkok temple library comes with cat librarians

Mongkolsiri Library sits inside Wat Pak Nam in Phasi Charoen, a historic riverside temple known for its striking architecture, spiritual significance and role as a centre of Buddhist learning. Step inside, though, and this is clearly no ordinary reading room. Cats wander between the shelves, snooze in patches of sun and keep watch from corners they have firmly claimed as their own.

The shelves deserve attention too, with a broad mix of non-fiction, novels, translated titles and a few old, hard-to-find books for patient browsers to uncover.

The library feels especially timely as Bangkok embraces its bookish side. Bangkok Book District Fest returns to Phra Nakhon on July 25-26, bringing independent bookshops and reading events to the old town’s historic neighbourhoods. Between the festival and its feline-filled hideaway, the city’s literary life is straying well beyond the conventional reading room. 

For readers who welcome a cat cameo, Mongkolsiri Library is a quietly charming alternative to Bangkok’s cat cafés – and it costs nothing. 

Need to know

• Where: Mongkolsiri Library, Wat Pak Nam, Phasi Charoen
• Cost: Free entry
• Hours: Daily, 9.30am-4pm (closed on public holidays)
• Getting there: Near BTS Bang Wa or MRT Bang Phai