An Insider's Guide to Bangkok — Michelin-starred Food, Rooftop Bars, and Luxury Hotels Included

The only guide to Bangkok you'll ever need, according to a local.

Bangkok, Thailand's kaleidoscopic capital, is everything, everywhere, all at once. It's both hypermodern and frozen in time, deeply traditional yet forward-thinking. Its streets smell of exhaust fumes and jasmine flowers, grilled meat and incense smoke. There are quiet, green corners (like Lumpini Park), and markets so colorful and chaotic (try Khlong Toei) that they'll make your head spin. One thing it's never, though, is boring — and it's no wonder, then, that Travel + Leisure chose Thailand as its 2025 Destination of the Year.

While many travelers merely use Bangkok as a quick stopover on the way to Thailand's southern islands or its mountainous north, the city deserves much more than a flying visit. With dozens of distinctively different neighborhoods, a Bangkok city trip is a giant choose- your-own-adventure game that could easily keep you busy for well over a week. You could go all in on history and roam around the timeworn alleyways of the temple-dotted Old Town, or live it up while sipping lemongrass-spiked mojitos at one of the rooftop bars in the ritzy Phloen Chit district. The hotel scene offers a pick-and-mix of time-tested grand dames and bold newcomers, while restaurants range from white-tablecloth establishments to Michelin-starred street food joints with tables spilling out on the sidewalk.

"The buzz of the city, the sizzling woks and neon signs of Chinatown, an endless array of tchotchkes at night markets, the smells of street food in the air, tuk-tuks and motorbikes whizzing by: Bangkok truly is a feast for the senses," says Catherine Heald, CEO of Remote Lands and a T+L A-List travel advisor specializing in Thailand. "And it's always changing quickly — there's something new every time you visit."

Bangkok, Thailand

• Slurp down a bowl of spicy noodles at one of the street food stalls lining Yaowarat Road in Chinatown.

• Shop for quirky souvenirs and Thai designer wares at one of the many shopping malls in the Siam district.

• Stop for a sundowner on the riverside terrace of the legendary Mandarin Oriental hotel — even if you're not spending the night.

• Visit the glittering temples in the storied Phra Nakhon district.

• Eat a Michelin-starred meal for a fraction of the price you'd pay for one back home.

Best Hotels & Resorts

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Even though this WBA Hall of Fame honoree along the Chao Phraya River has been in business for well over a century, it remains one of the city's finest places to stay. Regular renovations have kept its suites looking fresh and its facilities cutting-edge (think: massage treatments with CBD oil in the Oriental Spa and a new kaiseki restaurant by renowned Kyoto chef Takagi Kazuo), while beloved hangouts such as the jazzy Bamboo Bar and The Authors' Lounge deliver a hit of old-world nostalgia. Read T+L's full review of the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon

Taking over part of the pixelated King Power Mahanakhon skyscraper that towers over the Sathorn business district, The Standard's Bangkok outpost offers a playful alternative to the straight lines and beige color palette that dominate many of the city's other five-star stays. The rooms are colorful and funky, the public areas brim with contemporary art, and the restaurants — including the dazzling Ojo, a neo-Mexican establishment on the 76th floor — are worth a stop even if you're not sleeping over.

Dusit Thani Bangkok

This Bangkok stalwart has been around since the 1970s, but it emerged like new after a five-year, billion-dollar renovation that finished in 2024. Its new look is fresh and contemporary Thai, with suites clad in marble and silk and a host of restaurants that range from chichi Cantonese to fine Italian. There's a dreamy rooftop pool and a sprawling spa, but for all its luxe trimmings, it's the view over Lumpini Park, framed through wall-spanning windows in every room, that steals the show.

Capella Bangkok

This intimate, resort-style hotel has unmatched perks: All rooms and restaurants have front-row views of the Chao Phraya River; some suites open to Jacuzzi bathtubs on the balcony; and there are sprawling villas with private pools and tropical gardens right on the waterfront. It's no wonder, then, that it was voted one of Bangkok's best hotels by T+L readers.

Best Things to Do

Explore temples around the Old Town.

Most of Bangkok's grandest temples and palaces are conveniently located in a cluster around the Old Town, so you can easily check out Wat Arun, Wat Phra Kaew, and the giant reclining Buddha of Wat Pho in a single morning. Hit up the slightly less-visited (but no less dazzling) Loha Prasat, Wat Prayoon, or Wat Benchamabophit if you want to dodge the tourist crowds.

Browse Thai arts and antiques in the Erawan Museum.

The Erawan Museum is a unique option, according to Heald. "It’s located quite far from the riverside, so it doesn’t get many visitors. It has an impressive, giant three-headed elephant bronze sculpture on top, and within it is a private art collection of antiquities, heritage items, and ancient religious objects," she says. "The display is quite trippy, replete with stained glass and intricate stucco molding, as it's meant to serve as a visual representation of the three-tiered cosmology of Thailand’s Theravada Buddhism with an underworld, human world, and heaven."

