Wat Maha That Yuvarat Rangsarit Ratchaworamahawihan

This is the temple to walk into when you've had enough of camera phones and rope lines. It's a working royal monastery dating back to the Ayutthaya period, home to Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Buddhist University and a meditation center that people actually use. Monks and students cross the grounds on their way to class. Nobody is putting on a show for you.

Go for the quiet more than the spectacle. The traditional Buddhist architecture is worth your time, but what makes the place different from the big-ticket temples a short walk away is that religious life carries on around you while you look. Thanon Maha Rat outside is lined with amulet and religious goods vendors, which is a proper Bangkok street scene in its own right and easily half an hour of browsing. If you want instruction rather than sightseeing, the meditation center takes people in, and that's the reason most foreign visitors end up here more than once.