Must-see entertainment in Bangkok

  • Rajadamnern Stadium

    Bangkok

    Rajadamnern Stadium is Bangkok’s oldest and most venerable venue for moo·ay tai (Thai boxing; also spelt muay Thai). Be sure to buy tickets from the…

  • Major Cineplex

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    In addition to housing Thailand’s largest IMAX screen, Major Cineplex's options include the Blue Ribbon Screen, a cinema with a maximum of 72 seats, where…

  • The Living Room

    Thanon Sukhumvit

    Don’t let looks deceive you: every night this bland hotel lounge transforms into the city’s best venue for live jazz. True to the name, there’s comfy,…

  • Brick Bar

    Banglamphu

    This basement pub, a favourite destination in Bangkok for live music, hosts a nightly revolving cast of bands for an almost exclusively Thai crowd – many…

  • Bamboo Bar

    Bangkok

    After more than 65 years of service, the Mandarin Oriental's Bamboo Bar remains one of the city's premier locales for live jazz. Guest vocalists are flown…

  • Saxophone Pub & Restaurant

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    After 30 years, Saxophone remains Bangkok’s premier live-music venue – a dark, intimate space where you can pull up a chair just a few metres away from…

  • Apex Scala

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    A flagrantly 1960s-era cinema in central Bangkok, the Scala's one screen shows a mix of contemporary Hollywood and films from the past.

  • Bangkok Screening Room

    Bangkok

    Bangkok has heaps of attractions that draw tourists in – great weather, fantastic bars, unbeatable food, low prices – but it's not known for being a…

  • Sala Chalermkrung

    Chinatown

    This art-deco Bangkok landmark, a former cinema dating to 1933, is one of the few remaining places kŏhn (masked dance-drama based on stories from the…

  • Lam Sing

    Thanon Sukhumvit

    Even Ziggy Stardust–era David Bowie has nothing on this dark, decadent, rhinestone-encrusted den, one of Bangkok's best venues for mŏr lam and lôok tûng,…

  • Siam Niramit

    Northern Bangkok

    A cultural theme park, this enchanted kingdom transports visitors to a Disneyesque version of ancient Siam with a brightly coloured stage show of…

  • Parking Toys

    Northern Bangkok

    One of northern Bangkok’s best venues for live music, Parking Toys hosts an eclectic revolving cast of bands ranging in genre from rockabilly to electro…

  • Sala Rim Naam

    Bangkok

    The historic Mandarin Oriental hosts a traditional dance theatre in a sumptuous Thai pavilion located across the river in Thonburi to complement a luxury…

  • Three Sixty

    Bangkok

    A set or two of live jazz in this elegant glass-encased perch 32 floors above the city will help you forget some of your day's woes (or life's worries)…

  • Whiteline

    Bangkok

    This six-storey shophouse-turned-artspace in bustling Silom has something for everyone: film screenings, indie concerts, gallery nights displaying local…

  • jazz happens!

    Banglamphu

    Linked with Silpakorn University, Thailand's most famous arts university, jazz happens! is a stage for aspiring musical talent. With four acts playing…

  • Tawandang German Brewery

    Bangkok

    It’s Oktoberfest all year round at this hangar-sized music-hall-cum-microbrewery. The Thai–German food is tasty, the house-brewed ales are eminently…

  • Adhere the 13th

    Banglamphu

    This closet-sized blues bar is everything a neighbourhood joint should be: lots of regulars, cold beer and heart-warming tunes delivered by a masterful…

  • Raintree

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    This rustic pub is one of the few remaining places in town to hear ‘songs for life’, Thai folk music with roots in the political movements of the 1960s…

  • Titanium

    Thanon Sukhumvit

    Many come to this cheesy ‘ice bar’ for the chill, the skimpily dressed waitresses and the flavoured vodka, but some discerning others come for Unicorn,…

  • Brown Sugar

    Banglamphu

    Located in a cavernous shophouse is this long-standing live-music staple. The music, which spans from funk to jazz, starts at 8pm most nights and, on…

  • House

    Northern Bangkok

    Bangkok’s first and biggest art-house cinema, House shows lots of foreign flicks of the non-Hollywood type. For updated screening information, check the…

  • Lumpinee Boxing Stadium

    Northern Bangkok

    The other of Bangkok's two premier Thai boxing rings is located in a modern venue far north of town.

  • National Theatre

    Ko Ratanakosin & Thonburi

    The National Theatre holds performances of kŏhn (masked dance-drama based on stories from the Ramakian) at 2pm on the first and second Sundays of the…

  • Patpong

    Bangkok

    Once billed as the world's most notorious red-light district, Patpong is now a much watered-down version of its former self. These days, a flea market…

  • Diplomat Bar

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    Named for its location in the middle of the embassy district, this is one of the few hotel lounges that locals make a point of visiting. Choose from an…

  • Shanghai Terrace

    Chinatown

    One of the only non-karaoke-based places of entertainment on Chinatown's main drag is this cosy Chinatown-themed lounge in the Shanghai Mansion hotel…

  • Calypso Bangkok

    Bangkok

    Located in Asiatique market, Calypso is a popular destination for gà·teu·i (also spelt kàthoey) cabaret, which features cross-dressers or transgender…

  • Apoteka

    Thanon Sukhumvit

    Antiques and a shophouse-like setting give Apoteka a fun, old-school feel. Stiff mixed drinks and blues-oriented bands every night from around 7pm make it…

  • Nana Entertainment Plaza

    Thanon Sukhumvit

    Nana is a three-storey go-go bar complex which attracts sexpats and gawking tourists alike. It’s also home to a few gà·teu·i (Thai cross-dresser or…

  • Soi Cowboy

    Thanon Sukhumvit

    This single-lane strip of raunchy bars claims direct lineage to the post–Vietnam War R&R era. A real flesh trade functions amid the flashing neons that…

  • Suk Sabai

    Banglamphu

    Although it's located one street over, Suk Sabai is the epitome of the open-air Th Khao San–style bar/restaurant, with live music played to beer-guzzling…

  • Molly Bar

    Banglamphu

    This is a long-standing bar with live music – think Top 40 hits or perky Thai pop covers – on most nights. Despite its proximity to Th Khao San, it's a…

  • Rock Pub

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    With posters of Iron Maiden as interior design, and black jeans and long hair as the dress code, this long-standing, cave-like, live-music bar is Thailand…

  • SF World Cinema

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    This large multiscreen theatre is a great place to catch up on international releases.

  • SF Cinema City

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    This multiplex screens a mix of Hollywood and local releases.