Cycle across the Green Lung.

Once you arrive in Bang Krachao, a jungle-covered island in a bend of the Chao Phraya River, it's hard to believe the city center is just a few minutes away. A bicycle (for rent at various shops near the pier) is the best way to explore this jumble of rice fields, coconut plantations, and little-visited temples. Tip: Don't miss the Bang Nam Phueng floating market if you visit on a weekend.

Related: 22 Best Things to Do in Bangkok — From Rooftop Bars to Ancient Temples

Best Restaurants

Baan Ice

If you can't snag a table at Sorn, chef Supaksorn Jongsiri's hard-to-book southern Thai fine-dining restaurant, Heald suggests Baan Ice, Sorn's more accessible sibling. "The chef serves authentic, spicy southern Thai dishes inspired by his grandmother's recipes," she says, adding that "the dishes are shared family-style, so the dining experience is casual and relaxed."

100 Mahaseth

Carnivores will fall hard for this casual restaurant tucked away in the Bang Rak district, where the kitchen uses Thai-raised meats from nose to tail (think: dry-aged beef tongue, grilled pork shoulder, and larb with crispy duck chitterlings). Try the duck beak fries if you're feeling particularly adventurous. Most recipes find their roots in northeast Thailand's Isan region, so the spice levels are turned up a notch.

Haoma

When it comes to sustainable dining, Michelin-starred Haoma is, by far, one of Bangkok's most ambitious addresses. For his playful neo-Indian tasting menus, chef Deepanker Khosla draws on ingredients from a wide network of carefully vetted farmers. He also grows many of the vegetables — and even tilapia fish — in the garden and aquaponics farm behind the restaurant.

Best Time to Visit

Bangkok, essentially, has two types of weather: hot and sticky, and hotter and stickier. During the dry season from March to May, temperatures often reach well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes getting around on foot a sweaty affair. (Luckily, most public areas such as restaurants, museums, and shopping malls have their air conditioning set to polar-cool.) Temperatures are more comfortable during the monsoon season from July to October, but you should expect the occasional downpour. And while weather conditions hit the sweet spot between November and February — not too hot, nor too wet — you'll have to pay top dollar for your hotel, as these months coincide with the tourist high season.

Every mid-April, locals and tourists armed with water guns and dressed in floral shirts turn the city into the world's largest water fight for Songkran (Thai New Year). Sidewalks around town become fair game for a "water blessing," but the biggest festivities take place around Silom, Khao San Road, and the square adjoining the Central World shopping mall. Around November, Thais celebrate Loy Krathong and worship the water gods with floating lanterns that turn Bangkok's ponds and waterways into a sea of lights.

How to Get There

Most visitors enter Bangkok through its main international airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), which sits about 45 minutes by car from the city center. If you're traveling light, the Airport Rail Link train is a slightly faster and much more affordable alternative. Domestic and regional low-cost airlines connect to Bangkok via Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), located about 45 minutes north of the city.

The popular night train to Chiang Mai, a go-slow and much more scenic alternative than the one-hour flight, leaves from the Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, which is accessible via the MRT. Buses to all corners of the country leave from three different terminals: buses heading north (to Chiang Mai, for example) take off from the Northern Bus Terminal (Mo Chit); buses to southern destinations such as Phuket leave from Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai), while the Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekkamai) serves destinations such as Pattaya, Koh Chang, and Hua Hin.

Neighborhoods to Visit

Phra Nakhon

Packed with golden stupas and royal palaces with glittering roofs, this historic corner is where you'll find most of Bangkok's postcard sights. Visit in the early morning to avoid the tour bus crowds, and make sure to come hungry, as Thai food stalwarts such as Thipsamai and Michelin-starred Raan Jay Fai call this district home.

Siam

With almost a dozen department stores and mega-malls lining both sides of its main road, Siam is, by far, Bangkok's best district for some retail therapy. You'll find the usual global luxury labels at Siam Paragon, while the Siam Discovery mall and boutique-packed Siam Square hit the spot for goods by up-and-coming Thai designers.

Chinatown

This high-octane confusion of clattering tuk-tuks, hidden shrines, and decades-old dim sum restaurants is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. Its neon-lit main drag, Yaowarat Road, turns into a giant night market after sunset, and those in the know flock to the hip cocktail bars (such as Asia Today and Ba Hao) around Soi Nana after they've had their noodle fix.

How to Get Around

With routes crisscrossing all corners of the city, the underground MRT system and the overground BTS Skytrain are often the fastest ways to get from A to B — especially given Bangkok's notorious traffic jams. For shorter distances, motorcycle taxis are available on every other street corner (be sure to carry cash), while the Grab ride-sharing app is a hassle-free alternative to hailing down a classic taxi on the street.