Siam District in Bangkok

Description of Siam District and what makes it interesting for tourists

Siam District is located in the very heart of Bangkok, and it is another popular platform for tourist shopping in Bangkok (Siam on the map). All the largest shopping malls, entertainment complexes, and luxury hotels are located here. The most fashionable and modern malls are located here: Central World, MBK, Gaysorn Plaza, Siam Paragon, Siam Square, Amarin Plaza, and many others. For budget purchases, there are Big C and Lotus's Go Fresh hypermarkets. And within walking distance are the inexpensive markets of the Pratunam district.

Most shopping malls are located at the intersection of the two main streets, Ratchadamri Road and Rama 1 Road, and here, above the road, a second level of covered pedestrian walkways has been built, connecting the main shopping centers. That is, you can walk from one shopping center to another without even going outside via the walkways. This pedestrian zone is called R-Walk.

Generally, to be completely precise, most of these shopping centers are located on the border between the Siam and Pratunam districts, so we attribute them to both of these districts. However, if choosing one of these two districts for a hotel, we honestly prefer Pratunam. The reason is that it's easier to find budget accommodation in Pratunam, and the district itself is more compact and easier to navigate on foot. And if, for example, you choose a hotel in the south of Siam District, you will have to walk a very considerable distance or even take transport to the aforementioned shopping centers.

The only weak point of Siam District is the small number of hotels. But if desired, you can find both budget accommodation and hotels of the highest class. You can find and book hotels in Siam District on the following websites, or via the search form below, and to choose a hotel by its location, see the map below:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Bangkok on Trip.com (👍 Mir cards work)
• 🛌 Hotels in Bangkok on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Map of Siam District with attractions, hotels, transport

How to get to Siam

Siam District is well covered by public transport, and it is not difficult to get here from the airport and other districts. The BTS Skytrain (6 stations) runs through the entire district, the underground MRT line runs along the southern border (from the Silom district side), and to the north (from the Pratunam district side) there is a canal (khlong) with regular boat service. Here are more details on how to get to Siam from different places in Bangkok:

• From Suvarnabhumi Airport

  A metered taxi ride from Suvarnabhumi will cost from 300 baht (9.19 USD, see Thailand currency and exchange rate), and will take 40-60 minutes. Additionally, you need to pay 50 baht for the tollway. Taxis are ordered at the counter upon exiting the terminal on the first floor (follow the Public taxi signs). It's better to decline offers for a fixed price as they are inflated. You can also find a taxi via the Grab, Maxim, or InDrive app, but Uber does not work here. See more details about Grab-taxi in Thailand and how to use it.

  It is cheaper and faster to take the airport rail link (ARL) with a transfer to the city BTS Skytrain. To do this, at the airport, go to the lowest level where the airport rail link station is located. ARL trains run from 06:00 to 24:00 with approximately 15-minute intervals. Buy a ticket at the machine for 45 baht, and in 26 minutes you will be at Phaya Thai station. At Phaya Thai, transfer to the city BTS line and go to the station you need in Siam. See all details about the Bangkok metro and how to use it here.

• From Don Mueang Airport

  A metered taxi ride from Don Mueang will cost from 350 baht (10.72 USD), and will take 40-60 minutes. It's also better to order a car at the counter in the arrival terminal, or using the Grab app. Additionally, you may need to pay 50 baht for the toll road.

  You can get there more budget-friendly by bus. It's best to take express bus A3. It departs directly from the terminal exit every 30 minutes from 7 am to 11 pm, costs 30 baht. It goes through the district directly along the main Ratchadamri Road.

  You can also get there on regular city buses for mere pennies – from 8 baht. Bus No. 504 goes along the main Ratchadamri Road, and routes A1, A2, A4, 59, 29, 510, 187, 538 go via the roundabout and Victory Monument metro station. City buses (A1-A4) do not depart from the Don Mueang terminal itself, but from a bus stop on the main road. It's a couple of minutes' walk from the terminal exit.

