Bangkok’s Best Parks: Lumphini, the Green Mile and Benjakitti in One Day
I found Lumphini Park by accident. I was hunting down a chicken stall on a side street and decided to cut through to avoid the traffic. What I found inside was space and quiet I was not expecting. It reminded me of Hyde Park in Sydney or Central Park in New York. A place where the city just drops away and you can actually stand still for a minute.
After that first visit I started seeking out more parks in Bangkok. On a later trip I stayed near Queen Sirikit station on the edge of Benjakitti and the park became my daily morning walk, which was very necessary given how much I was eating. These three parks are not what most visitors expect and the fact that you can walk between all of them makes it one of the best half days you can spend in Bangkok.
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What I love about these parks is that they are full of life. Joggers, exercise classes, older locals playing games in the shade, kids on the paddle boats, office workers eating lunch. Birds and lizards going about their business like nobody is watching. There is always something happening and yet somehow it still feels like a break from the city outside the gates.
Tip: Bangkok’s heat is no joke. Parks are busiest from dawn until 9am and again from 5pm until closing. If you are timing a visit around your step count, those are your windows.
Lumphini Park
Lumphini opened in 1925 after King Rama VI donated the land following a trade fair held on the grounds. It is named after the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal and is Bangkok’s first public park.
It turned 100 this year and a major renovation to mark the centenary has freshened up the facilities, buried the utility cables and improved accessibility throughout. The hawker centre and the revamped Green Mile connection to Benjakitti are both part of that update.
Growing up in Sydney we had Blue Tongue lizards in the back garden so I was not expecting to be particularly impressed by Lumphini’s famous residents. I was wrong. Some of the monitor lizards in Lumphini are enormous. The one we came across on our last visit was less lizard, more small crocodile making a very confident crossing of the path.
The park covers 3km if you walk the full loop, which takes around 40 minutes at a relaxed pace. Along the way you will pass outdoor fitness stations, a swimming pool, basketball courts and an all abilities playground. It is well used by locals for good reason.
Check out our guide to Bangkok’s best street food and grab some to enjoy in the park.
What’s New at Lumphini
The new hawker centre in the northwest corner runs from 5am to midnight with different vendors during the day and evening, organising what used to be scattered street stalls into a covered food court.
Hourly light shows at the Chinese Tower start at 7pm, with additional installations in front of Lumphini Hall. Anywheel bike sharing stations are now dotted through the park at 10 baht per half hour, giving you access to the Green Mile as well.
Things to do in Lumphini Park?
- Sign out a free paddleboat on the main lake
- Join the free (and fun) evening aerobics classes near Gate 4
- Catch a free concert or performance at the amphitheatre
- Visit the library for free wifi, public computers and a peaceful air-conditioned break.
- Check out the all abilities playground at Smiling Sun Ground
If you want to cover more ground, Anywheel bike sharing stations are now dotted through the park. Green bikes for 10 baht per half hour, which also gives you access to the Green Mile.
Where: Rama IV Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok
When: 4.30am – 9pm
Getting there: BTS Sala Daeng is a 5-minute walk to the park, or take the MRT to Silom and use exit 1 which brings you directly to the main entrance at Gate 4.
Good to know
- Cyclists are only allowed between 10am and 3pm
- There are toilets on the island near the north west corner
- Dogs, smoking and alcohol are not permitted
- Feeding the pigeons is banned
If you want to keep going, we suggest you exit the park via the north-eastern corner and making your way along the Green Mile.
The Green Mile
The Green Mile is worth doing for its own sake, not just as a connection between the two parks. The elevated path stretches just under 2km from Lumphini to Benjakitti and crosses over klongs, expressways and some of the most densely packed communities in the city without you ever touching a road.
What makes it interesting is what you see below. Traditional wooden homes sitting in the shadow of gleaming office towers. The Soi Polo and Soi Ruamrudee communities packed in tight underneath you. A mosque, a church, and streets with historical ties to Japanese immigrants from the 1920s. Bangkok contains multitudes and the Green Mile shows you several of them in one walk.
