Our picks for the best things to do in Bangkok this weekend

Twice a year, one of Bangkok's most beautiful heritage buildings turns into a book lover’s playground. The Neilson Hays Library’s biannual sale spreads hundreds of titles across its neoclassical interiors, with prices starting from just B20. Stock covers fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, cookbooks and more, in both Thai and English. The smart move is to go more than once – titles rotate daily, so what’s not there today might appear tomorrow. Even if you leave empty-handed (unlikely), the setting alone is worth it. Founded in 1869 and housed in its current building since 1921, the library still carries its original details – from wooden shelves to ceiling fans – alongside more recent recognition, including a UNESCO conservation award. When: May 16-24 (closed May 18), 9.30am-5pmWhere: Neilson Hays Library, SurawongPrice: Free entry

The annual sale at Neilson Hays Library returns for 2026, and regulars know the drill: arrive early, bring a sturdy tote, and prepare to leave with more than planned. Set against the library’s quietly elegant architecture, the event offers shelves of secondhand titles in Thai and English, covering novels, art books, children’s stories, older prints and the occasional rare find, with prices starting from B20. Selections come partly from the library’s own collection, alongside books gathered specifically for the occasion. Every purchase supports the upkeep of the historic building, so it’s shopping with a purpose. Word is, a small surprise also waits for visitors this year, a gentle thank you for turning up and browsing. May ​16-24. Free. Neilson Hays Library. 9.30am-5pm

MunMun Srinakarin opens MMAD Gallery with six exhibitions from the first artists selected through the MMADness is Calling project, giving emerging names space to experiment across installation, sculpture, sound and textiles. Psyche and Flesh turns suffering and memory into tactile forms, while Upper’s What Lies on Top of the Mountain pairs animation, towering canvases and atmospheric audio to unpack the awkward quiet after intimacy. Elsewhere, Jhanyar’s 24/7 Objects reframes Bangkok’s pavements and everyday clutter with a sharply observant eye for city life. Steam Stream drifts through water and rice fields, Sunburn The Kid reconstructs discarded fabric into new textile works and Fish Are Friends introduces scrap-metal fish puppets for anyone carrying around a little low-level loneliness. May 7-June 21. Free. MMAD GALLERY. 11am-7pm

First staged in Cheongju Craft Biennale, this group exhibition arrives in Bangkok following a debut as the Invited Country Pavilion in Cheongju, South Korea. The project grows from an ongoing exchange between Thailand and the Republic of Korea, setting craft alongside contemporary art across Southeast and East Asia. At its core sits ‘Elastic Time’, a curatorial thread that questions how time behaves across the region. Forget neat timelines. Here, past, present and future overlap, repeat and quietly reshape one another. The Cheongju edition sets the tone as a cross-cultural conversation, where material, process and memory carry equal weight. Artists approach craft not as something fixed, but as a way to consider what unfolds now, and what might come next. Until August 16. Free. Jim Thompson Art Center. 10am-6pm

In ‘Echoes of Us’, Molticha Pongudompanya leans into uncertainty rather than resolution. Figures drift between recognition and disappearance, suspended somewhere between memory, reflection and physical presence. Layering and double exposure shape much of the work, with overlapping bodies and objects creating a sense of movement that never fully settles. The surfaces carry just as much weight as the imagery itself. Rough brushstrokes soften into hazier textures, while scraped paint leaves behind traces that resemble dust, smoke or fading film negatives.  May 10-31. Free entry. Joyman Gallery. 11am-6pm

Parents looking to temporarily separate children from screens without triggering negotiations may want to bookmark Dib Bangkok’s Family Art Tour. Running across two mornings, the short-format programme keeps things curious rather than educational in the exhausting school-trip sense. Designed for children aged seven to 12 and the adults inevitably following behind, the sessions combine guided conversations with hands-on activities around works by Alicja Kwade, Paloma Varga Weisz, Pinaree Sanpitak, Sho Shibuya, Marco Fusinato and Lee Bul.May 23-24. B950 via here. Dib Bangkok. 10am-11am

C.P.S. Coffee Roaster leans heavily into Thai nostalgia with new DIRTY and COLD BREW collections inspired by local desserts, fruit stalls and childhood sweets. The drinks move between creamy textures, soft sweetness and rich coffee notes without tipping too aggressively into sugar overload. Expect playful nods to familiar Thai flavours alongside chilled combinations built specifically for Bangkok afternoons where walking outdoors starts to feel like a tactical error. Now-May 31. All C.P.S. Coffee Roaster branches.

Japanese ceramist Ono Yutaka arrives in Thailand for his first solo exhibition, taking over CHAYA & CO.’s intimate tea bar Mizu with a quietly striking collection of ceramic works and signature tea bowls. Presented under the theme ‘Enlightenment through Form’, the exhibition explores how ordinary objects carry memory, awareness and emotional residue through texture, shape and repeated use. Visitors can also meet Ono during the exhibition and exchange thoughts in a setting that feels far removed from the usual white-wall gallery routine. An exclusive matcha blend by Ochano Kanbayashi debuts alongside the show. May 23-24. Mizu by CHAYA. Three daily sessions at 10am, 2pm and 4pm, limited to eight guests each

Imprint Project gathers artists from Guatemala whose works carry a strong sense of place through intricate mark-making, texture and inherited symbolism. Hosted at Arun Amarin 23 Art Space, the show moves through daily rituals, spiritual references and fragments of memory without spelling everything out too neatly. The collaboration between ml3print studio and Santa Thekla Atelier de Grabado leaves room for interpretation, which suits the work better anyway.  May 1-30. Free entry. Arun Amarin 23 Art Space. 11am-4pm

Craft here reads like a way of staying present. The exhibition looks at time across Thailand and Southeast Asia as something layered and cyclical, shaped by ritual, labour and shared experience rather than strict progression. Makers move between past and present with a quiet ease, holding inherited knowledge while adjusting to what now demands. Objects carry that negotiation, each one marked by repetition. Slowness becomes intentional, offering an alternative to constant speed and easy consumption. Nothing feels rushed, yet nothing stands still either.  April 30-16 August. Free. Jim Thompson Art Center, 10am-6pm