Phra Ram Ratchaniwet (Wang Ban Puen)

Come for the architecture, not the furniture. Almost every room in this 1915 palace, built for King Rama V by a German architect, sits empty. Only the dining hall downstairs and the study upstairs give you much sense of how anyone actually lived here. Some people find that a letdown. I'd argue the building itself carries it: German lines outside and in, art deco detailing, and a double spiral staircase with an upper hall that genuinely stops people in their tracks. The cherubs on the stairs have a slightly sinister look about them, which only adds to the appeal.

You can walk through the king's and queen's bedrooms, the prince and princess rooms, the bathrooms and the royal office, with signs explaining what each one was. Given the place spent years as a barracks and then a school, the restoration has done well. The grounds are hemmed in by plain concrete blocks these days, so don't expect landscaped calm.