Map of Bangkok - area maps
Tackling Bangkok without a map can be a nightmare! We've produced this tourist-friendly map of Bangkok to help you better understand the geography of Bangkok and its maps.
Click on the areas below for a zoomable map of Bangkok.
Bangkok maps are ofen found distributed free in tourist areas, or hotel lobbies. MRT and BTS stations also provide free maps of Bangkok transport system. Sometimes its easier to get into a taxi and tell the driver where you want to go on the Bangkok map, although he may have difficult reading a map or be confused by your pronunciation so some places include directions and simple maps in Thai, printed at the bottom of their adverts in tourist magazines or on business cards.
Geography of Bangkok - maps
Bangkok is a sprawling city with no apparent CBD and several clusters of highrises scattered about its map. Furthermore the meandering nature of the Chao Praya river completely scrambles any North-south orientation. From a tourist or transportation perspective, Siam Square can be considered the central point of the city and it is here you'll have easiest access to the shopping. This is found more or less in the centre of most tourist maps of Bangkok.
Immediately south of Siam Square area is Lumphini Park - the city's main and only major green space and beyond that the Silom area which is a locus for entertainment. The riverfront hotels are nearby this area. Following the skytrain from Siam Square you move southeast towards the popular Sukhumwit area, which has prominence on all Bangkok maps as the neighbourhood of choice for the ex-pat and foreign community. Along the length of this major road are hotels, malls, restaurants, bars and useful business services.
A 20 minute taxi drive west of Siam Square is the original part of the city, known as Banglamphu and Rattanakosin Isle, where the Grand Palace and many of the major attractions are located on the map. Neither the BTS or MRT reach into the heart of this royally protected area. The character of the city is more pleasant, with low-rise buildings, tree-lined roads and the original impression of Bangkok when canals were the city's streets. Here too is the famous backpacker magnet of the Khao San Road. Northwards from here is the nicest part of the city, planned out at the turn of the twentieth century and typified by grand boulevards, plenty of large state houses with private gardens.
The Chao Praya river cuts an ox-box crescent to the west of Rattanakosin isle, in which Chinatown sits. West of the river is Thonburi where the capital was originally located after the fall of Ayuthaya. Bangkok maps will reveal that this area still retains many of its canals and these offer the best way to explore this lesser visited part of the Bangkok map.
