Bang Pa-In Royal Palace

Bang Pa-In Royal Palace is a riverside complex of lakes, lawns and pavilions in Bang Pa-in, a short trip south of Ayutthaya. It is still royal property and is occasionally used for state occasions, but most of the grounds are open to visitors.

The buildings are a deliberate mix of styles. The best known is the Aisawan Thipphaya-at, a small Thai pavilion with a tiered roof that stands on a platform in the middle of a pond and appears in countless photographs. Nearby are the Wehart Chamrun, a Chinese-style throne hall, and the Ho Withun Thasana, a brightly painted lookout tower from which the king could survey the countryside. The European-style residences, including the Warophat Phiman throne hall, give other parts of the grounds the look of a country estate.

The grounds are large and flat. Walking is comfortable in the cool season, and at other times it is worth hiring one of the golf carts available at the entrance.

King Prasat Thong of Ayutthaya first built a palace here in 1632, and it became a retreat for the kings who followed him. After the capital fell in 1767 the site was abandoned and overgrown. King Mongkut (Rama IV) began restoring it in the mid-19th century, and his son King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) built most of what stands today between 1872 and 1889.

The palace is also tied to one of the saddest events of Chulalongkorn’s reign. On 31 May 1880 Queen Sunanda Kumariratana and her infant daughter drowned when their barge capsized on the river on the way to Bang Pa-In. The king later raised a marble memorial to them in the palace grounds. Across the river is Wat Niwet Thammaprawat, the Gothic-style royal temple he built in the same period.