• From Hua Lamphong Railway Station

  If you arrive in Bangkok by train, a taxi ride from Hua Lamphong station will cost from 150 baht. But it's cheaper to take the metro with transfers. To do this, you need to transfer from the railway station to the Hua Lamphong MRT underground station, ride two stops to Silom MRT station. There you can transfer via a walkway to the BTS Skytrain at Sala Daeng station.

• From Khaosan Road District

  Unfortunately, there is no metro in the Khaosan area, so you need to get here by taxi, by canal boat, or by bus.

  • Taxi. A metered taxi ride will cost from 120 baht.
  • By canal boat. From Khaosan Street, walk towards the Golden Mount Temple Wat Saket. Near the temple on the canal is the final pier for canal boats Phan Fa (also Panfa Leelard). From here, boats depart to Pratu Nam pier in the north of Siam District every 20 minutes, costing 12 baht. Boats operate from 5:30 to 20:30 on weekdays, and from 5:30 to 19:00 on Saturday and Sunday. See More about canal boats in Bangkok.
  • By bus. From Democracy Monument to Siam District, bus No. 15 operates; from the Grand Palace, bus No. 508.

What to see in Siam District

There are several interesting places in Siam District worth visiting. Among them is one of the city's most unusual attractions – the Penis Shrine. Here is a list of the district's attractions with their opening hours, costs, and ways to get there.

• Jim Thompson House Museum

  

  The Jim Thompson House Museum is one of the most famous and visited museums in Bangkok. It's hard to define its theme precisely, as it mixes architecture, nature, history, and culture.

  The old house of American businessman Jim Thompson recreates the setting from his lifetime and displays works of art. A small beautiful garden is laid out around the house. After buying a ticket, you'll need to wait a bit (usually no more than 20 minutes) for the next group to gather, after which you will be guided through the house and told in detail about its history and the businessman's life. Tours are only available in English and French. Honestly, without the guide's story, visiting this place is not very interesting, and if you have trouble understanding spoken English or French, you won't get much pleasure from visiting the house museum, so you can skip it. Read more about Jim Thompson Museum.

  🕐 Opening Hours: from 09:00 to 18:00, no days off.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: 200 baht (6.13 USD), under 22 years – 100 baht, children under 10 years - free.

  🚶 How to Get There: the house-museum is located in the Pratunam district in central Bangkok at Soi Kasemsan 2 Song, entrance from the same street (museum on the map). Within a 10-minute walk from the museum are two BTS Skytrain stations: National Stadium (closest, 5 minutes walk), Ratchadewi (a bit further), and Siam. You can also get here by regular Golden Line boat via the canal to Ban Krua Nua pier (see more about water transport in Bangkok).

• Human Body Museum

  

  The Human Body Museum is not a traditional tourist museum; one could say it's an institutional museum, as it is located on the grounds of a medical university and hospital. However, anyone can visit it.

  The museum is not for the faint of heart, as its exhibits are human bodies and organs, located in two spacious and well-lit halls. Each exhibit is described in detail by an information plaque with diagrams in Thai and English. Overall, this museum somewhat resembles the other Siriraj Medical Museum in Bangkok, but much more modest and simpler. Read more about the museum.

  🕐 Opening Hours: Monday-Tuesday from 10:00 to 16:00; Saturday and Sunday – closed.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free, you can leave donations in the box at the entrance

  🚶 How to Get There: the museum is located in central Bangkok near the Siam BTS Skytrain station (Human Body Museum on the map). From the metro station, walk to the university complex and enter the grounds through the gate on the east side. Then walk to the corresponding building (better ask the security at the gate for directions), enter the main entrance, and take the elevator to the ninth floor with the guard's permission, where the two museum halls are located. There are no obstacles to visiting the museum; they let everyone in.

• Erawan Shrine

  

  This is one of the most important places of pilgrimage and worship in Bangkok, despite its unimpressive size. The shrine is a statue of the four-faced Brahma, a Hindu deity. Every day, a huge number of people come to this place; dance shows and chants are often held here. Tourists can freely come here, sit on the benches and observe the rituals, and if desired, they can light incense themselves, make offerings in the form of flowers, or bathe in sacred water. In general, this place is very atmospheric and interesting, and definitely worth a visit, especially if you are staying in the Pratunam or Sukhumvit districts. Read more about Erawan Shrine.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free.

