7 Bangkok Fresh Markets to visit in Bangkok
Bangkok fresh markets offer unique experience for foreign travelers. If you want to experience authentic Thai, not the ‘set-up-for-tourists’ ways of life, visiting a fresh market in Bangkok is a must. Life in Thai communities revolves around the fresh market. Amidst fresh produce stalls and bustling carts loaded with commodities, you’ll find the neighborhood’s best restaurants and street food vendors. Retirees gather at traditional coffee shops to get their morning brews and discuss the events of the day.
Bangkok fresh markets come in all shapes and sizes. We have listed 5 here. Make sure you visit at least 1!
Visiting these markets on your own can be tricky. To make the most out of the experience, you should have a guide to explain what’s going on. Our Thonburi Food & Canals Adventure and Best Eats Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk visit two of the most popular fresh markets in Bangkok.
1. Pak Klong Talad Flower Market
The biggest retail and wholesale fresh flower market in Bangkok, Pak Klong Talad used to be a fish market in the 19th century. Arriving by car, you’ll see bustling shops and vendors lining up Chakphet Road. But the majority of the vendors are actually under the roofed sections that stretch further away from the road on both sides. The flowers come from upcountry Thailand and around the world. You’ll find lots of flower garlands here, many are made with Jasmine buds and roses.
Left: betel nut package, used as an offering to Hindu gods / Right: flower garlands made with Jasmine buds and roses, used as an offering to Buddha and deity
The market is open 24-7. Things get sleepy during the day but action kicks-in after midnight until 4am, when trucks from the countryside rumble in loaded with fresh-cut flowers. Now you know where the flowers come from, but where do they go? Flowers are used by Thais as offerings to Buddha, Hindu gods, and other spirits. The offerings take place in temples, at shrines in individual homes, and even in cars. (At red lights, you may see people selling simple flower garlands to motorists who hang them on rear view mirrors to bless their cars and journeys)
Pak Khlong Talad has more than just flowers, it has a substantial fruit and vegetable selection. Next to the market, Yodpiman River Walk is an open-air heritage-themed mall filled with chain restaurants and high-end shops. This is a good place to dine and unwind before or after the market visit.
HOW TO VISIT THIS BANGKOK FRESH MARKET
 |
The market is located just a little more than one kilometer south from the Grand Palace. Simply walk down the Maha Rat Road. |
 |
Take the Chao Phraya Express boat to Yodpiman Pier. Walk through the mall and you’ll find the market. |
 |
Join our Best Eats Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk and be guided through the market by a friendly professional guide |
2. Klong Toey Wet Market
The ‘very’ fresh Klong Toey Market always tops tourist and travel photographer’s Bangkok fresh market experience. The chaotic sprawling fresh market is packed with raw meat, livestock, seafood, fruits and vegetables, clothes, and kitchenware. Floors, wet and slimy, are heavily trafficked by traversing hand trolleys. Shouting vendors call for customer’s attention. Product arrangement and presentation is not their top priority. And there you know you’re at the heart of a real Thai fresh market – as authentic as it can get.
Klong Toey Market is where chef of every level from street food vendors to five-star restaurants daily seek for their freshest ingredients. Curry pastes, herbs and spices that go into your Thai meals are also picked up from here. The market operates 24/7 but is the most lively in wee hours (2am – 6am) when fresh products arrive and more trades happen. If you’re hungry, a few food stalls serve Thai curries and other cooked local dishes.
HOW TO VISIT THIS BANGKOK FRESH MARKET
 |
300 meters from Queen Sirikit National Convention Center MRT Station, Exit 1. From the exit, walk south along the Rama 3 Road until a large intersection. Cross the intersection and the market is on your left-hand side |
3. Talad Phlu Market, Nang Leong Market, & Ratchawat Market
You probably haven’t done Bangkok right if you haven’t tried street food and restaurants in a fresh market in Bangkok. While the majority of travelers head to Chinatown to guarantee their best street food experience, few know that Bangkokians’ favorite eateries are located in Talad Phlu, Nang Loeng, Ratchawat markets. These are only 3 out of the long Bangkok food market list.
