The best things to do in Bangkok this weekend (September 10-13)

Your commuter flat white and the iced Americano that rescues a Bangkok afternoon pass through plenty of hands before reaching the cup. Thailand Coffee Fest returns under the theme ‘Made by All of Us’, bringing together farmers, roasters, baristas, café owners and coffee drinkers.  Highlights include the Thailand Coffee Championships 2027, international producers and roasters sharing techniques, talks with industry figures, and Coffee People by SCATH for networking. Coffee & More Village adds more than 400 stalls spanning cafés, bakeries, tea, matcha and lifestyle goods. Bring a reusable cup – you’ll need it.

September 10-13. Free entry. IMPACT Exhibition Center, Halls 5-8. 10am-8pm

Belarus’s leading ballet company brings Shakespeare’s tragic love story to Bangkok in Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Valentin Elizariev, a People’s Artist of the USSR and Belarus. The familiar story follows the young lovers from the masquerade where they meet to the street fights and family feud that seal their fate. A large ensemble, elaborate sets and live orchestra give the production scale while keeping its doomed romance at the centre.

September 12-13. B2,000-5,500 via here. Thailand Cultural Centre, Main Auditorium. 7pm (September 12) and 4.30pm (September 13)

The debut L’On Art Festival takes over Yodpiman River Walk from September 10-13, bringing Thai artists, live painting, music and performances to the Chao Phraya beside Pak Khlong Talat flower market. From 3pm to midnight, browse artworks, talk to the artists, grab food and settle in with a drink as the programme unfolds. Part of every ticket sale goes to The Children’s Hospital Foundation, supporting children with serious health conditions.

September 10-13. B105 on site. Yodpiman River Walk. 3pm-midnight

If your TBR pile is already getting out of hand, Once Upon A Book is a good excuse to add a few more titles. The garden book festival takes over Festie Town at Happitat in Bang Na with talks, art workshops, reading sessions and a book exchange where you can swap a favourite with another reader. Independent bookshops from across Thailand set up alongside a craft market, making this a place to linger with fellow book people rather than buy and bolt.

Now-September 13. Free entry. Festie Town, Happitat. 10am-10pm

You don’t need a boarding pass for a taste of Southern Thailand this month – head to ChangChui Creative Park and look for the retired plane. Fly 2 South Now Festival III spreads across six zones, with more than 100 stalls serving regional favourites such as khua kling, gaeng tai pla and sator, alongside crafts, coffee and cold drinks. At 7.30pm on September 11, the plane’s passenger deck becomes a runway for a fashion show featuring student designers and Southern labels. Elsewhere, catch manora and nang talung performances, live music, batik workshops and designer pop-ups. 

September 11-13. Free entry. ChangChui Creative Park. 4pm-10pm

The nine-decade-old Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus brings Cinderella to Bangkok with classical choreography, lavish sets and a live orchestra. The familiar fairy tale follows Cinderella from life with her spoilt stepsisters to the fairy godmother’s arrival, the palace ball and her midnight escape, with one glass slipper left behind. Clear storytelling and plenty of classical spectacle make this an easy family theatre pick.

September 9. B2,000-5,000 via here. Thailand Cultural Centre, Main Auditorium. 7pm

Eleven days, films from 113 countries and not a baht at the door – What the Doc! Film Festival 2026 runs from September 3 with international documentaries, filmmaker Q&As and special guests. Organised by Documentary Club, the festival opens with Song Sakan, Uruphong Raksasad’s latest film, which follows crafts people in Chiang Rai as they build and carry traditional Lanna funeral castles through the streets. IDFA programmer Jasper Hokken and Filipino filmmaker Khavn De La Cruz are among the guests presenting selected films and talks..

All screenings are free and subtitled. Collect your ticket at the venue 30 minutes, and find the full programme at wtd.in.th or What the Doc Thailand.

September 3-13. Free entry. Doc Club & Friends, Cloud 11.

Bangkok’s September rain comes with a better soundtrack at Lumphini Hall, which hosts three free weekend concerts spanning big-band jazz, classical arrangements and traditional Thai music. It’s an easy park detour when the weather sends you indoors. 

The line-up begins with Big Band Sound by BBB (Bangkok Big Band) on Saturday September 12 from 5pm-7pm, followed by Nut Letana & BMO by the Bangkok Metropolitan Orchestra on Saturday September 19 from 5pm-7pm and Enjoying the Arts with Lumpini Youth, featuring the Bangkok Thai Music Ensemble and Khlong Toei Youth Center, on Sunday September 20 from 5pm-7pm. Sala Daeng BTS and Silom MRT are both an easy walk away.

