Where is the Charoenkrung Creative District in Bangkok's Bang Rak?

It is the stretch of Charoen Krung Road along the river in Bang Rak, promoted as a creative district since the 2010s. Its anchor is the Grand Postal Building, opened in 1940 and converted in 2017 into the headquarters of the Thailand Creative & Design Center. Bangkok Design Week has used Charoen Krung as a venue since its first edition in 2018.

How do you get to Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok's Bang Rak?

Take the BTS Silom Line to Saphan Taksin, which links to the Chao Phraya Express at Sathorn Pier, then walk north along Charoen Krung. The Oriental pier serves the old hotel quarter, the MRT Blue Line runs beneath the road, and buses run along it.

Which cafés on Bangkok's Charoen Krung in Bang Rak open early or close late?

Bellea Bristro House on Soi Charoen Krung 30 opens daily at 07:00, and The Coffee Place opens at 07:00 Monday to Saturday. Sarnies, the sourdough café near Soi Charoen Krung 44, runs 08:00–22:00 every day, the latest hours along this stretch of the river.

Cafés in Bang Rak & Charoen Krung, Bangkok: Hours and Map

Charoen Krung was the first road in Thailand built with modern methods, laid between 1862 and 1864 after Western consuls told King Mongkut they had nowhere to take a carriage ride; it began life as Thanon Mai, "New Road".¹ It runs 8.6 km from Sanam Chai Road by the Grand Palace to Bang Kho Laem.¹ Its stretch through Bang Rak (บางรัก) became a European quarter after the 1855 Bowring Treaty, when consulates and trading houses moved onto the waterfront.²

Cafés line that riverside strip from Soi Charoen Krung 30 south to Soi 75, past Taksin Bridge. Most are narrow shophouse rooms on the main road or a few steps into its numbered lanes, between a cathedral, a mosque and the old post office.

Local tip: Ride the BTS to Saphan Taksin and walk north along Charoen Krung: the cathedral, the Oriental and the old post office come in that order, with the Soi 30 cafés just beyond.

At a glance

90Cafés listed

4With opening hours

07:00Earliest opening

22:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: The Coffee Place, from 07:00 (Mon–Sat 07:00–17:00).

Closes latest: Sarnies Sourdough, until 22:00 (Daily 08:00–22:00).

Most listed streets: ถ. เจริญกรุง (6), ถนน เจริญกรุง (5), ถนนเจริญกรุง (3).

Most common features: wi-fi (3%), specialty (3%), air-con (2%).

Getting along Charoen Krung

Saphan Taksin BTS station, opened on 5 December 1999, was the first rapid-transit station in Bangkok with an interchange to river ferries, linking to the Chao Phraya Express at Sathorn Pier.⁵ It sits in the median of Taksin Bridge, which leaves room for only one platform and one track, a bottleneck for the whole Silom Line.⁵ Further north, the Oriental pier serves the old hotel quarter.²

Trams ran down Charoen Krung from 1888 to 1963, the city's first line.¹ Today the MRT Blue Line extension runs beneath the road, and buses work the stretches between stations.¹²

The old European quarter

Assumption Cathedral, seat of the Archdiocese of Bangkok, began as a church a French missionary asked for in 1809; it was completed in 1821 and rebuilt in red-brick Romanesque between 1910 and 1918.³ On the same Oriental Avenue, The Oriental dates its founding to 1876, and the luxury hotel opened in 1887 after the Danish businessman H. N. Andersen bought the property.⁴ The East Asiatic Building and the Haroon Mosque, with its riverside community, stand along the same waterfront.²

Bang Rak is one of Thailand's smallest districts, about 5.54 km², yet it has more jobs than any other in Bangkok.² Because rak also means "love", the district office is a favorite place to register a marriage, especially on Valentine's Day.²

The Creative District around the post office

The Grand Postal Building opened on 24 June 1940 on the site of the former British Legation, a mix of Art Deco and International Style meant to give the ruling People's Party a modern image.⁶ In 2017 it was converted into the headquarters of the Thailand Creative & Design Center, a sponsor of the push, since the 2010s, to make the Charoen Krung waterfront a creative district.⁶² Bangkok Design Week, first held in 2018, used Charoen Krung as one of its five areas.⁷

The densest cluster is around Soi Charoen Krung 30, north of the post office: Convo at 27/26 Soi 30, Bellea Bristro House at number 30 in the same soi, and Airy Coffee at 1086/19 Charoen Krung. South of it, Warutti Botanica Cafe occupies 5–7 Trok Chartered Bank, and Carmina is at 1256 Charoen Krung.

Hours on the riverside strip

Bellea Bristro House opens daily at 07:00 and closes at 16:00, and The Coffee Place opens at 07:00 Monday to Saturday, until 17:00. Sarnies, the sourdough café near Soi Charoen Krung 44, runs 08:00–22:00 daily, the latest hours on this stretch.⁸ Inland, Kudos Coffee is on Surasak Road and Black Swan Coffee on Silom Soi 30; Kurissara Café sits far down at Charoen Krung 75.

The wet season runs from May to October, with September and October the wettest months, when downpours can flood streets; carry an umbrella between shophouses rather than counting on covered walkways.⁹

Cafés in Bang Rak & Charoen Krung

At a glance

JoJo Cafe

The Coffee Place

เบลล่า บิสโตร์ เฮ้าส์

12 Mena Cafe

135 coffee bar

300/2 กาแฟ & กะเพรา

915Coffeeandbike

A Coffee Roaster by li

A-do-po Kafe

Addict

AM/PM cafe

Amber Specialty Bkk

App Ping Coffee

Araksa Tea Room Bangkok

Artery Coffee

Assign Coffee, Daily Aromatic Coffee

Blackwood Cafe and Studio

Camelot Café

Camelot Café

Carmina

Chez Mou

CHI Coffee and Brunch

Convo

Cosmic Cafe

From Me To You Cafe

Grizzly Coffee

Hearth Art Cafe

Hēijīi (เฮยจี)

Help me grind.Bkk

Jin Cha สาขาเจริญกรุง

Just Another Bear จัสอะนาเธอร์แบร์

Kaff Cafe

Katsute Matcha

Kaykai Lamun

Khang - soi cafe' / ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหมูในกะลา

Kince Bangkok

Coffee chains in Bang Rak & Charoen Krung

Café Amazon

Starbucks

Inthanin Coffee

Black Canyon Coffee

TrueCoffee

The Coffee Club

ve/la

Getting along Charoen Krung

The old European quarter

The Creative District around the post office

Hours on the riverside strip

Sources

More of Bangkok

Chinatown & Talat Noi

Rattanakosin & Banglamphu

Siam & Pathum Wan

Silom & Sathorn

Sukhumvit (Nana to Phrom Phong)

Thonglor & Ekkamai

Ari & Phaya Thai

Bang Rak & Charoen Krung cafés: questions

Where is the Charoenkrung Creative District in Bangkok's Bang Rak?

How do you get to Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok's Bang Rak?

Which cafés on Bangkok's Charoen Krung in Bang Rak open early or close late?

Own a café in Bang Rak & Charoen Krung?