Lumpini Park (Lumphini Park)

Named after the birthplace of the Buddha—Lumbini in Nepal—Lumpini Park was created in the 1920s around an artificial lake. The park’s facilities include a jungle gym and other kids’ play features, paddle boats on the lake, a pavilion where people practice ballroom dancing, and paths for jogging, walking, and biking. It’s a very popular place among locals as well as tourists, so it’s also great for people watching. Travelers often visit Lumpini Park independently, or as part of a guided tour of Bangkok’s highlights, alongside its markets and temples.

• The entrance is free.
• Smoking is prohibited.
• Cycling is permitted only between 10am and 3pm.
• It’s common to see large monitor lizards strolling around. While these are not vicious, it’s best to give them space—and definitely don’t feed them!
• Many hawker stalls are set up outside the entrances to the park, so it’s easy to grab a picnic on your way in.
• Free jazz or orchestral concerts are often held in the park on Sunday afternoons.

Lumpini Park is in central Bangkok, very close to the Silom and Lumphini MRT (subway) stations, and the Saladaeng Skytrain station.

The park is open from 4:30am until 9pm. Bangkok has a hot climate, so avoid visiting Lumpini Park in the heat of the day and opt for an early morning or evening visit instead. Visitors who want to exercise can join open-air aerobics sessions in the evenings.

Lumpini Park may be one of Bangkok’s most popular, but it isn’t the largest. That honor goes to Rama IX Park, built in honor the King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 60th birthday in 1987. There’s a beautiful botanical garden, a large lake, and English, Chinese, and Japanese gardens. It’s on the south-eastern outskirts of the city.