One of 2 self-guided walks in Bangkok. See every walk.
In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Start at Wat Saket (The Golden Mount) and finish at Tha Chang Pier: a 3.2-kilometre walking route taking 3.5 to 5 hours with temple visits. Foreign adult entry is 300 THB for Wat Pho; Wat Saket and Wat Suthat charge foreign visitors at the gate, and the Giant Swing and Saranrom Royal Garden cost nothing. The walk skirts the exterior ramparts of the Grand Palace; entering the inner palace requires a separate 500 THB ticket, with the counters closing at 15:30. Dress politely throughout, and wear shoes you can slip off. Finish at Tha Chang Pier for river ferries or express boats. Or book a tour: the two-hour heritage walkad (from ฿990, 4.4 stars from 5 reviews) covers the Giant Swing, Loha Prasat and the Golden Mount with a guide, covering the first half of this route in about two hours.
⚠️ Temple dress codes. Dress politely at every temple on this route: Wat Pho does not allow shorts, and the Grand Palace has a list of banned clothing. Slip-on shoes save time, as shoes must be removed before stepping into active prayer halls (ubosots).
The route
Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order
Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions on your phone.
The old royal quarter of Rattanakosin sits inside a canal moat built in 1782 when King Rama I founded the capital. The route runs from the eastern canal fortification westward to the Chao Phraya River. Prices are the foreign adult rates in Thai baht (THB) where the operator publishes them.
| Stop | Entry (adult) | Open | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Wat Saket (The Golden Mount) | Paid at the gate | Daytime | Steps wrap around the shaded artificial hill to a golden chedi |
| 2. The Giant Swing and Wat Suthat | Swing plaza free; temple paid at the gate | Daytime | 21-metre red teak swing outside; 19th-century murals inside |
| 3. Wat Ratchabophit | Check at the gate | Daytime | Hand-painted glazed Benjarong exterior tiles and Italianate Gothic interior |
| 4. Saranrom Royal Garden | Free | Daytime | Former palace park with shaded walking loops, ponds, and open pavilions |
| 5. Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha) | 300 THB | Daily 08:00 to 19:30 | 46-metre gilded reclining Buddha and national traditional massage centre |
| 6. Grand Palace Perimeter and Sanam Luang | Perimeter free (palace 500 THB) | Palace daily 08:30 to 15:30 | White crenellated palace ramparts facing the royal ceremonial green |
| 7. Tha Chang Pier | Free (orange-flag boat 19 THB) | Boat times vary | Express boat pier, fruit stands, and passenger ferry connections |
Tours that cover this route
The route is free to walk and every stop is marked below. A guide adds the stories behind the temples and a fixed start time. Each of these is sold on GetYourGuide.
Guided heritage walk on the Giant Swing side
From ฿990 · 4.4 stars from 5 reviews · 2 hours · walking
Bangkok Heritage Walk: Temples, Giant Swing & Golden Mountad: a guided walk through the historic centre that takes in the Giant Swing, Loha Prasat (the metal-spired building at Wat Ratchanaddaram) and the Golden Mount, with the history and Buddhist practice behind each. It covers stops 1 and 2 of this route, not Wat Pho or the palace.
Golden Mount, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace
From ฿671 · 4.9 stars from 15 reviews · 4 hours · tuk-tuk
Bangkok: Grand Palace, Wat Pho & Golden Mount City Tourad: climbs the Golden Mount first, then continues by tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace, and Wat Pho in the title. It joins this walk’s two ends by tuk-tuk instead of on foot.
Wat Pho, then the old town by tuk-tuk
From ฿1,790 · 4.9 stars from 47 reviews · 3 to 4 hours · tuk-tuk
Bangkok: Temple and Tuk-Tuk Old Town Tourad: an English-speaking guide takes you through Wat Pho and then round the old town by tuk-tuk. It meets at MRT Sanam Chai station, exit 1, or the main entrance of Museum Siam, and the listing says the Wat Pho ticket, 300 THB, can be paid up front.
Bike tour of temples and canals
From ฿750 · 4.9 stars from 4,129 reviews · 3 hours · cycling
Bangkok: Temples, Canals & Local Life Bike Tourad: a three-hour bike ride through temples, canals and local neighbourhoods. It is a different route from this walk, for anyone who would rather cycle.
1. Wat Saket (The Golden Mount)
344 Chakkraphat Diphon Road, Pom Prap Sattru Phai
Wat Saket dates from the Ayutthaya period. Its prominent feature is Phu Khao Thong (The Golden Mount), an artificial hill rising 80 metres above the Bangkok lowlands, built after an earlier chedi collapsed into the marshy ground under King Rama III. King Rama IV and King Rama V reinforced the mound with teak timbers and stone retaining walls, topping it with a gilded stupa enshrining Buddhist relics brought from India.
