![Talad Rod Fai, Bangkok - best shoppping in Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/talad-rod-fai-market-bangkok-shopping-lead-image.jpg?imwidth=680)
The best shopping in Bangkok
Where to shop in Bangkok, from night markets to neon-lit malls
![Talad Rod Fai, Bangkok - best shoppping in Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/talad-rod-fai-market-bangkok-shopping-lead-image.jpg?imwidth=680)
Thais love shopping, and the sheer variety of items on offer can be as overwhelming as it is exhilarating. Clothes and textiles, jewellery, electronic hardware and DVDs (not all of them above board) are among the things you'll find.
Downtown Bangkok, especially the area around Chitlom, Siam Square and Pratunam, offers unrivalled shopping, from bargain clothes and designer sunglasses to hi-tech gadgets and local souvenirs. Try gigantic MBK, which contains countless independent outlets and bargains, or the upmarket Siam Paragon with its luxury-car showrooms and huge basement aquarium. Also interesting are the Patpong Night Market for bootleg luxury items and Banglamphoo, Bangkok's backpacker quarter, great for trendy clothes and jewellery. Panthip Plaza offers five floors of computer equipment. For more idiosyncratic stores and markets, try the following. And don’t forget to haggle for bargains.
And for more Bangkok inspiration, turn to our guides on the city's best hotels, restaurants, nightlife, and attractions.
Find places to shop by area
Northern Bangkok
Chatuchak Weekend Market
One of the world's largest open-air markets, so huge that an electric train (free of charge) whisks visitors about. Some 15,000 stalls sell furniture, ceramics, plants, trendy clothes, souvenirs, traditional medicine, books, animals and much more. Prices are pretty reasonable and it’s a great place for people watching, with thousands of Thais and foreigners clogging the lanes between the stalls. In recent years, young Thai designers have set up shop to sell interesting paintings, jewellery and other unique handicrafts. Plenty of small eateries and drinks stalls save marathon shoppers from exhaustion.
Contact: chatuchakmarket.org
Prices: £-£££
![Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/chatuchak-market-shops--bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Papaya Vintage
A little out of town but not far from Chatuchak Market, Papaya Vintage is a warehouse crammed with curios, vintage objects, clothes and furniture, Vespa scooters and life-size Star Wars figures. It’s delightfully chaotic and the sheer volume of artefacts from the 1960s onwards is almost overwhelming. The upper floor houses several studios where pop videos and advertising spots are shot, naturally using the sheer infinite choice of props on the three floors below. For those who like kitsch, flea markets and memorabilia, Papaya is a great shopping experience.
Contact: papaya-studio.com
Prices: ££-£££
![Papaya Vintage, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/papaya-vintage-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Eastern Bangkok
The Railway Market – Talad Rod Fai
Located behind a shopping mall a little way out of town, this huge night market, also known as Srinagarindra Train Night Market, specialises in antiques and antique-style items, but also offers all the stuff that can usually found at night markets (which is pretty much anything). That said, the items for sale are generally more interesting than those found at other markets, whether they are handmade curios or vintage cars. Almost a universe of its own, this expanse of multi-colored tents, along with countless eateries and bars, is a great place to browse an evening away.
Address: Soi Srinagarindra 51, Khwaeng Nong Bon
Contact: 00 66 818 275 885
Opening times: Thurs-Sun, 5pm-12pm
Prices: ££
![The Railway Market – Talad Rod Fai, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/talad-rod-fai-market-tents-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Downtown
Paul’s Antiques
Set downtown in a 1960s bungalow in a lush tropical garden, this shop-cum-furniture restoration business specialises in antiques from around Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on Burmese objects. It also produces new furniture and design items from reclaimed teak, including coffee tables made from old window shutters and an erstwhile teak boat remodelled as a book shelf. The bright showrooms hold an impressive collection of items including vintage photographs, an array of sculptures, ceramics (including Angkor period pieces) and musical instruments, but the furniture impresses most. It’s even possible to watch some of the restoration work going on.
