Ayutthaya / Attractions

Ayutthaya attractions

A few miles down the Maenam Chao Phraya from Ayutthaya is the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace. The site was first used by the royal court as a summer retreat in the 17th century. However, the Palace was destroyed with the fall of Kingdom of Ayutthaya and was restored by King Rama IV in the mid-19th century. Most of the buildings that exist today date from the reign of King Rama V, who regularly spent his summers there. The structures represent a variety of architectural styles, set in a large park around ponds and waterways. The only royal residence open to the public is the Chiness-style Wehat Chamroon Palace, constructed entirely of materials imported from China. In addition, there is an Italian-style palace, a circular pavilion with steps leading down to a pool, the graceful Thai-style Aisawan Tippaya Asna Pavilion in the middle of a lake, and, across one of the waterways, a Buddhist chapel in the neo-Gothic style with stained-glass windows. Scattered around the extensive gardens are European statues as well as monuments ordered to be built by King Rama V in memory of members of his family, one of them a much-loved Queen who drowned in a boating accident.
Places of interest in the Bang Pa-in Palace are as follows:


Phra Thinang Utthayan Phumisathian

This is a 2-story elaborately constructed building, which is tinted alternately in dark and light green, located to the east, opposite the pond. Its balcony is similar in design to that of a Swiss chalet. Before being destroyed by fire during the restoration in 1938, the whole building was built from wood and decorated with mahogany furniture ordered directly from Europe.

This ruin of the royal residence for summer retreats is on the east bank of the st1:place w:st="on">Pasak River. It was used by various Kings of Ayutthaya as a temporary camp en route a visit to the Lord Buddha's Footprint in Saraburi or a trip to Lopburi. Prince Damrong surmised that this residence was built during the reign of King Song Tham when the Footprint was discovered. The original building was later strengthened with brick and plaster during the reign King Prasat Thong. According to the royal annals, King Prasat Thong sent artists to Khmer in 1631 to copy the plan of a Khmer prasat from the capital city of Angkor Thom, hence the name Phra Nakhon Luang. However, only a simplified version of the original prasat was constructed and is currently a part of a temple where the monks help to keep the building in a state of good repair.o:p>


Amphoe Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya

Ancient Forts and Fortresses

There are many forts along the city wall and fortresses around the outer circle. Most of them are situated at waterway intersections.

Ayutthaya Historical Park

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ayutthaya's historic temples are scattered throughout this once magnificent city and along the encircling rivers. Several of the more central ruins Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Mongkhon Bophit, Wat Na Phra Meru, Wat Thammikarat, Wat Ratburana and Wat Phra Mahathat can be visited on foot.
It is possible to add more temples and ruins to travel itineraries by touring the city on a rented bicycle. An ideal combination of modes of transportation for visitors interested in seeing everything would be to hire a bicycle for the central temples and charter a long-tail boat to take a tour of the outlying ruins along the river.
Ayutthaya Historical Park is situated opposite the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum. The main attraction in the historical park is Viharn Phramongkol Bophit which houses one of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand.

Chankasem or Front Palace National Museum

Chankasem Palace was built during the reign of King Maha Thammaraja, the 17th King of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. During the reign of King Naresuan the Great the Palace became his permanent residence. Chankasem Palace, like the other palaces, was destroyed during the Burmese invasion. It has been renovated and reopened as a museum open to the public on Wednesdays through Sundays from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

Chao Sam Phraya National Museum

This museum is perfect for history buffs who admire fine arts and handicraft of the Ayutthaya period. Housed in the museum are various original antiques, mostly made of gold and decorated with precious jewels. In addition, there are various antique bronze Buddha images and famous carved panels. Of note is a receptacle in the Thai Pavilion that contains relics of the Lord Buddha and other objects of art that are over 500 years old.
The museum which is located on Rochana Road, opposite the city wall is open daily, except Mondays, Tuesdays and national holidays, from 09.00 a.m. until 4.00 p.m. (Admission fee is 10 Bahts). For more information, call: 0 3524 1587

Chedi Phra Si Suriyothai

This pagoda is situated at the original site of the Rear Palace, in the west of the city. It is a memorial to Somdet Phra Suriyothai, who was the royal consort of Phra Mahachakkaraphat and the first heroine in Thai history. When the Burmese army intruded in 1548, Somdet Phra Suriyothai, clad in a warrior's suit, interrupted the fighting between the King and Phrachao Prae of Burma and was cut to death. Her death saved Ayutthaya from another attack from the Burmese.

