Sunrise and Sunset Spots in Bangkok
A visual guide from the Bangkok travel guide — see all posters in Visual Guides.
Bangkok's best light lasts about twenty minutes. The sun drops behind the Thonburi bank somewhere between roughly 17:50 in December and 18:50 in midsummer, the river turns the colour of weak tea, and every west-facing terrace along the Chao Phraya fills at once. Sunrise is the quieter trade: by six the air has settled, Benjakitti's boardwalks are busy with runners looping the wetland while the Asok towers go pink behind them, and monitor lizards are still crossing the paths in Lumphini.
Sunset over the river
The Chao Phraya Sky Park — the old bridge deck between the two Phra Pok Klao spans, rebuilt as a public walkway — is free, faces upriver towards Wat Arun's prang, and starts filling about half an hour before the sun goes. Sala Rattanakosin's small rooftop bar sits almost directly opposite Wat Arun and has the most photographed view in the city. Downstream, ICONSIAM's riverfront terrace and Asiatique's Ferris wheel work the same angle with more space. For height rather than proximity, Three Sixty at the Millennium Hilton on the Thonburi bank looks back across the water at the skyline instead of down into it.
First light and timings
Sunrise runs roughly 05:50 in June to 06:40 in January, and the hour before it is the only genuinely cool part of a Bangkok day. Benjakitti Forest Park's elevated boardwalks over the reed beds open early and frame the Sukhumvit skyline neatly; Lumphini opens around dawn for the tai chi and running crowd. On the river, the white cables of the Rama VIII bridge catch first light well from the Thonburi side, and express boats start before seven. Rooftop bars generally open late afternoon with a dress code and a minimum spend, so aim to be seated an hour ahead of sunset.