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

The world famous L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, known as the Sacred Temple of Pizza and immortalised in Eat Pray Love, opens in Bangkok with the same fifth generation recipes served in Naples since 1870. The Bangkok outpost follows locations in New York, London, Tokyo, Dubai and Singapore, showcasing the signature pizza a ruota di carro with its thin soft dough that stretches beyond the plate and a pillowy cornicione baked for just 60 seconds at 485C in a custom Stefano Ferrara oven. Ingredients are sourced directly from Campania and Southern Italy, including San Marzano DOP tomatoes, Agerola mozzarella, Pecorino Romano DOP and Masturzo olive oil, alongside toppings like Cetara anchovies, friarelli, capers and smoked scamorza. Beyond pizza, diners can expect handmade pastas, starters and classic southern Italian desserts served in the new Nextopia zone on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon. Reserve via allora@damichele.co.th. L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, Siam Paragon 5/F, 11am-10pm

CLUB SEEN Koh Samui begins a new chapter with a full relaunch and an elevated day-to-night concept that brings international names to Chaweng Beach. From December through January, the beach club hosts its most ambitious season yet with Defected, Glitterbox, ARTBAT, Nina Kraviz, Miss Monique, Kolsch and a roster of global artists set across its main stage and the intimate UNSEEN Club Room. Days unfold at SEEN Eatery, a relaxed seaside dining space blending Tokyo-inspired flair with Latin heat in sharing plates built for long afternoons by the water. Nights shift into deeper sets, sculptural lighting and high-intensity shows before rolling into a festive programme that includes Christmas brunch, New Year’s Eve fireworks and weekly O Beach Ibiza takeovers every Sunday in January. With seamless flow between dining, dancing and beachfront lounging, CLUB SEEN positions itself as the island’s defining party destination for the season. Prices vary. Tickets and dining reservations via clubseenkohsamui.com. CLUB SEEN Koh Samui, daily hours vary.

Missed the last super full moon? Here's your chance to make amends with a stargazing session at Bangkok Planetarium on December 19-20. The planetarium throws open its doors in the evening as part of the Night at the Museum Festival, an annual event that sees 53 museums across Thailand stay open late for nighttime learning. Since Bangkok Planetarium doesn't usually do evening sessions, this is one of those rare opportunities to visit after dark. You'll get to explore the sky in two ways: inside the planetarium dome itself and through proper telescopes set up outside by the Astronomical Society of Thailand. Members will be on hand to guide you through real-time sky observation from early evening right through to late night, pointing out constellations and planets you might otherwise miss. There are over 20 free activities to get stuck into throughout the evening, so even if you're not an astronomy buff, there's plenty to keep you occupied. If you fancy catching one of the planetarium shows inside, you'll need to book tickets in advance. Special showtimes run on Friday December 19 at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm, with extra sessions on Saturday December 20 at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Tickets are remarkably cheap at B30 for children and B50 for adults, and can be purchased through the planetarium's website.  Head to the Bangkok Planetarium to stargaze on December 19-20, 6pm-8pm.

Central World has teamed up with Disney to turn Bangkok into a soft-focus winter fantasy called Disney The Magical Stars. Familiar faces have wandered south for the season, greeting visitors with the sort of enthusiasm that makes adults forget they’re meant to play it cool. The space unfolds in several pockets, each shaped by a different story. Mickey and his crew keep things cheerful, the Toy Story lot look ready to sprint out of the frame, Zootopia residents linger with city-slick confidence and Stitch behaves exactly as expected. A Frozen corner brings a welcome chill that Bangkok never quite manages on its own. Fans can roam at an easy pace, letting the glitter and nostalgia do the heavy lifting. A gentle way to wrap up the year with something warm, bright and a little sentimental. Until January 6 2026. Free. Central World, 10am-10pm

Anantara Hua Hin returns just in time for the year’s end with a full transformation that updates the brand’s first-ever resort for a new era. The December reopening reveals redesigned rooms and suites, an expanded beachfront, refreshed pools and a sharper, more contemporary interpretation of its original Thai-village inspiration. The main pool now sits within a lush oasis of towering palm trees, with new lounging decks that drift into the sea-facing landscape. Families get more room to roam thanks to an upgraded lagoon pool and bar, a reimagined kids’ club with creative play zones and the new mini farm, home to silkie chickens, pygmy goats and peacocks. Active travellers can get stuck into Muay Thai, pickleball, rock climbing and more at the revitalised sports zone. Dining also steps forward with renewed venues including Sea Fire Salt for prime cuts and seafood on Himalayan salt slabs, Rim Nam for bold Thai flavours and Issara Cafe for bright, breezy mornings. A polished reboot for one of Hua Hin’s most iconic beachfront escapes. Prices vary. Reservations via anantara.com/hua-hin. Anantara Hua Hin Resort, daily hours vary.

