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

Thailand’s largest and longest-running international motor show returns once again, officially recognised by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles. The event brings together leading global car manufacturers, regional brands and emerging EV companies. Visitors can expect major launches, concept cars and important market debuts for Thailand and Southeast Asia. Large exhibition booths feature production vehicles across every category, including electric cars, performance models, luxury brands and motorcycles. Accessories, aftermarket products and special promotions are also available, with many visitors placing orders directly at the show.  Challenger Hall, Impact Muang Thong Thani. March 25-April 5. Monday-Friday noon-10pm, Saturday-Sunday 11am-10pm

A last call feels overdue at Bangkok Planetarium, which prepares to close on March 30 for a long-awaited refresh. Since 1964, the domed theatre has quietly shaped how generations here imagine the sky, all reclining seats and soft narration. Monthly programmes rotate between educational reels and space-age fantasies, keeping each visit slightly different yet comfortingly familiar. That sense of nostalgia lingers, especially if you grew up visiting on school trips or slow weekends. The coming renovation promises change, though it also means a pause until late 2026. For now, the original setting remains intact, ready for one more visit. Go soon, take your time, and let the stars hold your attention before the lights dim. Until March 30. B30-50 at the door. Bangkok Planetarium, 9am-4pm

Call it a citywide fixation: One Piece takes over Bangkok with surprising ease. Fans who once followed Luffy on small screens now find those stories stretched across real space. Netflix brings a slice of the Grand Line to Lumpini Park, yet ICONSIAM answers with something more immersive: a 600-square-metre pop-up café that plays like a living archive. Scenes from past arcs reappear as walkable sets, while newly issued wanted posters chart the crew’s long evolution. A stamp trail links ten zones, gently guiding visitors across the space. At the centre, a five-metre Gear 5 Luffy looms with cartoonish confidence, slightly surreal, unmistakably designed for photographs and quiet disbelief. Until 31 October. Free. ICONSIAM, 10am-8.30pm

Seven voices meet on the same wall, each shaped by different cities yet speaking through the same visual code. Artists from Thailand, France and Switzerland treat graffiti less as rebellion and more as a shared language, one that carries stories of ambition, missteps and quiet persistence. Styles shift from sharp lettering to loose, almost instinctive forms, but a sense of dialogue holds everything together. Youth lingers here, with all its uncertainty and small acts of bravery. Misjudgments sit beside moments of clarity, neither cancelling the other. What stays is the belief that expression matters, even when direction feels unclear, and that instinct often knows before certainty catches up. March 20-May 3. Free. Maison JE Bangkok, 11am-7pm

It dictates cravings, stretches lunch breaks and tests bravado. Once a year that fiery obsession takes centrestage at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, which transforms into a roaming kitchen for Chilli Fest, now in its fourth round. Michelin-calibre names cook alongside neighbourhood favourites, each interpreting heat through their own lens. Thai curries sit beside Mexican aguachile, Korean spice meets Punjabi street fare and Southern Thai fire shares space with Spanish-Japanese tapas. You wander, taste, compare notes. As sunset nears, attention shifts to the Chilli Eating Contest. Contestants climb towards peppers measuring 2.2 million on the Scoville scale. The crowd winces, laughs and waits for the final, tearful triumph. March 28. B250-B800 via here. Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, 2pm-9pm

Peeps & Pals arrive with their first event, shaped by a simple idea: Ari deserves a space built by the people who actually live here. Live sets from WIM, Praesun and Paiiinntt carry the evening without overwhelming it. Nearby, a small workshop corner invites you to slow down, painting vinyl records or making cassette pieces that link to your own playlists. It’s quietly personal, slightly nostalgic. Food and drink stalls fill the gaps, giving you reasons to linger a bit longer than planned. Conversations stretch, neighbours meet, familiar faces return.  March 28-29. Starts at B990 via LINE OA: @peepsandpalsco. Format BKK, midday onwards

(In)visible Presence opens Dib Bangkok with a quiet confidence. Think a painted gust of wind, music shaped by half-remembered summers and the soft trace of herbal medicine lingering longer than expected. The show asks how we hold on to what matters when it cannot be seen, while also nodding to the many people, some now gone, who helped turn this museum from idea to place. Drawn from a collection built across three decades and widened through fresh collaborations, the exhibition gathers 81 works by 40 contemporary artists, several new to Thailand. Sound, scent and light do much of the talking. Across three floors, everyday materials shift, memories blur and imagination fills the gaps. A special focus on Montien Boonma closes the journey, offering space for reflection, healing and a slower way of looking. December 21-August 3 2026. B150-700 via here. Dib Bangkok, 10am-6pm

Cloud 11 turns its fifth-floor rooftop into an easygoing evening spot, where live sets drift across a relaxed crowd and the city feels slightly further away. You come for the music, but stay longer than planned. Handmade pieces from Thai labels sit alongside small food and drink stalls, giving the night a casual, almost neighbourhood feel. Each day brings a different mix: March 27 leans bright with No One Else, Mirrr, Riviere and Sarttra. March 28 shifts the mood with Whal & Dolph, Yented, Jarn Mai and Joog. March 29 closes with Yokee Playboy, Thee Chaiyadej, Lingice and Kaitod.  March 27-29. B350 at the door. Cloud 11, 3pm-midnight

This Brazilian-inspired street carnival brings a different kind of energy to Bangkok, bright without trying too hard. DJs keep things moving with samba and Latin selections that feel made for open air. A batucada group moves through with drums and brass, while dancers pick up the tempo. The setting leans festive, but never overworked. Arrive early and you catch a short free-flow session from three to four, which quietly sets the tone. Each ticket comes with a couple of drinks, enough to ease you along without fuss.  March 28. B700-800. Havana Social, 3pm onwards 

STILL House stands quietly among the glass towers of Asoke, a restored heritage home that favours memory over gloss. Its latest chapter exhibition unfolds through a collaboration between NORSE Republics and &Tradition, a name long associated with Danish craft and considered modernism. Rooms shift from domestic familiarity to thoughtful installation. Chairs, lamps and objects sit not as showroom pieces but as prompts for touch and contemplation. Soft scent lingers, sound hums gently, small tastings appear during workshops that encourage slowing down. The exhibition frames design as lived experience rather than static display, offering a brief retreat from the city’s insistence on speed without losing sight of its context.   Until April 15. Free. STILL House, 10am-7pm