Visitors climb wide, shallow steps winding clockwise through shaded hillside gardens with misty water sprayers, ringing bells, and miniature shrines. The terrace at the summit provides an uninterrupted 360-degree panorama of Rattanakosin Island, the Rama VIII suspension bridge to the north, and the modern financial skyline to the east. The ticket counter sits at the base of the staircase and accepts cash in Thai baht.
2. The Giant Swing and Wat Suthat
Swing plaza free · Bamrung Mueang Road
Walking 550 metres west along Bamrung Mueang Road brings you to the Giant Swing (Sao Chingcha). The 21-metre-tall red-painted teak frame was erected in 1784 for the Brahmanic Triyampawai ceremony, in which teams of men swung high in the air attempting to catch a bag of silver coins tethered to a pole with their teeth. The ceremony was suspended in 1935 for safety reasons, but the structure stands on a central pedestrian island outside Bangkok City Hall.
Behind the swing stands Wat Suthat Thepwararam, a primary royal temple begun under King Rama I in 1807. The central prayer hall contains the Phra Si Sakyamuni, an imposing 8-metre bronze Buddha cast in Sukhothai in the 14th century and transported by river barge to Bangkok. The interior walls feature extensive 19th-century fresco murals depicting daily Thai street life alongside Buddhist cosmology. Foreign visitors buy the entry ticket at the side entrance pavilion.
The viharn at Wat Suthat. Photo: Marcin Konsek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
3. Wat Ratchabophit
Atsadang Road, Wat Ratchabophit
Head 350 metres south-west along Ti Thong Road to Wat Ratchabophit Sathitmahasimaram. Built in 1869 under King Rama V (King Chulalongkorn), the complex presents an unusual architectural hybrid: the exterior circular cloister and 43-metre gilded chedi are clad in thousands of hand-painted, glazed Benjarong ceramic tiles, while the interior of the ordination hall was designed by Italian architects in a Gothic-revival aesthetic with gilded vaults and crystal chandeliers.
The chedi and cloister at Wat Ratchabophit. Photo: Kriengsak Jirasirirojanakorn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The western compound houses the Royal Cemetery, where ornate neo-Gothic, Khmer-style, and traditional Thai shrines house the ashes of King Rama V’s consorts, princes, and royal descendants. Dress modestly.
4. Saranrom Royal Garden
Free · Between Sanam Chai Road and Atsadang Road
Crossing the Atsadang canal over the ornate Pi Kun bridge leads into Saranrom Royal Garden. Established in 1866 as the private botanical gardens for Saranrom Palace, the grounds opened to the public in 1960.
The park offers a quiet green escape with shaded paved paths, octagonal Victorian bandstands, koi-filled ponds, and ancient banyan trees. Local residents gather here for tai chi in the early mornings and open-air aerobics in the late afternoons. Public restrooms and cold drinking water dispensers are located near the western gate on Sanam Chai Road.
5. Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
300 THB · daily 08:00 to 19:30 · 2 Sanam Chai Road, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang
Exiting Saranrom Park through the west gate puts you opposite Wat Pho, one of Bangkok’s oldest and largest temple complexes. The star attraction is the colossal Reclining Buddha (Phra Phuttha Saiyat), measuring 46 metres in length and 15 metres in height. The statue is covered in gold leaf, with the soles of the feet inlaid in mother-of-pearl illustrating 108 auspicious laksanas (sacred characteristics) of the Buddha.
Along the corridor behind the statue, visitors can drop coins into 108 bronze alms bowls for good fortune (bowls of coins are sold inside). Outside the main hall, four monumental 42-metre chedis decorated with glazed floral tiles commemorate the first four Chakri monarchs. Wat Pho is also the national headquarters for the preservation and teaching of traditional Thai medicine and massage. Thai massage is given at the temple’s medical school from 340 THB for 30 minutes and 520 THB for an hour (watpho.com).
6. Grand Palace Perimeter and Sanam Luang
Perimeter free (Palace 500 THB) · Palace daily 08:30 to 15:30 · Na Phra Lan Road
From Wat Pho’s northern gate on Thai Wang Road, walk 250 metres north along the towering white ramparts of the Grand Palace. The walls enclose 218,000 square metres of royal ceremonial halls, throne rooms, and Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Across the road to the north extends Sanam Luang, the vast oval public green where royal cremations and the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony take place.
