Lumphini Park is the biggest park in Bangkok, and it is beautiful! It is a green and peaceful lung in the middle of the hustle and busy elsewhere in the city.
The park was built in 1920s, by King Rama VI, as part of his royal property. A statue of this king is located at the entrance to the south-west, and is often decorated with bright orange flower garlands.
It`s name Lumphini comes from Buddhas birthplace Lumbini in Nepal.
There are several paths around the park, with total length of approximately 2,5 km. This is the perfect place for running, walking, bicycling and rollerblading. Officially you are only allowed to bicycle between 10 am. and 3 pm. though.
In the middle of the park is a pretty big artificial lake, surrounded by big trees.
Cozy small pierce at the shore of the lake, where one can seek shelter if the rain breaks loose.
It is also possible to rent rowing boats and eh…duck-boats and go for a spin on the lake.
There are also some animals in the park. When we were there we spotted not only birds, street cats and street dogs, but also a huge lizard!
A pigeon and a gigantic lizard!
The park also offers training facilities and big open spaces. These are very popular for both badminton and playing.
Me trying out some of the workout equipment in the park.
Men with big muscles pumping iron on one of the areas for lifting weights. And ONLY men…..
Each afternoon there are free aerobics classes in the park (from around 5 pm to 7 pm). These are very popular, and hundreds of men and women of all ages join in, dancing and jumping to the music.
If you ever do go for a walk, run or join the aerobics, and all of a sudden EVERYBODY stops running and stands completely still, then don`t worry this is normal! Each afternoon at 6 pm. the King`s anthem gets played over the speakers and everybody has to stop and pay their respect. So remember to stop when you see everybody else stand still, and don`t freak out. 🙂
While the men pump iron, the women do aerobics.
Me joining (or trying to keep up with) the aerobics.
Smoking is not allowed in the park, the same goes for dogs. The park is very clean and nicely decorated with flowers, trees and sculptures.
A woman sculpture and an elephant tree.
Lumphini Park also has Bangkok`s first public library and dance hall. Today there are also a swimming hall here, tennis courts and an indoor-gym.
There are several pavilions in the park.
At the time Lumphini Park was created, it was on the outskirt of the city, while now it is in the middle of the Business District of Bangkok.
The park is surrounded by tall skyscrapers, as it is located in the middle of the business district.
The park has several times been occupied by political demonstrations, both in 2006 and 2013/2014. We were in Bangkok when it was occupied in 2013/2014, and the park reminded of a camping site or a festival area with tents covering the park.
Pretty big roads in the park.
Me running in Lumphini Park.
Lumphini park is a great place to head if you need some “nature” and peace and quiet. It has a nice atmosphere, and is the perfect place to go for a picnic or just relax and watch people work out. If you are in for a sweat on the other hand, this is also the place to come for a run, walk, weight lifting or aerobics.
We have used the park every time we have been to Bangkok, both for relaxing and to work out. After Central Park, Lumphini Park is our favorite park among the ones we have been to around the world so far. It is absolutely worth a visit if you are in Bangkok!
Where To Stay In Bangkok
Bangkok offers a wide selection of accommodation for all budgets, and you will have plenty of choices when it comes to finding the right place to stay.
Bangkok is pretty affordable when it comes to accommodation, so you can get some really good deals and even find five stars hotels very cheap compared to other places in the world. However, accommodation prices do vary greatly with the season. Below are some of our favorite hotels in Bangkok. We have stayed at all of the hotels below.
Hotel Muse has a beautiful and classic decor
Read our review of Hotel Muse her. It is a cool and unique boutique hotel, perfectly located in the center of Bangkok!
Click here for latest prices
Avani Riverside
Awesome rooftop infinity pool at Avani Riverside Hotel
If you’d like to stay along the river without breaking the bank, the new Avani Riverside hotel is a great alternative to the usual riverside luxury hotels. Rooms are super comfortable with fantastic views overlooking the Chao Phraya river and the fantastic rooftop infinity pool is probably our favorite in Bangkok.
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Casa Nithra
If you’re looking for a mid-range option close to Bangkok’s famous Khao San area, then the Casa Nithra comes highly recommended. The rooftop swimming pool is lovely, the rooms comfortable and the breakfast has plenty of options. It’s located in a quiet area, yet Khao San is just an easy walk away.
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Hotel Icon
Hotel Icon is a small hotel centrally located on Sukhumvit road. The rooms are fresh and modern, big and comfortable with all the usual comforts such as flat screen tv, aircon, and free Wi-Fi. The rooftop swimming pool is great!
Click here for latest prices
⇒ For more accommodation options and tips on which areas of Bangkok that suits you best, read our complete guide to where to stay in Bangkok.
Travel Guides
We used the Lonely Planet`s Thailand travel guide on our trip. You can get that and other great books by clicking on the pictures below:
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Have you been to Lumphini Park? What do you think of it? Have you been to other parks in Bangkok or around the world that you liked? Please leave a comment in the comment area below. If you like this and find it useful, please share on social media. Thank you! 🙂
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Lumphini Park is such an oasis of calm in the craziness of Bangkok. We spent a lot of time relaxing in it with our books when we visited last year!
The monitor lizards can give you a fright when they crawl down trees!
Hi Karianne,
We love this park too! Having this kind of green lung in a big city like Bangkok is awesome! Yep, the monitor lizards are a bit scary, I agree. They look too much like Komodo Dragons, which we saw in Komodo National Park in Indonesia. But luckily they do not live in Lumphini Park, hehe. 🙂
Thanks for commenting!
Cheers,
Maria
Love Lumpini park. A dear, green place in the heart of a chaotic, concrete jungle. I was last there in July 2016 with my two Scottish/Thai children; it’s such a nice park for a stroll and the kids loved watching the huge monitor lizards. Good post and lovely pictures!
Thank you so much, Raymond! I agree Lumpini Park is the best park in Bangkok. We are actually in Bangkok right now and went for a run in Lumphini just the other day. Lovely to get some green in between all this hectic city life. The lizards are so big! They look a bit like Komodo Dragons but are luckily not dangerous and very peaceful, unlike its lookalike. 😉
-Maria-
Yes, I thought they looked like komodo dragons too. We got a bit of a fright actually, when one crawled out of the lake onto the grass right next to a bench we were sitting on. Anyway, enjoy Bangkok!