The Bangkokian Museum (the "Bangkok Folk Museum") occupies a group of houses dating from the Second World War period, at 273 Soi Charoen Krung 43 in Bang Rak district, a few hundred metres from the left bank of the Chao Phraya. It shows the life of a middle-class Bangkok family between 1937 and 1957. The property was bequeathed to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on 1 October 2004 by Waraporn Surawadee, who had inherited it from her mother. The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, and admission is free. Allow about 1 hour.
Highlights
The gate and the garden
A half-timbered door covered in ivy closes off the garden, in a part of Charoen Krung that is changing fast. The site has two two-storey buildings and a garden, quiet despite the traffic of the nearby avenue.
The family's rooms
The bedrooms and living rooms are furnished as they once were: Benjarong porcelain from the reign of Rama V, Dr Francis Christian's cigar collection, early 20th-century stoves and a period kitchen. It tells the everyday life of a comfortable family, not that of the palaces.
The Bang Rak local museum
Part of the site, connected to the houses, holds the district museum: documents on the neighbourhood's roads and canals and its old windmills.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Free admission (checked in October 2026; check before you go, as the hours of this small municipal museum can change). The rooms are small and quickly seen: combine it with a walk through the neighbourhood rather than planning half a day. Take off your shoes if asked at the entrance of the houses.
How to get there
273 Soi Charoen Krung 43, Bang Rak, Bangkok. The lane opens onto Charoen Krung Road, several hundred metres from the river. The easiest way is to arrive by Chao Phraya express boat and continue on foot or by taxi along Charoen Krung Road. The area is served by buses and taxis; see our guide to getting around Bangkok.
Opening hours
Our guides that feature it
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