Bangkok Neighbourhoods

Bangkok doesn't have a single centre. It's a collection of very different districts — royal, commercial, residential, nocturnal — joined by two Skytrain lines, a metro loop and a river. Once you understand how the nine areas below fit together, everything else about planning the city gets easier.

How the city fits together

Think of Bangkok in three bands:

• Along the river, in the west: the Old Town, Chinatown and the Riverside. This is historic Bangkok — temples, shophouses and grand old hotels — connected by the river boats and the MRT.
• Downtown, in the middle: Siam, Silom and Sathorn. Malls, offices, Lumphini Park and rooftop bars, at the heart of the BTS network.
• East and north: Sukhumvit, stretching east along the BTS, and Ari to the north, near Chatuchak.

The distance from the Old Town to Thong Lo in Sukhumvit is only around 10 kilometres, but by road at rush hour it can take over an hour. By MRT it's about 35 minutes. That gap is why choosing areas carefully matters.

Historic Bangkok

• Bangkok Old Town (Rattanakosin)The historic royal heart of the city, and where most first trips begin. It is also more pleasant to stay in than most visitors assume.
• Bangkok Chinatown (Yaowarat)Chinatown is two places: a hectic wholesale district by day and one of the world's great street-food streets by night. Plan for both.
• Bangkok RiversideThe riverside is Bangkok at its most romantic and, thanks to the boats, better connected to the Old Town than anywhere on the BTS.

Downtown

• Siam, BangkokSiam is the centre of modern Bangkok and the point where the city's two BTS lines meet. It is convenient rather than characterful — which, for a first trip, is often exactly right.
• Pratunam, BangkokPratunam is Bangkok's wholesale clothing district: chaotic, cheap and five minutes' walk from the Siam malls. It's a shopping destination first and a budget base second.
• Silom, BangkokSilom works hard by day and plays by night. It is one of the best-value bases in central Bangkok, with both the BTS and MRT on hand.
• Sathorn, BangkokSathorn is Silom's more polished neighbour: fewer street stalls, more hotel bars, and some of the best views in Bangkok from its towers.

East and north

• Sukhumvit, BangkokSukhumvit isn't a neighbourhood; it is a 20-kilometre road. Which stretch you choose changes your trip more than which hotel you book.
• Ari, BangkokAri is where you go to see how Bangkok lives when it isn't hosting visitors. It is not a sightseeing destination — that is the point.

Areas covered within other guides

Some districts are covered as part of a larger guide rather than on their own pages, because one page serves visitors better:

• Asok, Phrom Phong, Thong Lo and Ekkamai — sections of the Sukhumvit guide.
• Chatuchak — the weekend market and parks, in the markets guide and the Ari guide.
• Thonburi — the west bank of the river, in the Chao Phraya River guide and the Riverside guide.

Choosing where to stay

If you're reading this to decide on a base, go straight to where to stay in Bangkok, which compares the areas side by side for first-timers, families, couples, nightlife and budgets.