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Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University occupies a large green campus immediately south of Siam Square, and it is one of the few places in central Bangkok where you can walk for twenty minutes under trees without crossing a main road. Founded in 1917, it is Thailand’s oldest university and remains its most selective. For guests at Mercure Bangkok Siam Ratchathewi it is a pleasant route between the Siam shopping district and Samyan, rather than a destination most visitors plan for.
Getting there from the hotel
Take the BTS one stop south from Ratchathewi to Siam, then walk south through Siam Square. The campus begins within about ten minutes and the main grounds open out shortly after. Alternatively, ride the MRT to Sam Yan and approach from the southern side.
The whole walk from Siam Square through the campus to Samyan takes roughly twenty-five minutes. Our article on planning around the rail network covers guests at a hotel near the BTS Skytrain.
Walking the campus
The grounds are open to the public during the day and walking through is normal and unremarkable to the people who study here. The central lawns, the old auditorium and the tree-lined avenues are the parts worth seeing, and the architecture mixes 1910s Thai-European buildings with later modernist additions.
It is at its best early in the morning or in the hour before sunset. Through the middle of the day there is little shade on the open lawns and the heat is considerable.
Uttayan Chalermprakiat park
At the southern end of the campus, the park known locally as Chula Centenary Park opened in 2017 and is one of the better pieces of modern landscape design in Bangkok. It is built on a slope that channels rainwater into storage tanks, a deliberate response to the city’s flooding, with lawns, a wetland and a cycling track.
It is open to everyone and rarely crowded on weekday mornings.
Eating around the university
The sois surrounding the campus carry some of the best value food in central Bangkok because they are priced for students rather than office workers. Noodle shops, rice-and-curry stalls, grilled pork and dessert counters cluster along the lanes towards Samyan.
Lunchtime between noon and two is busiest. Many places close early in the evening, so this is a daytime rather than a late-night eating district.
Siam Square and the university
Siam Square sits on land owned by the university, which is why it developed as low-rise shophouse lanes rather than as a mall, and why its tenants have changed so often. The connection explains the character of the whole area, including the student crowd that fills it in the late afternoon.
Our article on staying at a hotel near Siam Square covers that side in more detail.
Visiting politely
This is a working university rather than a monument. Lecture buildings and libraries are not open to visitors, and term-time mornings are busy with students moving between classes. Walking the grounds, the park and the main avenues is entirely normal; wandering into departmental buildings is not.
Dress is relaxed but modest, and photography of the grounds is fine while photographing students is not.
Combining it with the rest of the day
The campus works best as a link rather than a stop. A morning in Siam, a walk south through the grounds, lunch in the student sois and then Samyan or onwards to Chinatown by MRT makes a full day without using a taxi.
The wider neighbourhood is covered in our things to do guide, and the hotel’s own district in our article on choosing a hotel in Ratchathewi. Rooms are on our accommodation page.
The Chamchuri and museum buildings
Near the Phayathai Road edge of the campus, the Chamchuri complex houses several small museums that open to the public on weekdays, covering natural history, Thai musical instruments and the university’s own history. They are modest and quiet, rarely holding more than a handful of visitors, and free in most cases. For anyone with an hour to fill in the heat they are a better option than another shopping centre, and the staff are usually pleased to have someone take an interest.
Cycling and the sports grounds
The campus has a cycling track running through Centenary Park and open sports fields that see use from early morning until after dark. Joggers circle the grounds before seven when the air is coolest, and the basketball and football courts fill in the early evening. It is one of the few places centrally where exercise outdoors is realistic, and guests who run will find it a far better surface than the pavements along Phaya Thai Road.
Term dates and quiet periods
The campus feels markedly different in and out of term. During semester the lanes towards Samyan are busy from mid-morning and the food stalls run at full tilt. In the long break from roughly June, and again around April, much of it empties out and some of the smaller food shops close altogether. Quieter is pleasanter for walking but thinner for eating, so if the food is the draw it is worth going on a weekday during term.
FAQs about Chulalongkorn University
Q: Can visitors walk through Chulalongkorn University?
A: Yes. The grounds and avenues are open to the public during the day. Lecture buildings and libraries are not open to visitors.
Q: How do I get there from Ratchathewi?
A: Take the BTS one stop to Siam and walk south through Siam Square, about ten minutes to the campus edge. The MRT to Sam Yan reaches the southern side.
Q: Is there a park at Chulalongkorn?
A: Yes. Chula Centenary Park at the southern end is open to everyone and was designed to capture rainwater as a flood measure.
Q: Why is Siam Square connected to the university?
A: The land is university-owned, which is why the area developed as low-rise lanes rather than as a shopping mall.
Q: When is the best time to visit?
A: Early morning or late afternoon. The open lawns offer little shade through the middle of the day.
