Itinerary · Bangkok · Thailand
One day in Bangkok
A day-by-day plan grouped by neighbourhood, so you spend your time seeing Bangkok, not crossing it.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
One day is a taster: the plan below covers the essentials, but most visitors want 4. Day 1: Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho. Base yourself in Rattanakosin (Old Town).
Key facts
- Days
- 1
- Sights covered
- 5
- Day trips
- None
- Best base
- Rattanakosin (Old Town)
- Book ahead
- Nothing essential
Day by day
Day 1: Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho
Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, Bangkok National Museum and Museum Siam, then Chinatown and Yaowarat Road in the evening.
Morning
Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew
Arrive at opening to beat the heat and tour groups, and ignore anyone outside who says the palace is closed today; it is a well-known scam that ends at gem shops. Allow 2–3 hours.
Late morning
Wat Pho
Drop a coin into each of the 108 bronze bowls along the Reclining Buddha's back for luck, then book a massage at the temple's school. Allow 1.5 hours.
Lunch
Lunch: Pad thai
Street carts and specialist shops across the city, especially in the old town around the Golden Mount.
Afternoon
Bangkok National Museum
Use it as a rainy-season retreat in the old town; the Grand Palace is about a 10-minute walk away. Allow 2 hours.
Late afternoon
Museum Siam
Arrive or leave by MRT Sanam Chai, whose station hall is decorated like a royal palace. Allow 1.5 hours.
Evening
Chinatown and Yaowarat Road
Go after 6pm for the food, take the MRT to Wat Mangkon, and eat at stalls with queues of locals.
Before you go
If it rains
- Swap in Jim Thompson House (Pathum Wan): Combine it with the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre near BTS National Stadium, a few minutes' walk away.
- Swap in ICONSIAM (Thonburi riverside): Eat dinner at SookSiam, then watch the river from the terrace; arrive by shuttle boat or the Gold Line monorail.
- Swap in Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (Pathum Wan): Ride the escalators to the top floor and walk down the spiral ramp through the exhibitions.
Where to stay for this itinerary
$$$ · Best for culture, first-timers and couples
Rattanakosin (Old Town)
The royal island of palaces, temples and museums on the Chao Phraya
Pace and daylight
The sights in this plan add up to roughly 9–11 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 11.3 hours in December to 12.9 hours in June.
Getting between stops: Metro. The BTS Skytrain's Sukhumvit and Silom lines and the MRT's Blue Line loop link Siam, Sukhumvit, Silom, Chatuchak and Chinatown, and the Blue Line reaches Wat Pho at Sanam Chai; newer monorail lines serve the suburbs.
More or fewer days
Questions travellers ask
+Is one day enough in Bangkok?
One day is a taster: the plan below covers the essentials, but most visitors want 4. How many days Bangkok needs.