Bangkok’s best shopping malls: Where to shop in Bangkok
Bangkok is without a doubt one of the best places in the entire world to shop. Its central city is practically bursting with shopping malls, and to be perfectly honest, it can be more than a little overwhelming. Now, I’ve done my research, plus a little extra, and today I’ll share some of my favourite Bangkok shopping malls; some that are well known, some that aren’t, but overall, you’re going to come away knowing that you are totally informed and ready to take on Bangkok’s best shopping malls.
CentralWOrld
999/9 Rama I Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
We’re doing it, we’re starting with the big one: CentralWOrld. This place is absolutely behemoth. At times appearing like a labyrinth of shops, Cemtralworld is where you can buy, well, practically everything. Not only does it house a range of high street stores (H&M, Zara, Pull & Bear, to name a few), an a array of sporting shops, CentralWOrld also has some exclusives, such as the first Lulu Lemon shop in Thailand. The top floor of the mall is where you’ll find a particularly good (although busy) branch of Tops Gourmet Market - a local supermarket, a food court, high end restaurants, and the cinema. Almost the entire rest of the mammoth 830,000 square metre space is exclusively for shopping.
Siam Paragon
991 Rama I Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
This is one of our favourite malls in Bangkok, and well, it’s pretty easy to understand why. This place has great shops and the location is about as central as you can get. It’s literally connected to the main BTS (sky train) stop, Siam. You can step off the train and be inside one of Bangkok’s best shopping malls within mere minutes. Not only that, but it’s also slap bang in the middle of Bangkok’s infamous “mall Mile”, where you’ll find behemoth shopping center after behemoth shopping center.
One other thing we love about Siam Paragon is the shop selection. As book aficionados, we highly recommend the infamous Japanese bookshop, Kinokuniya. Bangkok has three branches, but the one at Siam Paragon is particularly excellent and has a great view too! The department store is brilliant too, and has floors dedicated to the usual things - women’s clothes, men’s clothes, toys, tech, perfume.. all of the good stuff!
Platinum Mall
222 Phetchaburi Rd, Thanon Phaya Thai, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400
If the aim of your Bangkok trip is to acquire as many clothes as possible, then go no further than Platinum Mall! This place is literally jam packed with clothes - four floors, in fact! There are men’s clothes, accessories, shoes, children’s clothes, and so, SO many women’s clothes. It’s quite literally like a market brought inside so you get to experience all of the on trend clothes, while soaking up that air conditioned bliss. The other great thing about Platinum is it’s location. You’re literally five minutes from CentralWOrld, and it’s almost directly connected by a skywalk. The prices are really good here too, and many of the vendors are prepared to haggle. It’s always a good time at Platinum Mall.
Union Mall
54 ซอย ลาดพร้าว 1 Chom Phon, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900
This is one that you’re not likely to find in most of your classic “Bangkok malls” lists. It’s a little, dare I say it, off the beaten track. Well, technically it’s just down the road from the infamous Chatuchak market, but for some reason, not that many people know about it.
Basically, if you’re looking for on trend clothes - and for a good price, you need to visit Union Mall. Due to its location, it’s very popular with university students, and that’s reflected through the clothes that are on offer. We always come away with something good when we visit Union Mall.
Emquartier
695 Sukhumvit Road, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Emquartier is one we definitely have to file under the boujee mall category. In a word, this place is FANCY! For starters, it has its very own waterfall (yes, really!) The overall layout of this mall can be a little confusing at first, since it’s split into several parts but I t’s totally worth leaning into and allowing yourself to get lost, finding all of Emquartier’s incredible offerings. And one offering that we recommend? Go wayyyyy up high, into a place known as the Helix, and experience the food! You’ve got your choice of five star dining, Mexican food, Thai food, vegetarian options, vegan restaurants.. the list goes on! You could spend a month eating your way through Emquartier (and to be honest, we kind of recommend it!)
ICONSIAM
299 Charoen Nakhon 5 Alley, Khlong Ton Sai, Khlong San, Bangkok 10600
It’s not every day that you can say you pulled up to a shopping mall on a boat, but at ICONSIAM it’s the genuine truth. Unsurprisingly, there’s apparently a helipad on hand too, just in case the boat wasn’t enough for you.
