Must-see entertainment in Thailand

  • Old Chiang Mai Cultural Centre

    Chiang Mai

    For an interactive immersion in all things Lanna, this first-of-its-kind Khantoke dinner-theatre experience remains unparalleled in Thailand. Guests…

  • 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,…

  • North Gate Jazz Co-Op

    Chiang Mai

    This compact jazz club tends to pack in as many musicians as it does patrons, with local and visiting instrumentalists offering nightly sets and…

  • 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…

  • Chiang Mai Cabaret Show

    Chiang Mai

    Chiang Mai's most eye-catching show is this nightly so-called 'ladyboy cabaret' in which cross-dresser and transgender performers wear carnival-style…

  • 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…

  • Fisherman Hut Music Station

    Ko Kut

    This semi-open-air stage and music venue hosts live music from local and visiting bands nightly in season. It's a fine initiative from music-loving locals…

  • 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,…

  • Huan Soontaree

    Chiang Mai

    Thai tourists eagerly make the pilgrimage 8km north of town to this rustic restaurant in the hope of hearing the dulcet tones of its owner, Thai chanteuse…

  • 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…

  • Queen's Cabaret

    Ko Tao

    Every night is different at this intimate bar where acts range from your standard Abba tributes to steamy topless crooners. If you're male and sitting…

  • Paris Follies Cabaret

    Ko Samui

    This dazzling and fun cabaret offers one-hour gà·teu·i (also spelled kàthoey) cabaret featuring cross-dresser and/or transgender performers every night at…

  • 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…

  • Phuket Simon Cabaret

    Hat Patong

    About 500m south of Patong, Simon puts on colourful cabarets that are wildly popular with (and now slightly catered towards) tour groups. The 600-seat…

  • 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…

  • Thapae East

    Chiang Mai

    An atmospheric and intimate red-brick house where a diverse array of musicians perform throughout the week. There's also an adjacent hostel, a craft store…

  • 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,…

  • Bebop

    Phuket Town

    Under the watch of one of the island's favourite musicians, Boy Navio, red-walled Bebop is the place in town for quality live jazz, and gets busy with…

  • Chiang Mai Boxing Stadium

    Chiang Mai

    The most professional of Chiang Mai's Thai boxing stadiums, with slightly higher admission fees and higher-profile fights anticipated by tourists and…

  • 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…

  • Loi Kroh Boxing Stadium

    Chiang Mai

    A popular Thai boxing stadium surrounded by seedy bars in Chiang Mai's Red Light District. Detailed fliers often circulate online and in the streets on…

  • Kong Siam

    Ko Phi-Phi

    There's live music nightly at this popular place that draws Thais and fa·ràng (Westerners). The talented band plays everything from classic covers to…

  • 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…

  • Galaxy Boxing Stadium

    Hat Patong

    This stadium has a packed line-up of competitive moo·ay tai (Thai boxing) bouts featuring Thai and foreign fighters.

  • 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…