Overview
Rama I built the palace when he moved the capital across the river, and each reign added to it, which is why Thai halls stand beside a Renaissance-style throne hall with a Thai roof — the Chakri Maha Prasat, built by an English architect in 1882 and given its spires under protest. The Emerald Buddha is carved from a single block of jasper and has been in Bangkok since 1784 after two centuries in Laos. The murals in the cloister run the whole Ramakien around the courtyard.
Highlights
Dress code is enforced at the gate: shoulders and knees covered, no see-through fabric, and the rental queue is long. Go at eight thirty when it opens; by ten the courtyard is a slow crowd in full sun. Ignore anyone outside who tells you it is closed today — it is a standing scam, and the palace is open every day.