★Local·Riverside temple
Wat Ratchathiwat
วัดราชาธิวาส
The quiet Dusit riverside monastery where Rama IV lived as a monk before the throne — teak viharn, riverside breeze, no coaches.
The riverside forest-monastery of kings north of Dusit, where the future Rama IV lived as the monk Vajiranyana when it was still Wat Samorai. The ordination hall hides Italian-fresco-style murals of the Vessantara tale.
Hdamm CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hdamm CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized · tap to enlarge
Visiting
- Open
- daily
- Dress
- Shoulders and knees covered
- Allow
- 30–45 min
No official opening hours published — check on the day.
Checked 10 Oct 2026 against openstreetmap.org, commons.wikimedia.org. Things change: closures for royal ceremonies and holidays are common.
Visiting a temple
- Shoulders and knees covered, for everyone. Sarongs are usually available at the gate, sometimes for a small deposit.
- Shoes come off before you step into an ordination hall — watch what everyone else is doing at the threshold.
- Most compounds open early, around 08:00, and close by 17:00–18:00; the major ones charge foreign visitors a small entry fee.
- Early morning is cooler, quieter and far better light than midday.
Check current entry fee and today's closing time when you arrive — we have no verified official site for this one.
Getting there
- Thewet·Chao Phraya Express Boat~9 min walk
- Thewet·Cross-river ferries~9 min walk
- Payap·Chao Phraya Express Boat~24 min walk
- Payap·Cross-river ferries~24 min walk
Typical times, not a timetable · rail, boat and BRT routing runs right in the atlas.
While you're here
- Immaculate Conception Church·Catholic church~3 min walk
- Thewet Flower Market·Plant market~8 min walk
- Thewet Pier·River pier~9 min walk
- Wat Intharawihan·Standing Buddha~17 min walk
The neighbourhood
Wat Ratchathiwat sits in Dusit — The royal garden district.