  🚶 How to Get There: Located near BTS Chidlom Station next to the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel (Erawan Shrine on the map).

• Penis Shrine (Fertility Shrine) Chao Mae Tuptim

  

  An interesting place to visit, although it shouldn't be included in a mandatory program. You can visit it if you are somewhere nearby. Its charm is that it is a very rare and unique place, and few tourists have been here. The Penis Shrine, the Pregnant Shrine, or the Fertility Shrine is not actually a place of admiration for the male reproductive organ, but a place where people come to ask for offspring and fertility, or to give thanks for help to Buddha. And you can't really call this place a temple; it's just a shrine.

  According to legend, this place appeared after a woman who couldn't get pregnant for a long time asked a small shrine for offspring several years ago. After she had offspring, she brought a figurine of a male member to the shrine. Gradually, the shrine grounds filled with penis figurines, and now women come here every day to get hope of having children. Read more about the Penis Shrine (Fertility Shrine) Chao Mae Tuptim.

  🕐 Opening Hours: 24/7. In 2026, the shrine is pretty much abandoned. We don't recommend visiting it right now.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free.

  🚶 How to Get There: The shrine is located on the grounds of the Mövenpick Hotel, also known as Swiss Hotel, and it was called Nai Lert Bangkok Hotel just a few years ago (see on the map, location indicated with meter accuracy). The nearest metro stations to this place are: BTS Chit Lom and BTS Phloen Chit. From them, you can reach the shrine in a 10-minute walk. See more details via the link with the full description.

• Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World Aquarium

  

  The Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World aquarium (formerly called Siam Ocean World) is the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia. It features over 30,000 marine creatures and plants from all over the underwater world, including extremely rare representatives. Many of them are almost impossible for ordinary tourists to encounter in natural conditions.

  In addition to just inhabitants, there is a whole complex of exhibitions and interactive entertainment: unusual types of aquariums, fish massage, interactive panels, a 4D cinema, and much more. You can see how at certain times they feed large bloodthirsty sharks, ordinary fish, penguins, and other inhabitants. For an additional fee, you can descend in scuba gear and swim with sharks yourself, or observe the inhabitants from a boat with a transparent bottom. There is only one downside to visiting Bangkok Aquarium – the somewhat high cost. You should allocate at least 2 hours for the visit.

  🌐 Website: visitsealife.com

  🕐 Opening Hours: daily from 10:00 to 21:00, last entry at 19:30.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: entrance tickets to the aquarium are sold in several types with different programs. The cheapest standard ticket, including only aquarium admission, costs from 1190 baht adult / 990 baht child. A discount is provided when purchasing tickets on the official website.

  🚶 How to Get There: the aquarium is located in the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Siam District (aquarium on the Bangkok map). The most convenient way to get there is by BTS Skytrain to Siam station. From the Baiyoke Sky Tower area, you can walk in 20 minutes.

• R-Walk or Ratchaprasong Skywalk pedestrian zone

  

  The R-Walk or Ratchaprasong Skywalk pedestrian zone is a network of concrete pedestrian bridges in the Pratunam and Siam districts in the very center of Bangkok, located above the automotive roads and streets of this district for movement and walks. In case you're not yet aware, Pratunam is the main shopping district of Bangkok, modern and noisy, built up with skyscrapers and huge shopping centers. This is where such shopping malls as Central World, MBK, Gaysorn Plaza, Siam Paragon, the large Big C hypermarket, and a huge number of street markets are located. In general, if you're going shopping in Bangkok, it's definitely best to come here. Besides shopping centers, R-Walk is interesting because along it there are 8 important city shrines. Among them is the famous Erawan, as well as shrines to Ganesha, Lakshmi, and others. Read more about R-Walk or Ratchaprasong Skywalk.