Elephant Kraal Pavilion

The Pavilion, utilized as the royal seat to witness the elephant round up, is situated north of the city island. In the past wild elephants would be trained here to become war or transport animals. It is thought that in the Ayutthaya period the stockade was inside the city wall, but this one was built later and was used up until the Bangkok period. In the middle of the stockade is a shrine where the elephant guardian is supposed to reside. Posts made of whole timbers form the fence where elephants were tied up during the training. An elephant round-up was demonstrated here in 1890, during the reign of King Rama V, for the benefit of the Tsarevitch, who later became Nicholas II of Russia, during his visit to Siam.

Japanese Village

This ancient site is located 1.5 kilometres south of the Wat Phananchoeng in Tambon Ko Rein. There is an additional building of the Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre, where the foreign affairs of the Ayutthaya Period are on exhibition.

Khun Phan House

Khun Phan House is a Thai-style house that conforms to descriptions in a popular Thai literary work. Khun Phan's house is near Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit.Si Suriyothai Park, which has a total area of 5 rai, is located within the area of the Ayutthaya liquor plant adjacent to Chedi Phra Si Suriyothai. Within the area is a common building, a Somdet Phra Si Suriyothai pavilion, a mound with marble Semas (boundary stones of a temple) aged over 400 years where the fragmented parts of Buddha images taken from Wat Phutthaisawan were buried, etc. The Liquor Distillery Organization, who sponsored the construction of the park, wished to devote all good deeds in transforming the former inner part of the royal compound to all of the late kings who used to live here. King Rama IX graciously named the park Suan Si Suriyothai on 25 May, 1989 and conferred the park to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on the eve of her 60th anniversary. The park is open daily to the public from 9.00 a.m. until 5.00 p.m.

Phom Phet (The Diamond Fort)

This fort that remains almost intact while ruins of the other forts which had been destroyed are visible around the city island. This fortress, also known as Phom Phet Pairote, is situated on a site known as Bangkaja where the Maenam Chao Phraya and the Maenam Pasak meet to form the south-west corner of the city island. This large fortress is thought to have been built during the reign of King Mahathammaracha following the loss of Ayutthaya to the Burmese for the first time in 1549. The original earthen parapet was strengthened with brick.

Portuguese Village

This village is located in Tambon Samphao Lom, on the west bank of the Maenam Chao Phraya to the south of the city. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive at Ayutthaya in 1151. Antique objects, tobacco pipes, coins and accessories for religious ceremonies have been found at the site.

Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Ayutthaya, which is now known as the Old Palace, is situated next to the northern section of the city wall. King Borom Trailokanath turned the palace, which was built in 1350 by King U-Thong, the first sovereign of the kingdom, into a monastery (Wat Phra Si Sanpet) in 1448 when he declared the three grand wooden prasats built by King U-Thong as a phuttawat or religious zone. King Borom Trailokanath then extended the palace grounds further north towards the Lopburi River, which was then used as the city's moat. Several halls have been built since then. Places of interest in the Royal Palace are as follows:

King Rama IV, desirous of honoring the Kings of Ayutthaya, sent a team of officials from Bangkok to built a small prasat on the foundation of Sanphet Prasat Hall and planned to install a plaque inscribed with the names of all Ayutthaya's kings. However, he died before the construction was completed. In 1907 King Rama V had the unfinished prasat pulled down and built a ceremonial pavilion instead.

Chakawat Paichayon Hall

Trimuk Hall 

This building, which is believed to be the garden house inside the inner court, is located behind Sanphet Prasat Hall but its date of construction is unknown. The name was first mentioned in the reign of King Borom Rachathirat II in 1427 when it was destroyed by fire. It is believed that the original hall was a wooden structure built on top of a plain foundation and the floor was covered with terracotta slabs.
It was a long twin building similar to Sanphet Prasat Hall. The original foundation is still visible.
When King Rama V celebrated the 40th anniversary of his coronation in 1907 he had wooden models of various Ayutthayan halls built on top of the original sites and one of which was built on top of the foundation of Trimuk Hall. In addition, when King Rama VI and King Rama VII ascended to the throne they conducted religious rites in honor of the former Kings in Trimuk Hall and in 1953, the Fine Arts Department renovated the Hall.


St. Joseph's Church

St. Joseph's Church was built during the reign of King Narai in 1666 as a result of a request from the missionaries headed by Bishop Lambert de la Motte a missionary who wished to build a church and a mission school. The original wooden church was rebuilt in bricks and mortar in the European style between 1685 and 1695. During the second Burmese attack, the Siamese used the church as a shelter which led to its being destroyed on 23 March 1767. In 1831 Father Pallegoix came to Siam and took care of the restoration work on the church. The restoration was completed in 1847. More additions in the 12th century Romanesque style were made during the tenure of Father Perros during the reign of King Rama V. The church is a place of continuous Catholic worship in Thailand for over 300 years.