If you choose to visit the interior complex, review Grand Palace tickets for entry protocols. Foreign admission is 500 THB, ticket booths close at 15:30, and the palace refuses entry in sleeveless shirts, vests, short or see-through tops, shorts, torn or tight trousers, bike pants and mini skirts. If you are completing this route as a walking survey, following the perimeter pavement around the western corner along Maha Rat Road provides clear views of the golden chedi spires without entering the ticket gates.
7. Tha Chang Pier
Free (orange-flag boat 19 THB) · Maha Rat Road, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang
Turn west down Na Phra Lan Road to Tha Chang Pier (Pier N9) on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. Renovated with modern pontoon walkways, the pier terminal features fruit vendors selling chilled pomelo, mango, and fresh coconut water.
Tha Chang is a key transport hub. From here, you can board the Chao Phraya Express Boat (Orange Flag, 19 THB flat fare) heading south towards Chinatown, Iconsiam, and BTS Saphan Taksin, or cross the river on the shuttle ferry to explore the riverside neighbourhoods of Thonburi.
The best day to go
| Day | Sights open on route | Special notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | Grand Palace and Wat Pho open | The Khon show at Sala Chalermkrung runs at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00 |
| Saturday and Sunday | Grand Palace and Wat Pho open | No Khon show |
Recommended timing: Begin at Wat Saket at 08:30 to climb the hill before midday heat builds. Reach Wat Suthat by 10:00, take a shaded break in Saranrom Garden by 11:30, and explore Wat Pho between 12:30 and 14:00. This timing allows you to reach Tha Chang Pier for a riverboat journey in the cooler late afternoon.
Getting there and back
- To the start: The eastern moat canal is served by the Saen Saep canal boat. Ride the Golden Line boat to the western terminus at Panfa Leelard Pier, which sits 200 metres north of Wat Saket. Alternatively, take the MRT Blue Line to Sam Yot station, followed by a walk north along Mahachai Road.
- From the end: Tha Chang Pier connects directly to the Chao Phraya Express Boat network. Board the Orange Flag boat south to Marine Department Pier for Chinatown and Talat Noi walk, or ride to Sathorn Pier to connect to the BTS Skytrain Silom Line at Saphan Taksin station. For rail travel, MRT Sanam Chai station sits 800 metres south of the Grand Palace perimeter.
What to do next
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Cross the river: take the cross-river ferry from Tha Tien Pier (just south of Tha Chang) to Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), paying in cash at the turnstile; Wat Arun tickets has the rest.
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Go inside: prices, hours and tours for the two big stops are in Grand Palace tickets and Wat Pho tickets. For an evening, Muay Thai at Rajadamnern Stadium is a short ride from Wat Saket.
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Chinatown route: Connect via express boat to continue with the Chinatown and Talat Noi walk.
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Food nearby: Walk 400 metres east from Wat Saket down Maha Chai Road to sample classic dishes in our guide to the best Pad Thai in Bangkok, or browse food styles in where to eat in Bangkok.
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Full city guide: Read the complete Bangkok travel guide for airport transit and temple ticketing schedules.
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Eat on the way: the Giant Swing district has K. Panich (mango sticky rice) and Kolun.h (Hainanese rice noodles), and Pad Thai Fai Ta Lu is on Dinso Road; all three are in where to eat in Bangkok.
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What to wear: the temple rules are in Bangkok etiquette.
Common questions
How long is the Rattanakosin old city walk?
The walk covers 3.2 kilometres between Wat Saket and Tha Chang Pier. Walking time is approximately 45 minutes, but exploring the temples, climbing the Golden Mount, and visiting Wat Pho takes between 3.5 and 5 hours.
What is the best day of the week to do this walk?
Any day works for Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, which are open daily. Go in the morning, before 10:30, for cooler temperatures and lighter crowds. The Khon show at Sala Chalermkrung, which the Grand Palace ticket covers, runs Monday to Friday only.
How much do the entries cost along this route?
Wat Pho costs 300 THB and the inner Grand Palace complex costs 500 THB. Wat Saket and Wat Suthat charge foreign visitors at the gate, and the Giant Swing, Saranrom Royal Garden and the palace perimeter cost nothing to see.
What is the dress code for temples along this walk?
Dress politely at every temple and wear shoes you can slip off. Wat Pho does not allow shorts. The Grand Palace refuses entry in sleeveless shirts, vests, short or see-through tops, shorts, torn or tight trousers, bike pants and mini skirts.
Where does the walk start and finish?
The route begins at Wat Saket (The Golden Mount) in Pom Prap Sattru Phai and finishes at Tha Chang Pier (N9) on the Chao Phraya River, directly west of the Grand Palace.
