Wat Arun Ratchawararam

On the west bank of Chao Phaya River
No. 34, Arun Amarin Road
Thonburi Yai District, Bangkok, Thailand

Established as Wat Makok (Olive Temple) during the days of Ayutthaya, Thailand's ancient capital (1350-1767), Wat Arun is now one of Thailand's most famous Buddhist temples. The prominent features include a central towering Khmer-style prang (phallic-shaped tower) and four smaller satellite prangs decorated with seashells and porcelain pieces. Additional features include an Ordination Hall with a Niramitr Buddha image, two terraces with steep steps providing panoramic views, images of ancient Chinese soldiers and animals, Chinese-style green granite pavilions on the waterside, landing bridges, and elaborate murals of Gautama Buddha encountering examples of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

พระพุทธมหามณีรัตนปฏิมากร
Na Phra Lan Road Phra Nakhon District Bangkok 10200 Thailand

Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand's most sacred and significant temple, houses the famous Emerald Buddha, a 75-centimeter image made around the 15th century. Perched high up inside a glass box, the image is believed to be a talisman of Thailand and its people. The Thai monarch clothes the image with a diamond-encrusted gold robe in summer, a solid gold robe in winter, and a gilded monk's robe in monsoon season. Many other tiny images of Buddha, a miniature model of the famous Cambodian temple complex Angkor Wat, life-size statues of the first seven kings of the Chakri Dynasty (Rama I to Rama VII), copies of Buddhist scriptures, and elaborate murals also adorn the temple.

วัดพระแก้ว

Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand's most sacred and significant temple, houses the famous Emerald Buddha, a 75-centimeter (29-inch) image made around the 15th century. Perched high up inside a glass box, the image is believed to be a talisman of Thailand and its people. The Thai monarch clothes the image with a diamond-encrusted gold robe in summer, a solid gold robe in winter, and a gilded monk's robe in monsoon season. Many other tiny images of Buddha, a miniature model Angkor Wat, lifesize statues of the first seven kings of the Chakri Dynasty (Rama I to Rama VII), copies of Buddhist scriptures, and elaborate murals also adorn the temple.

วัดเบญจมบพิตรดุสิตวนารามราชวรวิหาร

69 Rama V Road
Dusit District, Bangkok 10300, Thailand

Built around the late 19th century by King Rama V (also known as King Chulalongkorn), Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram is a stunning temple. The main feature is the four-sided Ubosot, or Ordination Hall, with a Sukhothai-style bronze Buddha statue named Phra Buddhajinaraja, the ashes of King Rama V beneath it, a row of nearly 52 additional Buddha images in its cloister, and a majestic marble lion guarding its entrance. Other features of this Buddhist temple include Thai art and architecture, Italian marble, three-gabled waterside pavilion called Saphannam Chao Khun Chom Marda Samlee and a decorated door panel.

วัดโพธิ์

2 Sanamchai Road, Grand Palace
Pranakorn District, Bangkok 10200, Thailand

Originally built during the Ayutthaya era and extending over 80,000 square meters, Wat Pho is the city's largest and oldest Buddhist temple. It houses Thailand's second largest Buddha image, Phra Buddhasaiyas (Reclining Buddha). The image measures 46 meters (152 feet) long and 15 meters (49 feet) high, and is ornamented with gold plating on its body and mother-of-pearl on its eyes and feet. The shrine also features an age-old school of public education on traditional Thai medicine, yoga, and massage, a working Buddhist monastery with monks in residence, plaques inscribed with medical texts, over 1,000 other gilded Buddha images, and nearly 108 auspicious scenes in Chinese and Indian styles.

Marble Temple

69 Rama V Road
Dusit District, Bangkok, Thailand

Built in the late-19th century by King Rama V (also known as King Chulalongkorn), Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram is a stunning temple. The main feature is the four-sided ubosot, or ordination hall, with a Sukhothai-style bronze Buddha statue named Phra Buddhajinaraja, the ashes of King Rama V beneath it; a row of nearly 52 additional Buddha images in its cloister; and a majestic marble lion guarding its entrance. Other features of this temple include Thai art and architecture, Italian marble, a three-gabled waterside pavilion, and a decorated door panel.

วัดสุทัศนเทพวราราม

At the center of Rattanakosin Island
146 Bamrung Muang Road
Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Suthat Thepwararam, constructed around the 19th century during the Chakri Dynasty, is a royal Buddhist temple. The main Buddha images at the shrine include Phra Puttatri Lokachet, the huge bronze-cast Phra Sri Sakyamuni, Phra Buddha Trilokachet in the Ubosot (Ordination Hall), Phra Buddha Setthamuni in Sala Kan Parien (Meeting Hall), Phra Wihan Luang, Phra Wihan Kod, and 156 other miniature images. The shrine also features several Chinese pagodas representing the 28 Buddhas born on the earth, Satta Mahasathan (Seven Places) symbolizing the places where Lord Buddha resided after enlightenment, carved door panels, and murals of the Rattanakosin period.