September 12. Free entry. Lumphini Hall, Lumphini Park. 5pm-7pm

Art Battle Bangkok returns with live painting, loud cheers, cold drinks and friendly competition. Artists face off in timed rounds, beginning with blank canvases and only a short window to show what they can do. The crowd votes after each round to decide who stays and who takes the title. It’s part art show, part social night, with music playing as the brushes fly. Grab a drink, pick your favourite and watch it unfold – or apply online if you fancy competing yourself.

September 12. B100-350 via here; B450 at the door. The Fig Lobby Bangkok. 7pm-10pm

Curious about Cloud 11’s immersive dome? Unfest’26 is the weekend to see it properly. Created by Unformat Studio and Cloud 11, the art and technology festival brings together virtual production, real-time visuals and interactive work across six sections. Unfilm explores virtual production in film, Uncinema screens 360-degree movies and Unlive pairs music with moving visuals. Unfold runs workshops, Undemo showcases new creative tech and Uncommu gives artists, developers and other creative workers room to meet.

September 11-13. Free entry. Register here. Cloud 11. 

Thai sculpture becomes a three-generation conversation in The Spirit of Sculptors: A Dialogue Across Three Generations at Museum Pier. Created with the Silpa Bhirasri Art Research Institute, the exhibition traces the field’s development through Professor Silpa Bhirasri, master artist Watchara Prayoonkum and contemporary sculptor Wayuphat Rattanaphet. Its rarest works date from Silpa’s years in Italy, before he moved to Thailand, and come from private collections. Most are being shown publicly in Thailand for the first time. New pieces by Watchara and Wayuphat respond to his ideas in their own ways.

September 8-October 23. B150-B250 at the door. Museum Pier. 10am-6pm

Cat people, here’s your excuse to visit the Thai Stamp Museum. Ma Ma Meow gathers more than 1,000 stamps featuring cats from around the world, with stories tucked among the displays. Every Cat Tells a Story presents 100 stamps based on owners’ real-life tales, from mischievous antics to favourite memories. You can also learn about 20 popular cat breeds, fold cat-shaped origami and create a stamp featuring your own pet. A museum stamp hunt comes with an exclusive postcard, while World Cat Day stamps are available for collectors.

Now-October 23. Free entry. Thai Stamp Museum. 8.30am-4.30pm

Motion graphics rarely get the attention given to the finished film, though plenty of Thai artists work behind the scenes on major productions. Motion Fest 2026 returns for a second year, giving students and visual artists a stage for their work. The programme includes Special Talk: MOTION GRAPHIC, featuring six leading universities, and LIVE! Motion Battle, a live student motion-graphics contest. Exhibitions and networking sessions give students and professionals time to swap ideas, meet collaborators and see what others are making across Thailand’s motion graphics scene.

September 13. Free entry. Cloud 11. 2.30pm-8pm

Sunday afternoons get a soundtrack at Bangkok Island with Turntables on the Chao Phraya, a weekly session of world grooves and house beside the river. Inspired by Nickodemus’ long-running Turntables on the Hudson, the series first lands here two years ago with Latin, African and Arabic influences woven through warm house rhythms. This week, Bangkok Island resident Yuval starts things off from 4pm, possibly joined by his wife Rainny, before Black Spaghetti takes over from 7pm to 10pm. It’s free to attend, with Bang Krachao’s greenery and the sunset providing the backdrop. The boat stays docked, naturally.

Every Sunday. Free entry. Bangkok Island. 4pm-midnight

Better known to Bangkokians as the Museum of Death, Siriraj Medical Museum sits within Thailand’s oldest hospital, founded in 1888 after a cholera epidemic exposed the need for modern medicine. Its collection spans anatomy, pathology, parasites, prehistoric humans and forensic science. See preserved organs, real specimens and the famous ‘Lampang Man’ Homo erectus skeleton, then explore murder cases and tsunami victim identification in the forensic section. It is graphic, but never treated as a sideshow; photography is banned, keeping the focus on medicine, research and the people behind the exhibits. B100 for Thai adults, B50 for Thai children and seniors, B300 for international visitors.

Wed-Mon. Siriraj Medical Museum. 10am-5pm; last admission 4pm