Best Markets & Shopping in Bangkok

A vast mall that works best as the anchor of a full day's shopping, not a quick stop.

A compact Central mall right on Silom, easy to reach and easy to finish in an hour.

A sprawling Bangkok market offering clothes, crafts, antiques, street food, and collectibles across hundreds of stalls.

The quieter, more local weekend market ten minutes' walk from the touristy one, with canal-side seats worth lingering in.

A calm, glassy four-storey mall on the Thon Buri bank, best used as breathing space after ICONSIAM.

Luxury outlet minutes from Suvarnabhumi, best used as a half-day stop before a late flight.

Small, calm canalside strip of artist studios and cafés, best paired with Wat Paknam up the road.

Fruit and veg at wholesale prices, open round the clock, with vehicles nudging past you the whole time.

Bangkok's tidiest fresh market, at its best before the morning heat sets in.

A weekend canal market that's really a food market on land, and better for it if you arrive early.

Come at dawn on a Saturday for the quiet, low-key floating market that hasn't been staged for tour buses.

Less a floating market these days, more a canalside food street with a 50 baht boat ride worth taking.

Come for the Indian food and the air-con, not for a classic Thai market experience.

A proper local night market in Chom Thong, open every evening, where almost nobody is a tourist.

Bargain-hunting territory in Pratunam, where vendors open high and expect you to push back.

A riverside pier stop for a cold drink and a sit-down between temples, not a shopping trip in itself.

Come after dark or don't bother, and never on a Monday when the night market's shut.

Bangkok's Indian quarter, where the fabric shops are a sideshow to the street food behind the Sikh temple.

A wholesale clothing hub that's fully awake at 4am and winding down by the time most tourists surface.

Go early on a weekend, buy a bag of bread for the fish, and don't expect a boat-packed spectacle.

A luxury duty-free shopping destination inside One Bangkok, open daily from 10am to 10pm.

Come to haggle, not to browse: opening prices here are often double what you'll actually pay.

Come for the food stalls and the seafood restaurants, not for crafts, and don't count on getting a seat.

Barely a floating market, but the fish grilled to order on a pontoon deck makes the weekend trip worth it.