Titled Chinatown of Thonburi, a Bangkok’s district on the west side of Chao Phraya river, Talad Phlu is a community with a long history of good eating. Sprawling around the fresh market are street vendors selling Thonburi’s best specialties. The must-try are Sunee Khao Moo Daeng’s BBQ pork with rice, Kanom Buerng Sarinthip‘s Thai crepe topped with cream and egg yolk threads or shrimp paste, Gao Lao Nuea Peui Talad Phlu’s braise beef soup, and Krob Krua Tua Glom or Jae Bum’s chive dumplings.
Nang Loeng Market is right in the heart of Bangkok. It’s famous for Thai sweets whose recipes have been passed down for generations. At the center of the market, there is a food court. Several vendors serve Khao Gaeng, steamed rice with your choice of accompaniments. The most famous Khao Gaeng vendor is here Khao Gaeng Rattana.
Ratchawat is another really old fresh market in Bangkok with numerous street food to try. Go for wide rice noodles with pork in gravy soup at Ma Radna Yodpak, One Star Bet Yang Ratchawat’s roasted duck, and end your food adventure with coconut puddings at Kanom Krok Kao Wang.
HOW TO VISIT THESE BANGKOK FRESH MARKETS
| Talad Phlu Market |  |
Talad Phlu BTS Station. Get off at Exit 3, turn left on Ratchadapisek Rd., and walk 10 minutes. Once you cross the train track, the market is on the right. This market is featured in our Thonburi Food & Canals Adventure (Combo Food + Boat Tour) |
| Nang Loeng Market | |
10 minute walk from Democracy Monument |
| Ratchawat Market | |
3 km from Victory Monument BTS Station. Get off at Exit 3, take a taxi, Tuk Tuk, or walk |
4. Mahachai Seafood & Railway Market
Technically this market is not in Bangkok. It’s in Samut Sakhon province, 50 km away from Bangkok. Trekking out from the city just to see the seafood market might be a ridiculous idea, but if you start early and continue further to Amphawa Floating Market, it will be a full day filled with fun and local travel experience.
Mahachai Market sits on the Tha Jeen river which flows into the Gulf of Thailand. You can see big and small fishing boats parading up and down the river. The chaotic and rustic market sprawls around Mahachai Train Station. Under roofs and awnings, arrays of vendors offer fresh fish, crab, prawn, squid, eel, shells and other critters of the sea. Many are still alive.
Similar to the famous Maeklong Railway Market, you can watch a train rolling into the station and vendors frantically moving their baskets of fish and produce out of the way here. Trains arrive at the station pretty much every hour. If you hang out here long enough, you’ll definitely catch the action.
HOW TO VISIT THIS BANGKOK FRESH MARKET
 |
From Wong Wian Yai BTS Station, get a commuter train at the adjacent Wong Wian Yai Train Station. Trains leave Wong Wian Yai to Mahachai train Station every hour from 5.30 to 8.10pm. The trip takes one hour. |
5. Or Tor Kor Market
The market was ranked the 4th world’s best market by CNN Go. Much of its high scores go to the pricey and high quality products the vendors offer, landscaping, and the hygienic environment (nothing like other fresh markets especially Klong Toey.) The products here are either imported or are Thai specimens that would be exported to foreign markets themselves.
Mackerel in curry at Or Tor Kor Market
There is also a food court with stalls selling cooked Thai dishes like curries, noodles, and plenty of snacks like pork skewers and Thai sweets. If you plan to visit Chatuchak Weekend Market, allow some time for this market. It’s only one subway stop away.
HOW TO VISIT THIS BANGKOK FRESH MARKET
|
Kamphaeng Phet MRT Subway Station, Exit 3 |
