National Museum of Royal Barges

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National Museum of Royal Barges

Museum

Boat sheds on Khlong Bangkok Noi holding the gilded royal barges that carry the king down the Chao Phraya in rare state processions.

National Museum of Royal Barges Chatuchak& Ari Chinatown Dusit Khao San Road Old Town Pratunam Ratchada Riverside Siam Silom &Sathorn Sukhumvit Thonburi Tourist areas, not official boundaries. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributorsWat ArunGrand PalaceJim Thompson HouseWat BenchamabophitLumphini ParkChatuchak Weekend MarketDemocracy MonumentWat TraimitAssumption CathedralVictory MonumentNational Museum of Royal Barges

National Museum of Royal Barges essentials

Country: Thailand
Driest months: Dec-Feb
Pay in: Baht (฿)
Language: Thai
Emergency: 191

The National Museum of Royal Barges is a set of boat sheds on the north bank of Khlong Bangkok Noi in Thonburi, home to the finest vessels of the Royal Barge Procession. These long, narrow rowing boats, carved and gilded and topped with mythical figureheads, appear on the Chao Phraya only on major state occasions, such as a coronation or a royal kathin robe-giving, when more than 50 barges and around 2,000 oarsmen row in formation past the Grand Palace to Wat Arun. The rest of the time a selection rests here in dry docks.

Eight barges are on show. The museum is small and its side displays are modest, so most visitors need less than an hour, but standing beside a 46-metre hull is the only way to grasp the scale of the procession. Getting there, through Thonburi’s lanes or along the canal, is half the fun.

Exploring National Museum of Royal Barges#

The star is Suphannahong, the king’s principal barge, launched in 1911 and carved from a single teak trunk, with a golden swan’s head at the bow and a crystal ball and tassel hanging from its beak. In 1992 it received a maritime heritage award from the UK-based World Ship Trust. Nearby lie Anantanakkharat, whose prow rears up as a seven-headed naga, Anekkachatphuchong, the oldest of the royal barges, its bow covered in small carved serpents, and Narai Song Suban, built for King Bhumibol in 1994 with a figurehead of Vishnu riding the garuda.

Panels around the sheds explain how the barges are built, the river battle formations the procession grew out of, and the chanted boat songs that keep the oarsmen in time.

Things to Do
When to Go

Weather & Climate near National Museum of Royal Barges#

Climate

National Museum of Royal Barges's climate is classified as Tropical Savanna - Tropical Savanna climate with consistently warm temperatures year-round. Temperatures range from 21°C to 35°C. Abundant rainfall (1291 mm/year), wettest in September with a pronounced dry season.

Air Quality: AQI 83 Moderate
Best Time to Visit
JanuaryDecemberFebruary
Temperature & Rainfall
Temperature Range
43°
Warmest Month
10°
Coldest Month
Monthly Conditions
Month Comfort Temp Feels Rain Sky Humidity Wind UV Daylight
January Ideal 21° - 32° 27° 9 mm mostly sunny 64% 1.6 m/s 1.8 very high 11.3h
February Excellent 23° - 33° 30° 13 mm mostly sunny 60% 1.8 m/s 2.0 extreme 11.6h
March Excellent 25° - 34° 32° 32 mm some cloud 62% 2.0 m/s 2.2 extreme 11.9h
April Very Good 26° - 35° 35° 60 mm partly cloudy 66% 1.8 m/s 2.4 extreme 12.3h
May Acceptable 26° - 34° 36° 167 mm overcast 76% 1.6 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.6h
June Acceptable 26° - 33° 36° 127 mm overcast 80% 1.7 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.8h
July Acceptable 25° - 33° 35° 141 mm overcast 81% 1.7 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.7h
August Acceptable 25° - 33° 34° 175 mm overcast 82% 1.7 m/s 2.3 extreme 12.4h
September Acceptable 24° - 32° 34° 285 mm overcast 85% 1.3 m/s 2.1 extreme 12.1h
October Acceptable 24° - 32° 33° 233 mm overcast 85% 1.2 m/s 1.9 very high 11.7h
November Very Good 23° - 32° 31° 44 mm partly cloudy 80% 1.6 m/s 1.8 very high 11.4h
December Ideal 21° - 32° 26° 5 mm some cloud 71% 1.7 m/s 1.8 very high 11.2h
Getting There & Around

How to Get to National Museum of Royal Barges#

The nearest Chao Phraya Express Boat stop is Thonburi Railway Station pier. From there walk inland to Arun Amarin Road, cross the bridge over Khlong Bangkok Noi and follow the signs down the steps and along a narrow lane between houses to the sheds. Many long-tail canal tours will also stop here on request.

History & Culture of National Museum of Royal Barges#

Royal barge processions go back to the Ayutthaya kingdom, when the war fleet doubled as a ceremonial flotilla and European envoys wrote admiringly of the gilded boats. The sheds here began as a dry dock for royal barges and warships, run by the Royal Household and the navy. Bombing in the Second World War badly damaged the dock and several barges. The Fine Arts Department began restoring them in 1949, and the dock opened as a national museum in 1972. Recent processions marked King Vajiralongkorn’s coronation in December 2019 and a royal kathin at Wat Arun in October 2024.