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With its spectacular heritage, Ayutthaya is one of the most popular day trips from Bangkok. What many tourists don’t realise is that there are more things to do in Ayutthaya than you can reasonably fit in just one day there.
After first visiting Ayutthaya on a day trip years ago, I decided to return and spend a few days exploring the old Thai capital. While I’d also visited Kanchanaburi for its history, the attractions in Ayutthaya follow a different theme, showcasing the city’s proud heritage that stretches back to 1350.
Here are many of the top attractions in Ayutthaya you’ll want to know if you’re considering a visit when in Thailand.
How to get to Ayutthaya
One reason Ayutthaya is so popular with tourists is how easy it is to get there.
The city is just north of Bangkok (80km/50 miles) so most people come from the modern capital on a day trip. But getting there yourself isn’t hard.
One way to visit Ayutthaya is by train. You can take the train from Bangkok or from Chiang Mai at the other end of the line. It’s also possible to come from Udon Thani if you’re coming in from Vientiane in Laos.
Trains from Bangkok take between 40 minutes and an hour to reach Ayutthaya station. From there you’ll probably need a tuk-tuk to get to your accommodation.
Alternatively, lots of minibuses run between Ayutthaya and Bangkok. Expect the ride to take over 1.5 hours depending on traffic and they will arrive at Ayutthaya Win. From there, you may be able to walk since it’s in the city centre.
Some specialised transfers also exist, including the one I took to get there from Kanchanaburi. You may also find routes from other inland cities and towns such as Lopburi.
How to get around Ayutthaya
When planning your visit, it’s important to understand that most Ayutthaya tourist attractions are not concentrated in a single area of the city.
You can’t just walk from one to the next unless you want to spend all day walking.
Not that getting around Ayutthaya needs to be hard either. Sightseeing tours make it easy by driving you around, but you can explore on your own too.
My preferred way of seeing the sights was by bicycle. My accommodation loaned them to guests for free, so I just rode around each day to different temples and attractions.
If you don’t feel like pedaling, you can hire a tuk-tuk to get from A to B. Some drivers may be willing to shuttle you around paying by the hour, but I wouldn’t know.
The most interesting transport for sightseeing in Ayutthaya is to take a boat on the rivers around the city. More on that soon.
Where to stay in Ayutthaya
Now, if you’re visiting Ayutthaya for just the day, you don’t need to worry about accommodation.
Stay longer though and you will.
There are loads of places to stay in Ayutthaya, but they do lean towards the budget market. I’m not sure why but it does mean affordable accommodation is easy to find.
My stay was at Q Zone Boutique House and it was such a good decision. It has very friendly owners and staff, an onsite cafe, and sits just outside the center, giving it quieter surroundings.
If that recommendation doesn’t sway you, other well-rated hotels in Ayutthaya include:
Tours to help visit Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya is among the easiest places in Thailand to visit with tours.
Day trips from Bangkok can be easily booked online or organised at the many travel agencies around Khaosan Road.
Even though the day trip is the most common tour, other tours also make visiting Ayutthaya easier, often with different side trips or inclusions, so it pays to look around. Start by considering these options:
Best places to visit in Ayutthaya
Once you work out how you’ll visit, you’ll want to know which things to see in Ayutthaya to make the trip worth it.
Most of the places you should add to your itinerary are the temples that earned Ayutthaya its World Heritage status. These temples are spread across the Ayutthaya Historical Park, covering the city centre and riverbanks. You’ll need to pay to visit the most popular, but the outer ones are free to explore.
Fortunately, there are also one or two other things to do in Ayutthaya that provide a break from non-stop temples.
1. Wat Mahathat
One of the most recognizable images of Ayutthaya is of a Buddha statue’s face wrapped with roots.
You’ll find this spot and more at Wat Mahathat, one of the most popular of Ayutthaya’s temples.
Royal chronicles state that Wat Mahathat’s construction began in 1374, early on during the Ayutthaya Period. It was destroyed during the city’s decline in 1767 when Burmese forces razed the city.
The most famous part of the temple is the Buddha’s head which fell to the ground and merged with tree roots over the centuries. But there are many, many other statues of Buddha around this large complex, plus stupas and outlines of buildings to wander around.
2. Wat Lokkayasutha
Visitors coming to Ayutthaya from Bangkok may have seen the huge golden Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.
But did you know there’s also a Reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya at Wat Lokkayasutha?
The temple sits across a small canal from the rest of the Ayutthaya Historical Park in Ayutthaya’s west. Although it’s not gleaming with gold like the one in Bangkok, it’s still an impressive site.
Not a lot is known about this temple’s history other than this was one of the royal city’s earlier sites. But the presence and scale of the Reclining Buddha set it apart from the other attractions.
3. Wat Phukhao Thong
Many Ayutthaya temples have similar appearances, so temples like Wat Phukhao Thong certainly stand out.
Rather than offering a collection of brick stupas within a walled space, Wat Phukhao Thong is one lone large white stupa that looks a little more like a pyramid.
This is one of the outer things to see in Ayutthaya. It is located northwest of the city near the King Naresuan Monument.
Another distinguishing feature of this temple is that you can climb up it to the top terrace and enjoy views of the surrounding rice fields and countryside.
Ride over first thing in the morning and you can peacefully visit the temple before the tours arrive.
4. Wat Ratchaburana
Across the road from Wat Mahathat and far less busy lies Wat Ratchaburana.
Wat Ratchaburana may not seem overly special compared to other temples on this list, even if the main pagoda’s design is quite distinctive.
But this temple was once “the” royal temple during the Ayutthaya Period after the royal family built it in 1424. The temple’s crypt held many important artifacts including what are said to be six relics of the Buddha, as well as fine period murals.
