Bangkok 3 day itinerary for first-timers, area by area

Bangkok is big, hot and slow to cross, so the only itinerary that works is one that stays in a single part of the city for most of each day. This Bangkok 3 day itinerary is built that way: one day on the river and the old town, one in Chinatown and Silom, one on Sukhumvit, with the market at Chatuchak if your trip touches a weekend. Each day runs morning to night in walking distance or a few stops of rail or boat. Swap the days around to match the weather and your flights.

Day 1: the old town and the river

Start early at the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew in Rattanakosin, before the heat and the coaches. Dress with shoulders and knees covered. Walk south to Wat Pho for the reclining Buddha and a massage at the school in the grounds, then take the ferry from Tha Tien across to Wat Arun. Lunch on the Thonburi side or back at Tha Tien's shophouse cafes.

In the afternoon, Museum Siam or the National Museum, depending on your tolerance for heat, then the Chao Phraya Express boat north to Phra Athit for a riverside drink. Evening in Banglamphu: eat at the stalls off Phra Athit Road or in Soi Rambuttri, and see Khao San after dark for twenty minutes. The full area is in the Rattanakosin old town guide and Khao San guide.

Day 2: Chinatown, the river and Silom

Take the MRT to Wat Mangkon and spend the morning in Chinatown: the gold shops on Yaowarat Road, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, the Sampheng wholesale lane and a mid-morning bowl of noodles. Walk east into Talat Noi for street art and old mechanic shops along the river, then follow Charoen Krung south past the old post office, the Portuguese embassy and the creative district of Bang Rak, with lunch at the stalls around Soi 44.

Late afternoon, cross into Silom by BTS from Saphan Taksin to Sala Daeng, walk in Lumphini Park as the light drops and the monitor lizards come out, then eat on Silom's Soi Convent. Night options: a rooftop bar in Sathorn, the gay bars of Silom Soi 4, or Patpong's night market. See Silom guide and Bangkok rooftop bars by area.

Day 3: Sukhumvit, or Chatuchak at the weekend

If one of your days is a Saturday or Sunday, go to Chatuchak weekend market in the morning, by BTS to Mo Chit, and eat at Or Tor Kor market across the road. Otherwise, start at Jim Thompson House near Siam, then the BACC art centre, with lunch in the Siam Paragon food hall.

Afternoon on the BTS along Sukhumvit: Benjasiri Park and the EmQuartier malls at Phrom Phong, then Thonglor for coffee and the dining sois. Evening in Thonglor or Ekkamai for dinner and cocktails, or back at Asok for Terminal 21 and the Soi Cowboy strip if that is your thing. See Sukhumvit guide and Thonglor guide.

Three rules for a Bangkok 3 day itinerary

Do the temples in the morning and the malls in the afternoon heat. Use the boats and trains and treat taxis as a last resort between four and eight in the evening. And eat at the places with a queue of locals, not the ones with a laminated English menu on the pavement. The Bangkok street food neighbourhoods post will tell you where those are.

Getting there

• Day 1: MRT Sanam Chai for the Grand Palace; Chao Phraya Express from Tha Tien or Tha Chang to Phra Athit.
• Day 2: MRT Wat Mangkon; walk or Chao Phraya Express to Sathorn pier; BTS Saphan Taksin to Sala Daeng.
• Day 3: BTS Mo Chit for Chatuchak; BTS Siam, Phrom Phong and Thong Lo along Sukhumvit.
• From Suvarnabhumi, the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai is the fastest way into the city; from Don Mueang, the SRT Red Line to Bang Sue connects to the MRT. See Bangkok by boat for the piers.