  🕐 Opening Hours: from 06:00 to 24:00.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free.

  🚶 How to Get There: R-Walk is located in the center in the Pratunam district and passes above Ratchadamri, Rama I, and Phloen Chit streets (R-Walk or Ratchaprasong Skywalk pedestrian zone on the map). The easiest way to access it is by metro; two stations, Siam and Chit Lom, are located right on R-Walk and connected to it by walkways. And if you are staying in Pratunam district, walking to R-Walk on foot will not be difficult from almost anywhere in the district.

• Bangkok Art and Culture Centre

  

  This is the city's main platform for exhibiting works by local artists and designers. On seven floors of the center, a huge number of works are displayed, from simple painting to interactive installations, and the content is constantly changing. So even if you were here a couple of years ago, you can visit again; you won't recognize much. Recommended for all creative people. Read more about the exhibition center.

  🕐 Opening Hours: from 10:00 to 20:00, Monday – closed.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free.

  🚶 How to Get There: located in the center in Siam District (exhibition center on the map). You can get there by BTS Skytrain to National Stadium station.

• Snake Farm

  

  The Snake Farm at the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute is not at all like the places they take tourists to in Pattaya or Phuket. No tricks with reptiles are shown here to then sell tourists medicines and cosmetics. There is no mention of any rituals with drinking snake blood and eating its liver. Here, reptiles are raised for medical purposes, carefully cared for, and all of this is gladly explained to visitors. You can get acquainted with different types of snakes, read information about them, and watch a documentary film in English about handling these venomous creatures, safety measures, and first aid methods. Read more about Bangkok's snake farm.

  🕐 Opening Hours: from 09:30 to 15:30, no days off. Snake show at 14:30 on weekdays, 11:00 on weekends. Venom extraction only on weekdays at 11:00.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: adults 200 baht (6.13 USD), children - 50 baht, under 3 years free.

  🚶 How to Get There: the farm is located in the city center in Siam District (farm on the map). Within walking distance are Sam Yan and Silom MRT stations, Sala Daeng BTS station, and Lumpini Park.

• Lumpini Park

  

  For a hundred years now, Lumpini Park has been the most popular and largest park in Bangkok. Its area is over 57 hectares. On this green territory, there are two lakes where you can go boating; running and cycling/rollerblading paths; fountains; monuments; sports grounds; a swimming pool; a stage for events. Large monitor lizards live here; turtles and fish live in the pond. If you are used to thinking that a city park is a boring place for walks, here everything is different; something is often happening: mass exercise sessions, artist performances, traditional shows, competitions. Read more about Lumpini Park.

  🕐 Opening Hours: from 4:30 to 21:00.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free.

  🚶 How to Get There: located in the city center on the border of Silom and Siam districts (park on the map). You can get there by MRT to Silom station or by BTS to Sala Daeng station.

• Benchakitti Park

  

  Benchakitti Park is relatively new: it was founded in 1992 and officially opened only in 2004. And this, by the way, is noticeable, as work on improvement is still being carried out in some parts of the park. Nevertheless, if you have already been to Lumpini Park and seen all the interesting places in Bangkok, you can come for a walk here as well. There is a large lake with fountains, a running track around the perimeter, benches for rest, and beautiful views of Bangkok's skyscrapers. There are sports grounds, bicycle and catamaran rentals for boating on the lake, a free toilet, and special walkway-bridges have been made for walking through the green part of the park, passing over canals and clearings. There is also the building of the old tobacco factory of the Tobacco Authority of Thailand, which previously owned this land, and it houses a free exhibition of old tobacco machinery. And during holidays and festivals, the park becomes a venue for festive events. Read more about Lumpini Park.

  🕐 Opening Hours: from 05:00 to 21:00.

  💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices: free.

  🚶 How to Get There: located in central Bangkok in the Sukhumvit district (Benchakitti Park on the map). The most convenient way to get here is by Bangkok metro to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre MRT station or to the Asok BTS station. From Lumpini Park, you can reach it via a 1.3-kilometer-long pedestrian walkway-bridge.