The Grand Palace
The Grand Palace (พระบรมมหาราชวัง) stands on Na Phra Lan Road in Phra Nakhon, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya, in the old Rattanakosin quarter. It is the royal palace of the Bureau of the Royal Household. In 1782 the new king moved the capital to this bank of the river and built a palace of 218,000 square metres, laid out like the palaces of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, with halls of residence, throne halls, administrative buildings, and a temple that serves as the Chapel Royal.
That temple, northeast of the Front Court, is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It has a cloister and no monks’ living quarters. Rama I placed the Emerald Buddha there and named the temple Wat Phra Si Rattanasasadaram, which people call Wat Phra Kaew. Twelve marble-based sala stand to the north and south of the Phra Ubosot, for sermons and chanting.
A foreigner’s ticket is 500 baht. It includes one visit to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew, and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles inside the compound. The ticket is valid for seven days, and it also covers one visit to the Arts of the Kingdom Museum at Ko Kret, Bang Pa-in, and Ayutthaya, plus one Khon performance at Sala Chalermkrung. Thai visitors enter free with an ID card.
The Thai contact page lists the palace as open every day from 08:30 to 16:30, with tickets sold until 15:30. The English contact page gives the same hours and the same ticket window, at 500 baht. The English practical-information note instead says the palace is open until 15:30, so the official pages do not agree on the closing time.
Dress rules are strict. Visitors may not wear sleeveless shirts, vests, short tops, see-through tops, short pants or hot pants, torn pants, tight pants, bike pants, mini skirts, pants-skirts, or sleeping suits.
The Chao Phraya Express Boat, orange flag, runs from Sathorn Pier to Tha Chang (N9). By MRT, leave at Sanam Chai Exit 1 and continue on bus 3, 9, 44, 47, 53, or 82. Buses listed as passing the palace are 1, 3, 9, 15, 25, 30, 32, 33, 43, 44, 47, 53, 59, 64, 80, 82, 91, 203, 503, 508, and 512. The contact number is +66-2-623-5500.
Photo: 20160727 Grand Palace Bangkok 5405.jpg by Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0 (2016).