Twenty & One leans wholeheartedly into the season with a Christmas Eve buffet that has gathered every nostalgic flavour and polished it until it gleams. Guests wander from station to station, building plates that reflect equal parts comfort and ambition. Roasted turkey with cranberry sauce sits beside beef wellington wrapped in golden pastry, while honey-glazed ham waits to be carved with quiet ceremony. Seafood fans get their moment with grilled river prawns, squid and sea bass, plus an icy display of oysters, blue crab, mussels and poached tiger prawns. A pasta counter keeps things lively with truffle cream, arrabbiata or aglio e olio made on the spot. Desserts turn theatrical with crepes suzette set alight, fried ice cream, a rich yule log and classic pudding. Bingo, a lucky draw and seasonal games add a warm, cheeky finish to the night.   December 15-25. Starts at B1,990. Reserve via 02-127-5921.Twenty & One, Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok, 6am-midnight

Hope has a strange way of finding you when you least expect it, usually while you’re still adjusting your fringe in a mirrored wall. This exhibition leans into that feeling, pairing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with digital worlds that nudge you towards a lighter mood. The guide is Blossom Bloo, a soft-glowing creature with its loyal Seed, both drifting through scenes that chart the rhythms of a life lived in four chapters. The route begins at The Flower Shop, where you design a tiny seed that reappears later as part of a vast installation. Summer stretches out in a field of towering blooms, autumn follows with a golden oak shedding leaves that respond to your steps, then winter quietens everything with pale light and drifting snow. Spring closes the journey with a sweep of colour that feels a bit like exhaling after holding your breath too long.   Until March 26 2026. Free. 6/F, Iconsiam, 10am-10pm 

Aruta Soup’s first solo show in Thailand steps through a funhouse mirror and finds the reflections answering back. Mirror House gathers the artist’s drifting thoughts, the ones that sneak in when you’re not paying attention, and turns them into a world where nothing moves in a neat line. Possibilities scatter like constellations, forming patterns only after you’ve walked away and thought about them on the train home. At the heart of it all sits ZERO, the bandaged rabbit quietly watching the small dramas of daily life. Its gaze ties together motifs that seem unconnected at first glance. Bold strokes, restless colours and graffiti flourishes shape scenes that slip between outer reality and the unruly terrain of the mind. You leave catching those fine threads you almost missed.   Until December 21. Free. Maison JE Bangkok, 10am-7pm

Gallery VER’s 20th anniversary lands with a show that feels a bit like opening an old photo album and finding the pages humming. Rirkrit Tiravanija, the gallery’s co-founder, takes on curating duties for The Abyss Is Calling, gathering 47 artists who have shaped its story. The result leans less on nostalgia and more on tuning into the echoes left by two decades of shared rooms, late-night installs and conversations that stayed long after closing time. More than 50 works span painting, sculpture, installation, video and fragments from the archive. Together, they form a kind of collective memory, mapping the relationships between artists, curators, collectors and visitors. Walking through it feels like catching whispers from the past, a reminder of how art spaces hold people as much as objects.   Until January 31 2026. Free. Gallery VER, midday-6pm

In this quiet room, Tat Nattee lets you meet a group of children the world rarely pauses to understand. The project extends his Albino Kids series, which he has shaped across two years with a patience that feels almost parental. Each child is born under a spotlight they never asked for, forced to navigate sharp light and stranger’s eyes long before they learn their own wants. Nattee refuses to paint them as fragile. He treats them as thinkers, architects of their inner landscapes. Their strength comes not from performance but from the small decisions that build a sense of self. They do not retreat. They construct a private realm that belongs only to them, a place untouched by expectation.   December 7-January 11 2026. Free. Joyman Gallery, 11am-6pm