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Roots Earth in Bangkok: audio stories about 52 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 52 places in Bangkok, Thailand, in Asia. The Bangkok stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Bangkok, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 52 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: bangkok.md

The 52 places in Bangkok with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

  1. Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
  2. Grand Palace
  3. Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
  4. Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)
  5. Wat Saket (Golden Mount)
  6. Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple)
  7. Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha)
  8. Wat Suthat
  9. Giant Swing (Sao Ching Cha)
  10. Loha Prasat, Wat Ratchanatdaram
  11. Bangkok National Museum
  12. Sanam Luang
  13. Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit
  14. Bangkok City Pillar Shrine (Lak Mueang)
  15. Democracy Monument
  16. Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall
  17. Vimanmek Mansion
  18. Dusit Palace
  19. Jim Thompson House
  20. Museum Siam
  21. National Gallery
  22. Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
  23. Erawan Shrine
  24. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara
  25. Wat Ratchabophit
  26. National Museum of Royal Barges
  27. Phra Sumen Fort
  28. Wat Ratchanatdaram
  29. Assumption Cathedral
  30. Victory Monument
  31. King Power Mahanakhon
  32. Baiyoke Tower II
  33. Hua Lamphong Railway Station
  34. Wat Kalayanamit
  35. Wat Prayoon (Wat Prayurawongsawat)
  36. Chatuchak Weekend Market
  37. Khaosan Road
  38. Chinatown (Yaowarat)
  39. Yaowarat Road
  40. Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market)
  41. Phahurat (Little India)
  42. Sampheng
  43. Talat Noi
  44. Lumphini Park
  45. Benjakitti Park
  46. Santa Cruz Church (Kudi Chin)
  47. Wat Rakhangkhositaram
  48. Wang Lang Market
  49. Khlong Toei Market
  50. Talat Phlu
  51. Bang Kachao (Green Lung)
  52. Phra Athit Road

Is there an audio guide for Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)?

Yes. Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 52 Bangkok places in the app, at 13.75138889, 100.4925. Every one of the other 51 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Bangkok

Open Roots Earth and choose Bangkok. The city has its own map of places with all 52 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 52 places in Bangkok, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 52 places in Bangkok, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)

Coordinates
13.75138889, 100.4925
In one line
Bangkok's most sacred temple, built from 1783 within the Grand Palace, houses the revered Emerald Buddha carved from a block of jasper. Gilded spires, mosaic columns, yaksha guardians, and a vast Ramakien mural gallery surround the ordination hall.

2. Grand Palace

Coordinates
13.7501, 100.492
In one line
Founded in 1782 by King Rama I, this walled royal complex served as the Thai monarchy's seat for 150 years. It blends Thai spires with European forms, crowned by the Chakri Maha Prasat, and still hosts state ceremonies today.

3. Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)

Coordinates
13.74638889, 100.49361111
In one line
One of Bangkok's oldest temples, rebuilt from 1788 under Rama I, Wat Pho holds a gilded 46-meter Reclining Buddha with mother-of-pearl feet. It is the birthplace of traditional Thai massage and home to hundreds of Buddha images.

4. Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Coordinates
13.74361111, 100.48888889
In one line
Rising on the Chao Phraya's west bank, Wat Arun's Khmer-style central prang soars roughly 70 meters, clad in broken Chinese porcelain and seashells. Rebuilt under Rama II and Rama III and completed in 1851, the Temple of Dawn glows at sunrise and sunset.

5. Wat Saket (Golden Mount)

Coordinates
13.75388889, 100.50833333
In one line
An Ayutthaya-era temple crowned by an artificial hill, the Golden Mount rises roughly 80 meters above Bangkok. A spiral stairway of around 300 steps climbs to a golden chedi holding Buddha relics, with sweeping views across the old city.

6. Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple)

Coordinates
13.76658333, 100.51408333
In one line
Built from 1899 under King Rama V and designed by Prince Naris, the Marble Temple shines in white Italian Carrara marble. Its cruciform ordination hall, stained-glass windows, and gallery of 52 Buddha images blend Thai form with European craft.

7. Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha)

Coordinates
13.73805556, 100.51361111
In one line
In Bangkok's Chinatown, Wat Traimit guards a Sukhothai-era Buddha of solid gold, about 3 meters tall and weighing roughly 5. 5 tonnes. Hidden for centuries beneath plaster, it was revealed by accident in 1955 when dropped during a move.

