The Bangkok City Pillar Shrine is a small, golden-roofed building housing the foundation stone that marks the official birth of the city. King Rama the First ordered it placed here in seventeen eighty-two when he moved the capital across…
Rattanakosin Historic Temples
Walk the historic heart of Bangkok to experience the grandest royal temples and spiritual monuments that anchor the nation's heritage.
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1. Bangkok City Pillar Shrine
2. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha sits within the Grand Palace walls, identified by the brilliant gold mosaics and tiered roofs that catch the Bangkok sunlight. King Rama the First built this complex in seventeen eighty-four to house the…
3. Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan
The reclining Buddha at Wat Phra Chetuphon rests forty-six meters long, his head supported by his right arm in a pose signaling the final moments before entering nirvana. Covered in gold leaf, the statue fills the prayer hall with a scale…
4. Wat Ratchabophit Sathitmahasimaram Ratchaworawihan
Wat Ratchabophit wears a circular outer wall of Italian-style marble, a sharp contrast to the typical gilded wood and clay tiles of Bangkok temples. King Chulalongkorn ordered its construction in eighteen sixty-nine to serve as a royal…
5. Wat Suthat Thepwararam Ratchaworamahawihan
Wat Suthat stands out for the massive red swing frame, the Sao Chingcha, looming over the entrance. King Rama the First commissioned this temple to house a magnificent bronze Buddha statue brought down from Sukhothai. During the formal…
6. The Giant Swing
The Giant Swing stands as a pair of towering red pillars connected by a carved crossbar, rising over seventy feet above the square in front of Wat Suthat. Originally constructed in seventeen eighty-four, it served as the site for an annual…