Christmas in Bangkok is the time of the year when the city's hotels usually enjoy maximum occupancy, and when shopping malls dazzle with impressive decorations, displays, events and promotions. Shopping, along with eating and partying the night away, is usually on everyone's agendas in Bangkok. A must-see is the Christmas lights decorating Bangkok’s many buildings, trees, bridges, and lamp poles. Sometimes, even tuk-tuks and food stalls are adorned with colourful and twinkling lights.
Christmas in Bangkok - one of the highlights of Bangkok Events Calendar (Read all about Bangkok here)
Highlights of Christmas in Bangkok
Strolling the streets of central Bangkok on Christmas is part of the fun. A good place to start is on Rachadamri Road, where you can check out colourful décor and lights at prominent venues like The Four Seasons Hotel, The Peninsula Plaza, Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, The Erawan Mall, and Amarin Plaza.
From the intersection of Rachadamri and Rachaprasong Roads, make a right turn and continue walking for about 100 metres (passing Amarin Plaza) until you reach an escalator that takes you up to a skywalk. You can head inside Gaysorn Mall for attractive sales before crossing a covered bridge to CentralWorld Square. Beer gardens with nightly live concerts take place throughout December.
There's a skywalk that takes you to Siam, one of Bangkok’s busiest shopping areas. The massive Siam Paragon has dozens of palm trees illuminated with colourful Christmas lights. The entire area around Siam Square offers a vibrant festival mood, with Christmas trees and lights, as well as dozens of stalls selling clothes, accessories, souvenirs, and street food.
The city’s famous Riverside is also popular during Christmas. Floating restaurants and party boats transport revellers up and down the Chao Phraya River throughout the day (and well into the night). If you want to explore other parts of Bangkok during Christmas, you can head over to Chinatown, Khao San Road, and Ratchadamnoen Road.