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National Museum Bangkok

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 Bangkok, 10200

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Call: +66 2 224 1370
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About

The National Museum Bangkok is the country's first public museum, with a deep collection of Thai and regional art spread through the halls of the Front Palace, the Wang Na, where the vice-kings of the early Chakri dynasty lived. The Fine Arts Department runs it, and the visit is as much about the palace buildings, some dating from the 1780s, as about the objects inside them.

It suits travelers with a real interest in Buddhist art, Thai history or Southeast Asian sculpture, and anyone who wants to understand what they have seen at the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. The museum stands on Na Phra That Road, across Sanam Luang from the Grand Palace and near Tha Chang pier. Plan around its schedule: it opens Wednesday to Sunday only.

A palace turned museum

King Chulalongkorn opened the kingdom's first public museum inside the Grand Palace in 1874, and moved it here in 1887, after the office of vice-king was abolished and the Front Palace fell empty. King Prajadhipok reopened it as the Museum for Bangkok in 1926, and it became the National Museum under the Fine Arts Department in 1934. The oldest hall, Siwamokkhaphiman, was built in 1782 as an open pavilion where the vice-king received nobles.

Ten pieces the museum says not to miss

The museum's own shortlist is a good way to navigate a large site. It starts with the Phra Buddha Sihing, a gilded bronze image brought from Chiang Mai in 1795 and still housed in the Buddhaisawan Chapel. In the Mahasurasinghanat Building are a Ganesha from Candi Singhasari in East Java, presented to King Chulalongkorn in 1896, a Srivijaya-era bodhisattva torso from Chaiya, and a bronze Roman lamp excavated in Kanchanaburi. The Prapas Phiphitthaphan Building holds the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, listed by UNESCO as Memory of the World in 2003, alongside a Dvaravati stone Buddha and Lanna and Sukhothai bronzes.

Royal chariots and throne halls

The Royal Chariot hall keeps the Great Victory Chariot, built in 1795 for royal cremations: 18 meters long, more than 11 meters high and about 13.7 tonnes, and used in 2017 for the royal cremation of King Bhumibol. In the Issaret Winitchai Hall stands the carved and gilded Busabok Kroen throne from the reign of King Rama I. Since May 2024 the Lopburi room has also shown the bronze Shiva known as the Golden Boy, returned to Thailand from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Sources: National Museum Bangkok, ten highlights, opening calendar, museum history, Golden Boy display. Checked September 25, 2026.

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Contact Information

Company Name
National Museum Bangkok
Phone Number
See Phone Number
Call: +66 2 224 1370
Location
4 Na Phra That Road
Bangkok, 10200
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About National Museum Bangkok

The National Museum Bangkok is the country's first public museum, with a deep collection of Thai and regional art spread through the halls of the Front Palace, the Wang Na, where the vice-kings of the early Chakri dynasty lived. The Fine Arts Department runs it, and the visit is as much about the palace buildings, some dating from the 1780s, as about the objects inside them.

It suits travelers with a real interest in Buddhist art, Thai history or Southeast Asian sculpture, and anyone who wants to understand what they have seen at the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. The museum stands on Na Phra That Road, across Sanam Luang from the Grand Palace and near Tha Chang pier. Plan around its schedule: it opens Wednesday to Sunday only.

A palace turned museum

King Chulalongkorn opened the kingdom's first public museum inside the Grand Palace in 1874, and moved it here in 1887, after the office of vice-king was abolished and the Front Palace fell empty. King Prajadhipok reopened it as the Museum for Bangkok in 1926, and it became the National Museum under the Fine Arts Department in 1934. The oldest hall, Siwamokkhaphiman, was built in 1782 as an open pavilion where the vice-king received nobles.

Ten pieces the museum says not to miss

The museum's own shortlist is a good way to navigate a large site. It starts with the Phra Buddha Sihing, a gilded bronze image brought from Chiang Mai in 1795 and still housed in the Buddhaisawan Chapel. In the Mahasurasinghanat Building are a Ganesha from Candi Singhasari in East Java, presented to King Chulalongkorn in 1896, a Srivijaya-era bodhisattva torso from Chaiya, and a bronze Roman lamp excavated in Kanchanaburi. The Prapas Phiphitthaphan Building holds the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription, listed by UNESCO as Memory of the World in 2003, alongside a Dvaravati stone Buddha and Lanna and Sukhothai bronzes.

Royal chariots and throne halls

The Royal Chariot hall keeps the Great Victory Chariot, built in 1795 for royal cremations: 18 meters long, more than 11 meters high and about 13.7 tonnes, and used in 2017 for the royal cremation of King Bhumibol. In the Issaret Winitchai Hall stands the carved and gilded Busabok Kroen throne from the reign of King Rama I. Since May 2024 the Lopburi room has also shown the bronze Shiva known as the Golden Boy, returned to Thailand from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Sources: National Museum Bangkok, ten highlights, opening calendar, museum history, Golden Boy display. Checked September 25, 2026.

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Phone: +66 2 224 1370

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Where is the National Museum Bangkok?+
At 4 Na Phra That Road in the Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok, beside Sanam Luang in the Old City. The Fine Arts Department lists Tha Chang pier on the Chao Phraya as the nearest boat stop.
Q. What are the opening hours?+
Wednesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the museum's 2026 opening calendar. It is closed every Monday and Tuesday. The monthly calendar on its website announces special openings on some public holidays, such as Visakha Bucha Day in 2026.
Q. How much is admission?+
THB 30 for Thai visitors and THB 200 for foreign visitors, as listed by the Fine Arts Department in its May 2024 Golden Boy announcement and by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Q. Where is the Golden Boy displayed?+
In the Lopburi room of the Mahasurasinghanat Building, where the Fine Arts Department put it on display from May 22, 2024, together with The Kneeling Female, also returned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Q. How are the galleries organized?+
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Thai history gallery fills the front of the Siwamokkhaphiman Hall with prehistory at the back, the Mahasurasinghanat Building covers the Dvaravati, Srivijaya and Lopburi periods, and the Prapas Phiphitthaphan Building runs from Sukhothai and Ayutthaya to Rattanakosin. Decorative arts, including gold, mother-of-pearl inlay, textiles, ceramics, weapons, musical instruments, khon masks and puppets, are shown in the old central palace buildings, and the Red House (Tamnak Daeng) is furnished in early Bangkok style.
Q. Who runs the museum and how can I contact it?+
The Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Culture. The museum's academic office can be reached on 02 224 1402 or 02 224 1333.