The path itself has been renovated with coloured non-slip lanes for runners and cyclists, and improved ramps replacing the old steep stairs. You can bring your Anywheel bike from Lumphini or pick one up at either end. Near the Benjakitti end the path runs alongside the new dog park.
Keep an eye out for the Kimono Cafe, a small cafe built directly onto the top floor of a house at walkway level as you pass through Soi Polo. I have not eaten there but I have stopped to look twice.
Access is via Sukhumvit Soi 4 or Soi 10 at the Lumphini end, and the walk finishes near Asok BTS at Ratchadaphisek Road. It’s a great walk to explore local life in Bangkok
Benjakitti Park
If Lumphini is Bangkok’s classic European-style park, Benjakitti is what happens when a city decides to do something more ambitious. The two sit at opposite ends of the Green Mile and feel completely different when you are inside them.
I stayed near Queen Sirikit station on my first extended Bangkok trip and Benjakitti became part of my daily routine. Early morning before the heat set in, or a sunset walk after a long day out. It is the kind of park you return to without really planning to.
Before you head in, % Arabica at the southeast corner near the MRT is worth knowing about. It is not cheap but I still find myself there more often than I should. There is also a food court on the lower floors if you want something more substantial before your walk. Grab something cold, vendors inside the park are sparse.
Once through the gates the lake is the first thing you see, calm and wide with the Bangkok skyline reflected in it at sunset. The museum is not far from the entrance. The forest and wetlands section is in the opposite corner and feels like a completely different place.
What surprised me most was the scale of it. The modern fitness facilities, the segregated running and cycling paths, the dog park, free showers and changing rooms.
And then the Bangkok City Model tucked away in the old tobacco factory building that most people walk straight past. More on that shortly.
What is less obvious but worth knowing is that the park was engineered with a purpose beyond recreation. Built on the former tobacco factory site, it was designed to absorb up to 128,000 cubic metres of stormwater during the wet season, helping reduce flooding in the surrounding Sukhumvit area.
The wetlands naturally filter water from the nearby canal using native plants, and over 1,700 existing trees were preserved during construction. For a city that floods as reliably as Bangkok does, that is genuine forward thinking.
The wildlife has responded. I have spotted cranes here, along with the usual turtles and monitor lizards. The wetlands boardwalks put you right in among it at ground level.
Things to do in the forest park
- See the Lotus garden – best between Dec and April and in the cool of the day
- Walk the 1.8km lake loop at sunset for skyline reflections on the water
- Take the skywalk above the wetlands, go early morning or at sunset, there is no shade
- Walk the ground level boardwalks through the wetland forest
- Visit the Bangkok City Model in the old tobacco factory building, free and air-conditioned
- Rent an Anywheel bike for 10 baht per half hour to cover the forest section or connect to the Green Mile
Good to know before you visit
- Separate lanes for runners and cyclists
- Free showers, changing rooms and lockers available
- Anywheel bikes available at the entrance
- No cycling on the skywalk
Where: Bordered by Soi 4 Sukhumvit & Soi Sukhumvit 10 on the Sukhumvit side and Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre at the other end.
When: 5am- 9pm (no bikes after 5.30pm)
Getting there: MRT Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre Exit 3 brings you directly to the entrance. You can also walk from BTS Asok in less than 10 mins.
Lumphini or Benjakitti: Which One Should You Visit?
If you have the time, do both. They are connected by the Green Mile so you can walk from one to the other without touching a road.
If you are choosing, Lumphini is the livelier option. More people, more activity, the hawker centre, the evening dance classes. Benjakitti is where you go when you want more space and something that feels less like a city park. The wetlands and the skywalk make it feel like a different Bangkok entirely.
My suggestion is to start at Benjakitti with a coffee at % Arabica, walk the skywalk in the morning before the heat sets in, cool off in the museum over lunch, then walk the Green Mile across to Lumphini for the afternoon. Finish with dinner at the hawker centre or stay for the evening dance classes.
Check out our guide to public transport in Bangkok before you head out, as these parks are easily reached by BTS or Metro.
If you want more tips or advice for planning your trip, you can join our Facebook group: Thailand Awaits Trip Planning for Beginners. It’s a place to ask questions, get help from other travellers and locals, and find free resources for your Thailand holiday.