8. Wat Suthat

Coordinates
13.75055556, 100.50111111
In one line
Wat Suthat is a first-class royal temple begun by Rama I in 1807 and finished under Rama III. Its towering assembly hall shelters Phra Si Sakyamuni, a great bronze Buddha brought from old Sukhothai.

9. Giant Swing (Sao Ching Cha)

Coordinates
13.75194444, 100.50138889
In one line
The Giant Swing, or Sao Ching Cha, is a towering red teak frame raised in 1784 under Rama I. Once central to a daring Brahmin harvest rite, it stands more than 21 meters tall before Wat Suthat.

10. Loha Prasat, Wat Ratchanatdaram

Coordinates
13.75472222, 100.50472222
In one line
The Loha Prasat is a tiered metal castle begun by Rama III in 1846 within Wat Ratchanatdaram. Its 37 black-and-gold spires stand for 37 Buddhist virtues, making it the last surviving structure of its kind.

11. Bangkok National Museum

Coordinates
13.7575, 100.49222222
In one line
The Bangkok National Museum, founded in 1874 by King Chulalongkorn, occupies the former Front Palace. One of Southeast Asia's largest museums, it gathers royal funeral chariots, the Buddhaisawan Chapel, and Thai art across every era.

12. Sanam Luang

Coordinates
13.755, 100.49305556
In one line
Sanam Luang is the great oval royal field laid out in 1782 beside the Grand Palace. Ringed by tamarind trees, it has hosted royal cremations, kite-flying seasons, markets, and protests across more than two centuries of Bangkok life.

13. Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit

Coordinates
13.755, 100.49083333
In one line
Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit is an 18th-century royal monastery beside Sanam Luang. A leading center of Buddhist learning and Vipassana meditation, it houses Thailand's oldest Buddhist university and a famed amulet market.

14. Bangkok City Pillar Shrine (Lak Mueang)

Coordinates
13.7525, 100.4938
In one line
The Bangkok City Pillar Shrine, or Lak Mueang, was raised in 1782 by Rama I as his new capital's first building.

15. Democracy Monument

Coordinates
13.75666667, 100.50166667
In one line
An Art Deco landmark rising from a Ratchadamnoen Avenue traffic circle, built in 1939 and 1940 to mark the 1932 end of absolute monarchy. Four winged pillars guard a central relief holding Thailand's first constitution.

16. Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall

Coordinates
13.77166667, 100.51305556
In one line
A marble throne hall in Italian Renaissance style, commissioned by King Chulalongkorn in 1908 and completed in 1915. Its great dome, frescoed with Chakri dynasty history, later sheltered Thailand's first parliament after the 1932 revolution.

17. Vimanmek Mansion

Coordinates
13.77388889, 100.51277778
In one line
A golden-teak royal residence in the Dusit garden, reassembled in 1901 from a palace at Ko Sichang. Reputedly the world's largest building of golden teak, it housed King Chulalongkorn and later became a museum of his reign.

18. Dusit Palace

Coordinates
13.774, 100.512
In one line
A garden-palace district begun by King Chulalongkorn in 1897, set with European-style avenues north of the old city. It gathers throne halls, teak mansions and royal villas, and shaped Ratchadamnoen Avenue along its grand ceremonial axis.

19. Jim Thompson House

Coordinates
13.74916667, 100.52833333
In one line
A cluster of traditional Thai teak houses assembled in 1959 by the American silk entrepreneur Jim Thompson, beside a canal in central Bangkok. His mysterious 1967 disappearance left behind this home and a notable Southeast Asian art collection.

20. Museum Siam

Coordinates
13.7441, 100.4941
In one line
An interactive museum of Thai identity, opened in 2007 in the classical former Ministry of Commerce building of 1922. Its playful exhibits invite visitors to explore what it means to be Thai through history, food and culture.

22. Bangkok Art and Culture Centre

Coordinates
13.74666667, 100.53
In one line
A spiralling contemporary art hub in Pathum Wan, opened in 2008. Its bright atrium ramps upward past galleries, a library, cafes and craft shops, hosting exhibitions, film, music and theatre at the heart of Bangkok's busiest shopping district.

23. Erawan Shrine

Coordinates
13.74436111, 100.54044444
In one line
A gilded four-faced shrine to Phra Phrom, erected in 1956 at Bangkok's Ratchaprasong crossing. Wreathed in marigolds, incense and the music of paid dancers, it draws constant worshippers seeking favour amid the surrounding malls and traffic.

24. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara

Coordinates
13.76033333, 100.49986111
In one line
A revered Banglamphu monastery founded in 1824, seat of the reformist Thammayut order. Generations of Thai kings, including Mongkut and Bhumibol, ordained here. It is known for its golden chedi and pioneering murals using Western perspective.

25. Wat Ratchabophit

Coordinates
13.74916667, 100.49722222
In one line
An elegant royal temple begun in 1869 by King Rama V, built around a circular cloister and a 43-metre gilded chedi. Its ordination hall surprises with a European Gothic interior behind Thai walls, and a royal cemetery rests nearby.

26. National Museum of Royal Barges

Coordinates
13.76167, 100.484417
In one line
A canalside museum on Khlong Bangkok Noi housing Thailand's ceremonial royal barges, including the golden swan-prowed Suphannahong. Restored after wartime damage, these towering, carved and gilded vessels still take part in rare royal river processions descended from the Ayutthaya era.

27. Phra Sumen Fort

Coordinates
13.76389, 100.49583
In one line
An octagonal whitewashed fort raised in the 1780s to defend King Rama I's new Rattanakosin capital. One of only two surviving from fourteen original forts, it stands beside the Chao Phraya in riverside Santichaiprakan Park.

28. Wat Ratchanatdaram

Coordinates
13.75472222, 100.50472222
In one line
A temple founded in 1846 by King Rama III, famous for its Loha Prasat, or Metal Castle. Its 37 black-and-gold iron spires, rising about 36 metres over seven tiers, make it the last surviving Loha Prasat in the world.

29. Assumption Cathedral

Coordinates
13.723059, 100.514924
In one line
A red-brick Romanesque cathedral near the river in Bang Rak, the principal Catholic church of Thailand. Rebuilt between 1910 and 1918, it has welcomed two visiting popes and anchors a historic mission compound.

30. Victory Monument

Coordinates
13.76472222, 100.53861111
In one line
A towering obelisk shaped like five clasped bayonets, raised in 1941 and 1942 to mark the Franco-Thai War. Sculpted figures of the armed forces and civilians ring its base, now encircled by one of Bangkok's busiest traffic hubs.

31. King Power Mahanakhon

Coordinates
13.72361, 100.52889
In one line
A 314-meter glass tower in Bangkok's business district, wrapped in a pixelated spiral that appears to dissolve into the sky.

32. Baiyoke Tower II

Coordinates
13.754167, 100.540556
In one line
An 88-story tower rising above the Pratunam market district, completed in 1997 and home to the Baiyoke Sky Hotel. It held the title of Thailand's tallest building for nearly two decades and crowns its summit with a revolving observation deck.

33. Hua Lamphong Railway Station

Coordinates
13.73888889, 100.51666667
In one line
Bangkok's grand old railway station, opened in 1916 and designed by Italian architect Mario Tamagno. Its Neo-Renaissance facade and sweeping iron-and-glass train shed served as Thailand's main rail gateway for over a century.

34. Wat Kalayanamit

Coordinates
13.739939, 100.491226
In one line
A riverside temple in Thonburi founded in 1825, home to Luang Pho To, a colossal seated Buddha once the largest in Bangkok. Beloved by Thai-Chinese devotees, it blends Thai and Chinese tradition beside the Chao Phraya.

35. Wat Prayoon (Wat Prayurawongsawat)

Coordinates
13.7372, 100.4958
In one line
A Thonburi temple founded in the reign of King Rama the Third, crowned by a great white chedi that won a UNESCO heritage award. Its turtle-filled pond and miniature mountain make it one of Bangkok's most distinctive riverside sanctuaries.

36. Chatuchak Weekend Market

Coordinates
13.80083333, 100.55138889
In one line
One of the world's largest weekend markets, Chatuchak spreads across 27 sections with more than 15,000 stalls. Drawing over 200,000 visitors each Saturday and Sunday, it sells everything from plants and antiques to pets, food, and clothing.

37. Khaosan Road

Coordinates
13.75888889, 100.49722222
In one line
A 410-metre street near the Grand Palace, Khaosan Road grew from a rice market into the world's most famous backpacker hub. Today its bars, hostels, food stalls, and travel agents draw tens of thousands of visitors every night.