Contact: paulsantiques.com
Prices: £££
![Paul’s Antiques, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/pauls-antiques-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Dasa Book Café
Quite possibly Bangkok’s best second-hand bookshop, and surely its largest, Dasa is run by an erudite American and offers more than 18,000 well-organised fiction and non-fiction titles, from bestsellers to obscurities, and including many books on the region. It's housed over three floors in a house of narrow, creaking stairs and loaded shelves, a stone’s throw from the Emporium Shopping Centre on Sukhumvit Road. Dasa also offers cakes and fresh coffee, sells music CDs and organises occasional author events. Incredibly, all titles are listed online and prices are reasonable.
Contact: dasabookcafe.com
Prices: ££
![Dasa Book Café, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/dasa-bookshop-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Fortune Town
Thailand’s first port of call for anyone on the hunt for well-priced computers, phones, cameras and accessories, and a wide range of other audio and visual equipment, is easy to reach via MRT Phra Ram 9. Aside from a plethora of gadgets, Fortune town also houses instrument and outdoor sports shops and countless restaurants. Tourists are entitled to a VAT refund at the airport for purchases of over 5000 thb.
Contact: fortunetown.co.th/en
Prices: £
Lost and Found Store
This funky first-floor shop in trendy Thong Lo sells a great variety of vintage clothing ‘from every era of the 20th century & beyond’. Many of the items are sourced in Japan, and there’s plenty of denim, T-shirts and platform shoes, as well as vintage sunglasses. Below, on the building’s ground floor, ZudRangMa Records, a record shop and music label, sells vintage vinyl from around Asia and as far as Africa and Jamaica, as well as its own superb re-issues of 1960s Thai mor lam and luk thung classics.
Contact: 00 66 888 917 016; facebook.com/lostandfoundstore
Opening times: Wed-Sat, 12pm-8pm; closed Sun-Tues
Prices: ££
![Lost and Found Store, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/lost-and-found-store-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Fotofile
Hands down the best shop in town for camera buffs, both for second-hand gear and many new models. It’s also the first port of call for cleaning and minor repairs. It's spread across two locations within MBK shopping centre: a small outlet on the ground floor sells a very decent collection of second-hand bodies and lenses of all makes, from professional gear to compact models, at reasonable prices; on the third floor a bigger shop sells new cameras and countless accessories. Staff are knowledgeable, friendly and some speak English.
Contact: fotofile.co.th
Prices: ££
![Fotofile, MBK, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/fotofile-bangkok.jpg?imwidth=350)
Hardcover: The Art Book Shop
This futuristic bookshop in the Central Embassy shopping mall, created by the owners of the long-established Serindia Gallery, offers an amazing collection of art, design and photography publications, along with titles on architecture, fashion, travel, history, lifestyle, film and food, including some books for children. There’s an emphasis on beautifully designed, large format titles, and whether you are looking for an illustrated history of Thai movies or a book of Banksy’s work, you’re likely to find it here.
Contact: centralembassy.com
Prices: ££-£££
![Hardcover: The Art Book Shop, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/hardcover-the-art-book-shop-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
Lofty Bamboo
For fair priced and fair trade clothes and other items produced by Thailand’s stateless ethnic minorities, head to one of two outlets of Lofty Bamboo, on Sukhumvit Soi 39, or on the first floor of the Terminal 21 shopping mall. All shops sell a great selection of trendy and funky items, not exactly authentic, but adapted to modern tastes – from dresses and shoes to wallets, key rings, jewellery, colourful bags of all kinds, diaries and animals made from cloth.
Contact: 00 66 2261 6570; facebook.com/LoftyBamboo
Opening times: Daily, 9.30am-6.30pm
Prices: ££
![Lofty Bamboo, Bangkok](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/Travel/Destinations/Asia/Thailand/Bangkok/lofty-bamboo-bangkok-shopping-guide.jpg?imwidth=350)
How we choose
Every attraction and activity in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets and styles, from world-class museums to family-friendly theme parks – to best suit every type of traveller. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up to date recommendations.
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