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Vimanmek Palace The world’s largest
golden teak mansion
Home to King Rama V
Vimanmek, a beautiful three-story mansion, is considered the
largest golden teak building in the world, with some 80-odd
rooms. Built in 1900, by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), it remained
a royal residence after his death, but was used only for storage
after 1932. In 1982, Queen Sirikit led the effort to reopen
the palace as a museum and repository for the effects of Rama
V. Today, this exceptional example of royal residential architecture,
still used by Queen Sirikit for occasional royal functions,
is open to the public.
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Daily tours occur in Thai
and English each half-hour, from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. If
you purchased a ticket to the Royal Palace, you may use it the
same day to visit Vimanmek. If not, tickets are 100 baht.
The ticket is also good for several other museums on the grounds,
including the Abhisek Throne Room, a magnificently carved Victorian-Moorish
edifice that sits just east of the mansion. Abhisek houses Queen
Sirikit’s collection of textiles and folk arts.
From areas in Bangkok not adjacent to the Vimanmek area, we
recommend taking the Chao Phraya river taxi to the Tha Payap
pier, then taxing to the palace. Tickets (if you are not coming
directly from the Grand Palace), are purchased at kiosks near
the Ratchawithi, Rathchasima, and U-Thong roads entrances. |
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