38. Chinatown (Yaowarat)

Coordinates
13.74, 100.51
In one line
Founded in 1782 when Chinese traders resettled at Sampheng, Bangkok's Chinatown is among the largest in the world. Centered on Samphanthawong district, it brims with gold shops, temples, wet markets, and some of the city's most celebrated street food.

39. Yaowarat Road

Coordinates
13.741136, 100.508305
In one line
Built from 1892 to 1900 under King Rama V, Yaowarat Road curves like a dragon's body through the heart of Chinatown. Famed for its gold shops and electric night-time food scene, the 1,532-metre road is the district's glittering main artery.

40. Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market)

Coordinates
13.742209, 100.496567
In one line
Bangkok's main flower market, Pak Khlong Talat sits beside the river near Memorial Bridge. Open around the clock, it began as a floating market in the Rama I era and now overflows day and night with marigolds, jasmine garlands, roses, and orchids.

41. Phahurat (Little India)

Coordinates
13.744846, 100.500623
In one line
Bangkok's Little India, Phahurat is a dense textile quarter beside Chinatown. Its road, named by King Rama V for his daughter, is lined with fabric and sari shops, and crowned by the golden-domed Sikh temple Siri Guru Singh Sabha.

42. Sampheng

Coordinates
13.74286944, 100.50425278
In one line
The original street of Bangkok's Chinatown, Sampheng began in 1782 when Teochew settlers resettled here. Barely 10 metres wide, the narrow lane now known as Soi Wanit 1 is the city's premier wholesale market, jammed with toys, fabrics, and goods of every kind.

43. Talat Noi

Coordinates
13.73333333, 100.51388889
In one line
Talat Noi is a riverside neighborhood on the edge of Bangkok's Chinatown, where old Teochew Chinese shophouses, hidden shrines, vintage car-part workshops, and bright street murals crowd the lanes beside the Chao Phraya.

44. Lumphini Park

Coordinates
13.73055556, 100.54166667
In one line
Lumphini Park is regarded as Thailand's first public park, created by King Rama VI in 1925.

45. Benjakitti Park

Coordinates
13.7294, 100.5586
In one line
Benjakitti Park is a modern green space in central Bangkok, built on former tobacco-monopoly land. Its lakeside grounds opened in 2004, joined in 2022 by an expansive forest park of wetlands, elevated walkways, and reclaimed wilderness near Sukhumvit.

46. Santa Cruz Church (Kudi Chin)

Coordinates
13.73888889, 100.49388889
In one line
Santa Cruz Church anchors the Kudi Chin community, a Portuguese-Thai enclave on the Chao Phraya's west bank. First founded around 1770, its present domed Renaissance Revival building, raised between 1913 and 1916, still watches over the river.

47. Wat Rakhangkhositaram

Coordinates
13.7527, 100.4854
In one line
Wat Rakhangkhositaram is an Ayutthaya-era royal temple on Thonburi's west bank, named for a melodious bell found in its grounds. Its scripture hall once housed King Rama I, and visitors still release fish into the river for merit.

48. Wang Lang Market

Coordinates
13.75549722, 100.485075
In one line
Wang Lang Market crowds a narrow Thonburi lane beside the Chao Phraya, near Siriraj Hospital. Named for a former rear palace, it draws students and locals with fiery southern Thai food, sweets, and clothing stalls.

49. Khlong Toei Market

Coordinates
13.71805556, 100.56055556
In one line
Khlong Toei Market is Bangkok's largest fresh market, sprawling near the old port off Rama IV Road.

50. Talat Phlu

Coordinates
13.716489, 100.473861
In one line
Talat Phlu is an old Thonburi-side market neighbourhood named for the betel leaves once traded here. Settled by Chinese, Mon, and Muslim families, it survives today as one of Bangkok's most beloved street-food enclaves.

51. Bang Kachao (Green Lung)

Coordinates
13.6807, 100.5663
In one line
Bang Kachao is a 16-square-kilometre jungle peninsula cradled in a bend of the Chao Phraya River. Known as Bangkok's green lung, this near-wild island of mangroves, orchards, and bike paths sits minutes from the city yet feels worlds away.

52. Phra Athit Road

Coordinates
13.760292, 100.500432
In one line
Phra Athit Road runs 770 metres along the Chao Phraya in old Bangkok, lined with century-old riverside mansions. Once an aristocratic address, it became the city's bohemian heart of cafes, bookshops, and student life beside Thammasat University.

Roots Earth in short

Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people.

  • No account
  • Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection
  • Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities

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