Things to do in Bangkok: 17 experiences

1 to 2 hoursGo alone or with a tour

Old teak houses brought from Ayutthaya and reassembled on a canal, filled with the Asian art of the American who revived Thai silk.

About 1 hourGo alone or with a tour

A spiral stair of about 318 steps, lined with bells, up an artificial hill to a gilded chedi above Bangkok's old town.

Half a dayNo booking needed

The palace of the old viceroys, a short walk from the Grand Palace, now holds the country's main collection of Thai art and history.

1 hourFree

Bangkok's main flower market never closes, and it is at its busiest in the dark hours, when the new loads of flowers arrive.

1 to 2 hoursFree

Bangkok's central park at dawn: joggers, aerobics groups and large water monitors sunning themselves at the edge of the lake.

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

A working Red Cross institute that keeps venomous snakes to make antivenom, and shows visitors how the venom is extracted.

Half a day, with stopsGo alone or with a tour

The river bus Bangkok commutes on, stopping at the piers for the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and the flower market.

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

A loop of the river with no bridge and few cars, where raised concrete paths run through orchards, mangroves and stilt-house villages.

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

An open-air park laid out in the shape of Thailand, with 116 replicas of its temples and palaces, explored by bike or golf cart.

2 to 3 hoursBook ahead

Reach the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha's temple at the 8:30 opening, ahead of the heat and the tour coaches.

1.5 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Come in by the south gate to the 46-metre gold Reclining Buddha, then walk a complex of more than 1,000 Buddha images.

1 hour, plus sunset across the riverNo booking needed

Climb Wat Arun's porcelain-covered prang as it catches warm afternoon light, then cross back to watch it against the dusk.

2 to 3 hoursFree

Arrive hungry when Chinatown's neon comes on and share small portions from cart to cart down Yaowarat Road.

2 to 3 hoursFree

Graze your way down string-lit lanes on a first Bangkok evening, sharing small plates from stall to stall.

3 to 4 hoursFree

Spend a weekend morning among more than 15,000 stalls, eating as you go, before the inner alleys heat up.

1 to 2 hoursBook ahead

Watch the sun go down from an open-air roof 314 metres up, standing on a glass-floored tray over the edge.

An eveningFree

Watch Khao San Road change from shuttered strip to packed street as the tables spill out and the speakers come on.