You know that if the arrival process is that impressive, then what lies inside has gotta be pretty good too. Well, that’s certainly an understatement. As well your your usual high street favourites, you can find an Apple Store, a Starbucks reserve that overlooks the Chao Praya river, and a section completely dedicated to luxury goods - cars included.
But possibly the most impressive part of ICONSIAM is what you’ll find in the basement. Underneath the mall is the incredible Sook Siam, which is quite literally an outdoor market brought inside. Rivers flow underneath ICONSIAM, and you’re greeted by the delicious smell of street food. This is a really good place to start if you’re visiting Thailand for the first time and feeling a bit nervous but still wanting to have the whole street food experience.
Terminal 21 (Asok)
88 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Khlong Toei Nuea, Thawi Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Terminal 21 is a chain of malls across Thailand, but they’re certainly different from anything you’ve ever seen before. Decorated in a travel theme, you will quite literally feel like you’ve been transported to another country from the moment you approach this giant mall (which leads us to another plus, it links directly to the BTS Sky Train). Every floor is themed as a different country, so you can make your way from Tokyo to London in a matter of minutes. You can find all of your usual high street shops here, as well as a cinema, a supermarket and more.
Terminal 21 is also home to one of Bangkok’s best kept secrets - Pizza Pala Romana. It’s just outside the mall and underneath the escalators that take you down to the MRT (the underground train). It’s genuinely worth a trip to Terminal 21 just to try this pizza.
MBK
444 Phaya Thai Rd, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
MBK is undoubtedly one of the malls you’re most likely to have heard of if you have a trip planned to Bangkok. And the reason? It’s been around a really, really long time. It used to be the go-to spot for any of your tech needs, and to be honest, it still holds up in that regard. If you‘re looking for a refurbished phone, iPad, or other tech goods, this is a pretty good place to start. There’s so much more to it though, including clothes shopping, a top notch games arcade, escape rooms, and even tailors.
Another reason that MBK is a good one? It’s extremely central and only a few minutes walk from the main BTS (sky train) stop, Siam. It literally puts you on the shopping mall mile, where you’re gonna find one massive mall after the next.
Central Bangna
39 Bang Na-Trat Frontage Rd, Bang Kaeo, Amphoe Bang Phli, Samut Prakan 10540
Um, so basically all you need to know about this mall is that is has a WATER PARK ON TOP OF IT. That’s right, a real life water park. On top of the mall. Just another reason why Thailand is awesome. You can spend your morning taking in the sights from the top of one of their many (many!) water slides, and when you’re all done, you can go for the classic mall experience. I’m talking food courts, your usual high end shops, the usual.
And did I mention the water park?
Mega Bangna
38, 38/1-3, 39 หมู่ที่ 6 Bang Na-Trat Frontage Rd, Bang Kaeo, Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan 10540
If we’re doing malls In Bangkok, then we simply had to include Mega Bangna. As the name would imply, this place is indeed mega, leaving you feeling somewhat exhausted after merely strolling from one side of the mall to the other. Mega is loaded with high street brands, a generous offering of different restaurants, and of course, everyone’s favourite - IKEA. This is one of two, soon to be three, IKEAs in Bangkok, and it’s really, really good. So if you’re looking for some general mall bits, along with some homeware, Mega Bangna is well worth the trip. Don’t be put off by how far away it is. We promise those Swedish meatballs taste every bit as good in Thailand.
Siam Square One
388 Rama I Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
Yet another one from the ‘mall mile’, Siam Square One offers something a little different to it’s visitors. Despite being incredibly central; after all, it is attached to the Siam BTS/Skytrain stop, Siam Square One doesn’t seem to attract as much attention as its counterparts, Paragon or CentralWOrld. The uniqueness of Siam Square One is the way it manages to fuse outside and inside together. There’s such a a natural flow between the indoors and outdoors, largely due to the open ceilings that span from one side of the mall to the other. Whatever it is, this mall offers a different experience, and it’s a good one.
Another bonus: it often holds clothes markets right outside it, which backs directly onto the BTS stop.
