Best Temples to visit in Bangkok

There are temples and shrines found all over the city of Bangkok Thailand. It would take weeks to get around to visit them all so here is your guide to the best temples to visit in Bangkok

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The Grand Palace Bangkok

Although the Grand Palace isn’t actually a temple, it does contain a number of important temples and shrines. The Imperial Palace is home to the Thai King and royal family. Built in 1782 it has many beautiful buildings throughout the grounds which is open to the public everyday from 8.30pm – 3.30pm. Best time to visit the Grand Palace is first thing in the morning. Get there by 8.30am to miss the Bangkok rush hour traffic and to miss all the crowds of people who come later in the day. The Grand Palace is the most visited tourist attraction in Bangkok. Entrance to the Grand Palace costs 500 Thai Baht (price as at October 2024).

The most important temple within the grounds of the Grand Palace is Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The building is impressive and houses a statue of the Buddha made from Emerald. You can now enter the temple (before you were unable to enter) but photography and video is forbidden within the temple. You can snap a picture from just out the front of the temple.

Warning – The Grand Palace grounds gets very crowded with people from all over the world. Some of these tourists don’t have any manners and will just push you out of the way (I’m talking to you Chinese tourists!)

The closest Public transport to the Grand Palace is the MRT Sanam Chai Train station which is around 5 minutes walk away.

Wat Pho – The Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho – The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is located right next to the Grand Palace. It has a seperate entrance and costs 100 Baht to go inside. The grounds of Wat Pho are quite large and it is not just the recling buddha that is worth visiting. There are many statues of Buddha throughout Wat Pho so take your time and wander around the grounds to discover.

Warnings – There are signs around Wat Pho warning you about pick-pockets, not local Thai pick-pockets but Non Thai Pick-pockets. Apparently there have been teams of European pickpockets working around the temples of Bangkok.

Close to Wat Pho is the Chao Phraya River where you will find Tha Tien Pier which has a shuttle ferry service across to Wat Arun.

Wat Arun – Temple of Dawn

Wat Arun – Temple of Dawn is a really impressive temple located on the western side of the Chao Praya River, diagnoally across from Wat Pho. The impressive main prang / sprire of Wat Arun is 70 meters tall and can be viewed from many parts of the river. This prang represents Mount Meru which is in the centre of the universe according to Buddhist cosmology. Entrance fee into Wat Arun is 100 Baht *as at Oct 2024. Open daily from 8am – 5.30pm. At night time Wat Arun is lit up by lights so an impressive site from the opposite side of the river. You can catch a ferry across to Wat Arun from the Sathorn Pier ferry terminal right in front of Sapphan Taksin BTS Skytrain station. The Hop On Hop Off Ferry service leaves from Sathorn Pier. A one way ticket from Sathorn Pier to Wat Arun will cost 40 Baht or you can pay 150 Baht for a one day pass.

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The Biggest Golden Buddha in Bangkok

The biggest Buddha in Bangkok is found at Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen located in the Thon Buri area of Bangkok, west of the Chao Phraya River, on the opposite side from the main tourist area. A taxi from central Bangkok will take around 25 minutes or you can get BTS close to the temple, with a 20 minute walk from the station or get a motorbike taxi from the station to the temple. I think the best way to get to The Big Buddha is by hiring a private Long-Tail boat which will cost 2000 Baht for a 2 hour tour.

This 69 meter tall Golden Buddha statue was completed in 2021, through the temple itself dates back to 1610. Not many tourists visit this temple but I rate it as a must visit when in Bangkok.

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Wat Kalayanamitra Temple – Large Golden Sitting Buddha

Wat Kalayanamitra is only 500 meters away from Wat Arun, also on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. I think Wat Kalayanamitra has one of the best Sitting Golden Buddha statues in Bangkok. The sitting Buddha statue at Wat Kalayanamitra is over 20 feet talls (more than 6 meters), housed in the main temple building. There is a ferry wharf out the front of the temple but there are no regular ferry services to stop here. The best way to get here is to get the ferry across to Wat Arun (see above) and then you can walk down to see the sitting Buddha statue in around 10 minutes. There is no entrance fee to Wat Kalayanamitra.

If you walk out the back of Wat Arun, it will be easy to grab a taxi or a motorcycle taxi to take you to Wat Kalayanmitra. The motorcycle taxi will only cost 20 Baht.

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Wat Traimit – The Temple of the Golden Buddha

The Temple of the Golden Buddha is located close to Bangkok’s Chinatown area. Unlike the Emerald Buddha the Golden Buddha is nice and large and you can get up close to take photos but you are unable to take video. The Golden Buddha is made from real solid gold, all 5.5 tons worth. This is the world’s largest solid gold statue of Budda. The current value of the gold would be close to half a billion US dollars. The Temple of the Golden Buddha is open daily from 8am to 5pm. Entrance fee is 100 Baht.

Wat Saket – The Golden Mount

The Golden Mount (Wat Saket) is one of my favourite temples in Bangkok. Not only are the grounds lovely but when you climb to the top of the Golden Mount you can get great views over Bangkok. And it is free entry into the temple! The gardens around the Golden Mount are lovely with loads of statues of Buddha.

The Golden Mount is a Buddhist temple that dates back to around 1350AD. There are 344 steps to get to the top of the temple. At the top there are various statues of Buddha either sitting or laying down. On the roof of the temple is a Golden Stupa which has a relic of the Buddha inside, which makes this site very sacred.

The Golden Mount is open daily 7.30am – 5.30pm. Entrance fee to the Golden Mount is 100 Baht.

Erawan Shrine

Erawan Shrine is the most important Hindu shrine in Bangkok. This small shrine is located right next to the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. The statue in the centre of the shrine depicts the Hindu god Brahma the creator. There are always people at the shrine during the day or evening offering flowers, fruit, drinks and prayers. Along the road outside of the shrine there are always stalls selling the flower offerings.

Wat Poramaiyikawat – Reclining Buddha

Wat Poramaiyikawat is located on Koh Kret which is a small island in the middle of the Chao Phraya River, around 45 minutes drive north of Bangkok. This temple is actually outside of Bangkok, in the next province of Nonthaburi, though close enough to do an easy half day trip to. There are more than 20 temples on Koh Kret but Wat Poramaiyikawat is the more interesting. The best statue is the reclining Buddha which is 9.5 meters. Just at the back of this main temple building is another interesting Buddha statue called Phra Nonthamunin. Right out the front of Wat Poramaiyikawat, on the banks of the Chao Phraya River is the leaning stupa where you will see many local Thais bowing down in front of to make worship.

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