Ancient Siam Review: the largest open-air museum in Thailand

by Paphada Apimonton · Published May 8, 2014 · Updated October 2, 2015

You might think that it is impossible to hop to one place and be able to see the whole awesome monuments, temples and palaces in Thailand at once. Lucky for you, because there is such a place where you can actually see almost every landmarks and important places from both the historic time and present days of Thailand. Where is this place? Ancient Siam or Muang Boran is the place where you are looking for.

Landmark of the Ancient Siam

Ancient Siam, formerly known as Ancient City, is a private-run park with many stunning imitated and original attractions of historic temples, Grand Palace, Thai traditional houses and many more. They are all under the same land that has a shape that the owner intended to make it look like a shape of Thailand.

Thai largest open-air museum

Covering spacious land

Tagged itself as the largest “open-air museum” in Thailand, Ancient Siam has many cool attractions and greenery landscape for you to relax and learn about Thai architecture, culture, tradition, and history. With a land of over 800,000 sqm, you can imagine that it is impossible to go on the tour by walking! That’s why the attraction offers several transportations for visitors to experience the park which totally double the fun of each visit! Check bellow for more info about it.

Delicate Thai art

Over 100 attractions in Ancient Siam are located according to their real location as in the map of Thailand. So if you feel more interested in history or architecture in the North of Thailand, head upward the attraction and then you will find a Northern village with beautiful temples delicately decorated follow the Northern Thai style.

One-day trip venue

If you stay in Bangkok and think about a nice one-day escape trip from the busy city – how about Ancient Siam? It is close to Bangkok – around a 30 km off Bangkok which probably takes you around 30- minute to an hour drive – depends on how bad the traffic at that moment.

ฺBeautiful imitated Royal Barge

The easiest way to travel there is by taxi as there is no direct bus to the park. The tip is to tell your taxi that you want to go to “Muang Boran” as that is a common term local people address to the place. You can check an approximate rate with our taxi fare calculator.

Good start for a first-time visitor

Ancient Siam has a great collection of important places in Thailand, making it a great place for you to start learning about the country. And if you are the a first-time-visitor, this is a place where you can get an idea of where to go and which area of Thailand will attract you the most. So this will help give you the idea of your next trip in Thailand whether you should head to shop at the real floating market or to Ayutthaya province to see the remains of the great ancient days of Ayutthaya era.

Traditional Thai temple

Muang Boran’s highlights

With over 100 attractions in the place, there are some highlights that I would like to recommend you to drop by:

The Sanphet Prasat Palace: the original one, or what is left of the palace from the old day, is in Ayutthaya. The one in Muang Boran is a mock-up palace showing what it used to be before being burnt down during the war. Sanphet Prasat is considered to be one of the most beautiful attraction and a landmark in Muang Boran.

The Sanphet Prasat Palace

The Old Market Town or Talat Bok: This is one of the very first stops in Ancient Siam where you can see how local Thai people in the past live and earn their living. A group of Thai traditional houses represents a local village where you can shop for souvenirs, drinks, food, local Thai desserts and snacks.

The Old Market Town

The Floating Market: One of the spectacular thing in Thailand is the floating market! You can see and actually shop from a floating boat. It is a great experience to buy “boat noodle” from the real floating boat.

Floating Market

Prasat Phra Wihan: This is another not-to-miss spot in Muang Boran, as this man-made mountain gives you a great panoramic viewpoint from above. At the same time, you can experience the mighty Preah Vihear Temple without actually heading to the Thai-Cambodia border.

Prasat Phra Wihan

Admission fees

Currently, the attraction charges 750 THB for tourists and 350 THB for locals. These rates are included unlimited transportation in the vast area of Muang Boran, admission fee, and a brochure. The attraction also offers a free guide tour on its tram.

If you are an expat or married to Thai citizens and have a proof of either work permit or marriage certificate – you are good to go with the price of Thai citizen.

Transportation in Ancient Siam

The place provides unlimited rides including tram, bicycles, and boats – these are all included in a ticket price. An optional way to travel in Muang Boran, which has more privacy and convenience, is a golf cart. The rental fees start from 150 THB per hour for the 2-seat cart. Recommended.

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