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⭐ Highlights

3 Days in Bangkok — Essential Highlights

Grand Palace at dawn, street food by the UN-endorsed bowl and the world's highest open-air bar

📍 Bangkok, Thailand 📅 3-day itinerary

Bangkok in 3 days: gold-leaf temple spires above tuk-tuks, pad thai from a wok-blackened cart, canal boats through the khlongs and rooftop cocktails above the city of angels.

Also explore Bangkok for:

📋 General guide ⭐ Highlights

Grand Palace, Wat Pho & Chao Phraya river

08:00

🏯 Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew — the Emerald Buddha

Thailand's most sacred site: 66cm jade Buddha in gold robes, within a palace complex of golden spires.

⏱ 3 hrs 💶 ฿500

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

12:00

🛕 Wat Pho — 46m reclining Buddha and Thai massage for ฿420

The oldest temple in Bangkok: the gilded reclining Buddha with mother-of-pearl feet, then a massage.

⏱ 2 hrs 💶 ฿200

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

15:00

⛵ Chao Phraya express boat to Wat Arun at golden hour

River bus used by locals: ฿15 single trip past temple spires to the Chinese porcelain tower at sunset.

⏱ 3 hrs 💶 ฿115

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

19:30

🍜 Riverside dinner — tom yum and green curry

Fiery lemongrass prawn soup and wok-charred pad thai at a terrace restaurant opposite Wat Arun.

⏱ 2.5 hrs 💶 ฿300–600

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

Floating market, Chatuchak & Sky Bar at 247m

06:00

🛶 Damnoen Saduak Floating Market — boats piled with tropical fruit

The canal market that defines Bangkok in every photograph: straw hats, wooden boats, dawn mist.

⏱ Half day 💶 ฿200–400

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

12:30

🛍️ Chatuchak Market — 15,000 stalls, 35 acres

The world's largest weekend market: vintage, Thai craft, antiques, plants and outstanding street food.

⏱ 3 hrs 💶 Free

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

20:00

🍸 Sky Bar at 247m — the Hangover II rooftop view

The world's highest open-air bar: Bangkok's neon skyline and the river from 63 floors up.

⏱ 2 hrs 💶 ฿600–1,200

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

Chinatown food tour, Jim Thompson House & Golden Mount sunset

11:00

🏠 Jim Thompson House — Thai silk, Asian antiques, 1967 mystery

Six joined teak houses of the man who vanished in 1967, containing the finest private Asian art collection in Bangkok.

⏱ 2 hrs 💶 ฿200

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

14:00

🍢 Street food tour — khao man gai, mango sticky rice, som tam

The UN FAO's best street food on earth: poached chicken rice, papaya salad, coconut pancakes.

⏱ 3 hrs 💶 ฿200–400

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

18:00

🌅 Wat Saket — 318 steps to the best sunset view in old Bangkok

The Golden Mount: temple bells and prayer flags, the Rattanakosin skyline in gold at sunset.

⏱ 1.5 hrs 💶 ฿20

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

21:00

🦆 Yaowarat Chinatown — roast duck, dim sum and grilled squid

The best street food street in Asia: neon signs, ฿40 dishes and roast duck piled on rice at midnight.

⏱ 2.5 hrs 💶 ฿200–500

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

📍 Route map

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

📋 General 3-day guide ⭐ Highlights

Book tours, tickets and experiences via GetYourGuide — free cancellation on most activities.

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📍 Chao Phraya riverfront — the most legendary address in Asia, directly on the river opposite Wat Arun

The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (1876, the oldest hotel in Thailand, the most storied hotel in Southeast Asia — Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Noel Coward and every major 20th-century author who passed through Asia stayed here) is still the finest hotel in Bangkok. The Authors' Wing, the Riverside dining, the legendary Thai massage and afternoon tea, and the Chao Phraya view make it an experience unlike any other in Asia.

From €380/night

🏨 View on Booking.com

Language	Thai. English widely spoken in tourist areas, hotels, upscale restaurants. Basic phrases: "sawasdee krap/ka" (hello, male/female), "khob khun krap/ka" (thank you), "mai ao" (I don't want it). The "ka/krap" politeness particle is added at the end of every sentence in formal interaction
Currency	Thai Baht (฿). €1 ≈ 38 THB. ATMs everywhere (฿220 fee per withdrawal). Cards accepted at malls, hotels and mid-range restaurants. Cash essential for street food, tuk-tuks, markets and temples. Street food: ฿40–100 per dish. BTS/MRT: ฿16–59 single
Transport	BTS Skytrain (elevated metro, 47 stations, ฿16–59) + MRT (underground, 38 stations) cover most tourist areas. Grab app (Uber equivalent) for taxis — agree price or use meter. Tuk-tuks for short distances (negotiate hard, avoid gem shop tours). Chao Phraya Express Boat for river travel. Avoid street taxis offering unsolicited tours of gems/temples
Best time	November–February (cool season, 22–30°C, best weather). March–May is very hot (35–40°C). June–October is monsoon season (daily heavy afternoon rain but clear mornings — and dramatically lower prices). December–January most popular, book hotels early
Getting in	Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK): Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai station 30 min (฿45). Taxi: 45–75 min to CBD (฿300–500 meter + ฿75 expressway). Don Mueang Airport (DMK) for low-cost carriers: taxi 45–90 min. No train from Don Mueang to BTS directly
Tipping	Not customary in Thailand — do NOT tip unless you want to. Restaurants: rounding up is fine, 10% at upscale places if service was exceptional. Massage: ฿50–100 tip appreciated. Hotel porters: ฿20–50. Never tip monks (inappropriate)
Safety	Bangkok is very safe for tourists. The main risks: tuk-tuk gem scams (never accept a "free tour" to a gem shop from a stranger), taxi meter fraud (insist on meter), and personal belongings at crowded markets. Violent crime against tourists is extremely rare. The night scene (Patpong, Nana, Soi Cowboy) is legal but can involve pressure for drinks — know what you're entering
Budget tips	Street food meal: ฿40–100 (€1–3). BTS single trip: ฿16–59. Wat Pho massage: ฿420. Water from 7-Eleven: ฿7. Bangkok is one of the best-value cities on earth for quality — budget €30–40/day for very comfortable street food and transit travel