You won’t see any of this now when you visit—head to the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum for that—but the hall ruins are some of the city’s best bigger ruins.
5. Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Wat Phra Si Sanphet sits in the heart of the Ayutthaya Historical Park near where the old royal palace once stood.
Three stupas take centre stage in this complex, each containing ashes from one of the dynasty’s kings. Besides serving as a resting place, the royal family also used Wat Phra Si Sanphet as a private chapel and for royal ceremonies.
From a visitor’s perspective, Wat Phra Si Sanphet is one of the most photogenic temples in Ayutthaya thanks to how well preserved each of its stupas is.
6. Ayutthaya Night Market
Not everything to do in Ayutthaya has to involve a temple. Sometimes, it involves food!
Tourists looking to experience as much Thai food as possible during their trip won’t want to miss the Ayutthaya Night Market on the weekend. You can (and should) try all sorts of dishes there while you can.
The night market is also quite beautiful, with fairy lights and lanterns in trees, not to mention the illuminated figure of Wat Ratchaburana just over the wall.
The market offers cheap food and drinks and has lots of tables and chairs. A bonus is that it’s not just for foreign tourists—at least, that’s the impression I got from the many Thai families and groups I saw there.
7. Chao Sam Phraya National Museum
With so much history to its name, you’d expect Ayutthaya to have a prominent museum. But the city’s museum is relatively overlooked.
Maybe it’s because people want to see the temples around Ayutthaya, but are less interested in the details of the old royal capital. But the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is more than just a place to learn about Ayutthaya’s glory days.
The focus of the museum is more on the artifacts once buried within the city’s many temples than on each of their histories.
Exhibits showcase incredible riches once hidden away that the museum removed because of graverobbers. It wasn’t just that they stole the precious artifacts, they typically badly damaged the stupas and temples in the process.
8. Wat Phra Ngam (Portal of Time)
You’ll find one of the prettiest spots in all of Ayutthaya in an idyllic corner north of the city.
Wat Phra Ngam isn’t particularly special and would be treated like the other minor temples were it not for the “Portal of Time”. As you arrive at Wat Phra Ngam a brick archway meets you at its entrance covered in tree roots.
Looking at the Portal of Time, it’s hard not to draw comparisons with the temples at Angkor Wat or imagine it as a fantasy gateway to Narnia or something.
A nearby pond filled with lilypads and palm trees only makes this tucked-away attraction even more picturesque. Find a way to visit this spot if you can (probably by bike) because the scenery is worth it.
Take an Ayutthaya Boat Tour
Before my return visit, I never knew that you could do boat tours in Ayutthaya to see its sights. But they’re actually a great way to explore.
Three rivers meet at Ayutthaya and form a boundary around the city like a moat. The outer banks of these rivers are home to quite a few notable temples, but fewer bridges, making going by boat a convenient option. Book a boat cruise at your hotel or a local travel agency (300 baht in 2024).
9. Wat Phanan Choeng
Few things make a statement quite like a huge golden Buddha statue.
And that’s what you’ll see at Wat Phanan Choeng, the first stop on a boat tour. This ancient monastery is centered around its towering Golden Buddha, known as Luang Pho Tho. Gold also decorates the walls, making for an undeniably spectacular sight.
But Wat Phanan Choeng is interesting for another reason. It predates the royal capital, meaning the monastery was here before the capital of the Thai kingdom was moved to Ayutthaya.
Add in a nearby Chinese shrine to a princess and the fish that swarm the boats near the dock and a lot is going on here.
10. Wat Phutthaisawan
The middle stop on a boat tour brings you to Wat Phutthaisawan.
This temple is unassuming compared to the other two temples on the tour but it’s worth looking around. For one thing, rows of human-sized golden Buddhas surround its narrow white prang (tower). The central chamber of the tower also catches your attention, both for its detailed altar and the bats that roost in its ceiling.
If anything though, this is the quiet temple stop, which is welcome given the afternoon crowds at the other two.
11. Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Saving one of the best for last we have Wat Chaiwatthanaram.
This large temple complex reminds me a lot of Prambanan in Indonesia, mainly because of the design of its central stupa and size. But we also visited just before sunset, as is often the case at Prambanan, which adds to the mystique of the sites like these.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram is the farthest temple on the tour which is why it’s the last stop. Going at this time of day means that it’s very busy with all the boat tours. And yet, there’s no denying it’s a very scenic spot.
Other Ayutthaya attractions to visit
Since this list of Ayutthaya attractions is already getting pretty long, I won’t cover more temples in great detail.
You should see now just how much there is to do in Ayutthaya and why one day isn’t enough for a comprehensive visit. If not, here’s a bunch of other spots you can visit if you need more ideas:
- Ayothaya Floating Market – reviews describe this as a tourist trap, but some might find it cute
- Japanese Village – Japanese gardens with a small museum on the history of Japanese settlers here
- Wat Worachettharam – quiet temple next to Wat Lokkayasutha with Buddha statue
- Wat Jong Krom – outer temple north of Wat Phra Ngam in a wooded setting
- Wat Khruttharam – northern community temple, with golden Buddha in old hall and colorful Garuda shrine
3 comments
This is exactly the kind of user friendly first timer guide I need to encourage me to go!!
David, I am bringing children to Thailand and considered this city. I was looking for more to do besides touring waats… in your list of other things to do, you have boat market, Japanese museum then went back to listing waat’s. And yet there is the weekend night market but is there anything for children?
Hi Heather, the historical and cultural attractions of Ayutthaya are the main reasons people visit, which I understand may not appeal to children. Besides the floating market and riding bicycles, I wouldn’t say there’s much for young kids, although I do see there’s The Rabbit Water Park, which may be more their thing. Touring wats is really the big thing here.