Bangkok’s Green Oasis: Parks Offer Relief from City Life
Bangkok can feel chaotic and busy at times. The heat and humidity make things worse. Additionally, toxic fumes from cars and trucks can overwhelm visitors. However, the city’s beautiful public parks shine like green jewels throughout central Bangkok. These spaces provide perfect spots for rest, relaxation, and activities.
Major Investment Creates World-Class Park System
Between 2020 and 2025, Bangkok invested over 900 million baht in park facilities. As a result, the city now boasts Asia’s most connected urban park system. Furthermore, all major parks stay completely free to visit. They also offer much better facilities and features for people with disabilities.
Lumpini Park
Admission: Free
Open: From dawn until 9pm seven days
GPS: 13.729665, 100.536998
Lumpini Park is an inner-city haven of tranquility and shade surrounding peaceful lakes. Named after the birthplace of the Lord Buddha in Nepal, the park sprawls over more than half a million square meters and is home to a wide range of plants and animals. Dating back to the 1920s, Lumpini Park was once set to be an exhibition center for Thai crafts and flower displays.
This never eventuated but Lumpini Park has grown into a vibrant center of outdoor activity for Bangkokians, who often gather before and after sunset to walk, jog, practice aerobics and a host of other recreational activities. The park has completed major renovations for its 100th anniversary celebration in 2025, featuring enhanced green areas and improved water management systems.
A revolutionary 1.3-kilometer elevated Green Bridge now connects directly to Benjakitti Park, creating Bangkok’s first seamless inter-park experience. The park offers free aerobics classes daily from 5:00-7:00 PM, paddle boat rentals, outdoor gym equipment, and Thailand’s first public library within a park.
You can get up close to giant water monitors, one of the largest lizards on the planet as they surreptitiously wade out of the pond to sunbathe. Look for squirrels frolicking in the trees and huge palm-sized snails sliding across the ground, along with over 30 species of birds.
Saranrom Park
Admission: Free
Escape Bangkok’s Urban Chaos
Bangkok can seem like a chaotic and busy city at times. The heat, humidity, and toxic fumes from cars and trucks often feel overwhelming to visitors. However, the city’s beautiful green spaces provide perfect escapes from urban stress.
Fortunately, public parks scattered throughout central Bangkok offer peaceful retreats for both locals and tourists. These green jewels provide spaces for relaxation, exercise, and outdoor activities. Moreover, they give visitors a chance to experience a quieter side of Thailand’s bustling capital.
The contrast between busy streets and calm parks makes these green spaces especially valuable. Additionally, parks offer clean air and shade from Bangkok’s intense tropical sun. Therefore, many travelers use these areas to recharge during long sightseeing days.
Natural Relief from City Stress
Bangkok’s public parks serve as natural air filters in the urban environment. Trees and plants help reduce pollution while providing cooler temperatures through shade and moisture. Consequently, spending time in these green spaces can improve both physical comfort and mental well-being.
Many parks feature walking paths, exercise equipment, and open areas for various activities. For example, visitors can jog, practice tai chi, or simply sit and people-watch in peaceful surroundings. Furthermore, these spaces often host cultural events and festivals throughout the year.
The parks also provide important social gathering places for Bangkok residents. Families come to picnic, children play on playgrounds, and couples enjoy romantic walks. Therefore, visitors can observe authentic local life while escaping the city’s more hectic areas.
Perfect Urban Oases
These green spaces truly glitter like jewels throughout central Bangkok’s concrete landscape. Each park offers its own unique character and amenities for different interests and activities. Additionally, most parks remain easily accessible by public transportation or walking from major tourist areas.
Whether you need a quiet place to rest, want to exercise outdoors, or simply crave fresh air and nature, Bangkok’s parks provide essential relief from urban intensity.
Queen Sirikit Park
Admission: Free
Open: 5am – 6.30pm seven days
GPS: 13.804033, 100.552188
Queen Sirikit Park achieved international recognition in 2024 when it became Bangkok’s first officially accredited botanical garden by Botanic Gardens Conservation International. His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the enhanced botanical garden in February 2025, featuring over 2,000 plant species and new conservation research capabilities.
The Queen Sirikit Park features a wooden pedestrian bridge, offering an alternative for park visitors to easily cross over to neighboring Rod Fai Park. Made of timber, the Bird Wave bridge is inspired by the nearby bird sanctuary and is a popular bird watching spot. Unlike its neighbor Wachira Benchathat Park, which was made for bike riding, you shouldn’t ride within Queen Sirikit Park. Park your bike and walk when in Queen Sirikit park.
The park offers bicycle rentals and maintains Thailand’s geographical map design pattern throughout its layout.
Wachira Benchathat Park (Rot Fai Park)
Admission: Free
Open: 5am – 9pm
GPS: 13.816860, 100.557007
Once the State Railway of Thailand’s golf course, this giant public park is best known by its nickname, Suan Rodfai. Transformed into a heaven for jogging, park cycling and weekend leisure, it’s a great park for kids and families with excellent walking and cycling trails and plentiful picnic opportunities from food vendors scattered around the park.
The park now manages over 300 community gardens throughout the city as part of the Bangkok City Farm Project. It’s also nearby to the famous Chatuchak Market, making it an ideal contrast to a day’s shopping.
Chatuchak Park
Admission: Free
Open: 4:30 AM – 9:30 PM
GPS: 13.803758, 100.553816
One of Bangkok’s most accessible parks thanks to its location right by BTS Mo Chit and MRT Chatuchak Park stations, this green space boasts a leafy jogging route and a lake on which you can hire paddleboats for a serene paddle. A handsome clock tower dominates one part of the park.
The park has completed a major restroom renovation program in 2024-2025, upgrading all six facilities with modern accessibility features. It provides free access to tennis courts and soccer fields, and connects directly to the world’s largest weekend market with 15,000 stalls operating Wednesday through Sunday.
It makes a perfect evening stroll after a day shopping at the nearby Chatuchak Market. You can hire picnic blankets for around 50 baht and enjoy food from vendors surrounding the park.
Benjasiri Park
Admission: Free
Open: Dawn until Dusk
GPS: 13.731316, 100.568200
Opened in 1992 to honor Queen Sirikit’s 60th Birthday, this green space sits right next to a luxury shopping mall in the Khlong Toei district. Art lovers will enjoy scavenging for 12 sculpture pieces scattered throughout this compact park.
Benjasiri Park is a nice place to relax and immerse in local ‘park life’. Some of the more interesting activities within the park include Tai Chi at the front square, joggers circling the perimeter, aerobics near the back, Sepak Takraw (Thai foot volley) and basketball in the back courts. Benjasiri Park is also home to some festivals and free events, the most notable being Loy Krathong festival where locals come to float their ‘baskets’ on the central pond.
Benjakitti Park
Admission: Free
Open: 5am – 9pm
GPS: 13.725635, 100.559884
Benjakitti Park has been transformed into Bangkok’s largest central green space at 72 hectares following a 650 million baht expansion completed in 2022. Now designated as Bangkok’s first forest park, it features a spectacular 1.67-kilometer elevated Sky Walk, four lakes capable of holding 1 million cubic meters of stormwater, and over 169 documented bird species.
Converted from parts of The Tobacco Monopoly property, this expanded public greenery makes an excellent park for cyclists and is a popular jogging spot with locals in downtown Bangkok. The skyscraper backdrop behind the artificial lake makes a spectacular photo opportunity.
The park includes 5.8-kilometer nature trails, a 15,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater, and innovative “sponge city” water management technology. The tracks around the expansive lake are well marked and should be on any cycle tour itinerary.
At Your Thai Guide, we know all the best parks in Bangkok and which one to go to suit your itinerary. Ask us to take you to your favorite!
Bangkok’s Green Future
Bangkok has eliminated virtually all COVID-related restrictions as of 2025, with no capacity limits, mask mandates, or operational changes remaining in effect. The city’s One Million Trees Initiative exceeded its target in mid-2024 and has expanded to plant an additional one million trees across nine eastern districts through 2026.
The revolutionary 15-Minute Pocket Parks Initiative has created 13 pocket parks by 2023 with 101 total sites identified across the city. Notable new additions include Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet Park near MRT Sam Yan and Bang Khae Pirom Park covering 70 rai in Bangkok’s western suburbs.
All parks continue to prohibit smoking, e-cigarettes, and alcohol consumption, while implementing regular security patrols for visitor safety.
At Your Thai Guide, we know all the best parks in Bangkok and which one to go to suit your itinerary. Ask us to take you to your favorite!
