62 Best Shopping in Thailand

You can buy just about anything at the city's largest market, including silk items in a mudmee (tie-dyed before weaving) design that would sell for five times the price in the United States. Despite its name the market is open daily, though it's best to come on Friday or the weekend—in the morning before the place gets too crowded and hot. An afternoon at JJ, as it is known by locals ("ch" is pronounced "jha" in Thai, so phonetically Chatuchak is Jatujak), is not for the faint of heart: up to 200,000 people visit each day, and there are more than 15,000 vendors. Keep your bearings by remembering that the outer ring has mainly new clothing and shoes, with some plants, garden supplies, and home decor. The next ring is primarily used (and some new) clothing and shoes plus accessories like jewelry, belts, and bags. Farther in are pottery, antiques, furniture, dried goods, and live animals. Be prepared with bottles of water, comfortable shoes, and make sure to print out a copy of the map of the market from the website. Strategically placed food vendors mean you don't have to stop shopping to grab a bite.

This is the biggest and best paper outlet in Chiang Mai. On its first floor is a gallery whose works include paintings done by elephants at the Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang.

The alternately handsome and crumbling colonial-, Burmese- and Chinese-style houses along Old Market Road date to the late 1860s, when British and Burmese teak companies and Chinese traders lived here. Today the street is again a hub of trade when a market sets up every Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 9 pm. The 1.2-mile area is lined with stalls selling tasty street food (noodles, summer rolls, satay, sweets, fresh fruit), textiles, contemporary and traditional clothing, artwork, jewelry, and assorted souvenirs. There's always live music, too, which adds to the atmosphere.

Unlike Chiang Mai markets, this market is not crowded, and you can make your way down the road at a more leisurely pace.

This collection of modern buildings constructed in Lanna-style and connected by walkways around an inner courtyard has the aesthetic of a small village and is part cafe-restaurant, part art gallery, part textile studio, and part retail shop. The clothing, accessories, and home decor items for sale are all handmade and local, with the Kalm brand. 

The justifiably famous Night Bazaar (also called the Night Market), on Chang Klan Road, is a kind of open-air department store filled with stalls selling everything from inexpensive souvenirs to pricey antiques. In the late afternoon and evening, traders set up tented stalls along Chang Klan Road and the adjoining streets. This is a market for tourists; you're expected to bargain, so don't be shy. But remain polite, and don't haggle over tiny sums.

Silom Soi 5 was nicknamed Soi Lalai Sap, or "Melting Money Lane," because the shopping here is so good. The air-conditioned shops and sidewalk vendors sell a huge variety of inexpensive men's and women's clothes (including selections from up-and-coming Thai designers), handicrafts, and snacks.

Patricia Cheesman has been working with local textiles since 1988, though she first encountered them in the 1970s, when working for the UN in Laos. Today she and her daughter Lamorna run a collective of female weavers, designers, and embroiderers called Weavers for the Environment (WFE). There's another branch on Soi 1 Nimmanhaemin Road.

The celebrated Thai artist Wattana Wattanapun runs this gallery whose eclectic artworks—textiles and works on paper—represent the full range of Thailand's artistic expression. Gallery staff are welcoming and knowledgeable.

In a prime spot by the Chao Phraya River, this complex of eateries, bars, and shops is in a group of renovated warehouses. The shopping focuses on local products, from clothes and handicrafts. You can get here via a free shuttle boat from the Saphan Taksin Pier next to the BTS station of the same name.

Four kilometers (2½ miles) after the turnoff from highway 108 to Baan Tawai, lies this community of workshops dealing in antiques and handicrafts. Expect to see teak, mango, rattan, and water hyacinth being worked into attractive and unusual items. If you end up buying a heavy piece of teak furniture, the dealer will arrange for its shipping.

The center was set up by Queen Sirikit in 1982 to train farming families to make traditional crafts for extra income. Workers regularly demonstrate their technique, and a small souvenir shop provides the chance to buy the fruits of their labors. The center holds an annual fair at the end of January.

Specializing in contemporary works on paper in a variety of techniques, from etching to woodblock prints, this studio is part gallery and part printmaking workshop. It's run by local artist and professor Kitikong Tilokwattanotai, who works with emerging and established Thai and international artists.

The flagship location of Thailand's largest department store chain has a quality selection of clothing, jewelry, sporting goods, housewares, and fabrics, including a Jim Thompson silk shop. An elevated walkway connects Central Chidlom with the even more upscale Central Embassy mall next door.

Fashionistas will find much to explore at one of Bangkok's newer shopping malls; from high-end international brands to Thai designers like Boyy and Disaya. The Eathai section has street food nibbles and cooking ware displays, as well as Thai cooking classes at Issaya Cooking Studio. On Level 6 is Embassy Diplomat Screens, a state-of-the-art cinema house where staff bring snacks and beverages to your seat. 

At more than 1 million square meters (nearly 11 million square feet), this megacenter claims to be Southeast Asia's biggest mall. It's packed with local and international retailers, as well as a multiplex cinema, a hotel, and many dining options.

You can get custom-made boots for around $200 here. The shop also stocks a large inventory of ready-made leather shoes, boots, and accessories. Liu's Bootery, farther southeast along Sukhumvit Road, is also recommended.

This glitzy mall was renovated and expanded to include EmQuartier, a separate building across the BTS line from Emporium, together called EM District. There are exclusive high-end shops and fine dining throughout and the sixth floor full of beautiful silks, incense, and glassware, all reasonably priced. 

This upscale shopping center outshines many of the others with its white marble-and-chrome fixtures. You'll find European and local labels and lauded restaurants such as Paste and Riedel Wine Bar & Cellar.

One of Bangkok's oldest local fashion labels started out primarily in menswear, but now sells casual yet chic streetwear for both genders. The original branch in Siam Center showcases the most current collections.

Opened in 2018 on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, IconSiam is one of the largest shopping malls in Asia. The sleek, multilevel, air-conditioned space is filled with shops and restaurants, including the first Apple Store in Thailand and Michelin-starred Blue by Alain Ducasse. There's also a 14-theater cineplex and a huge food court designed to resemble a floating market.

Lampang's biggest pottery outlet is west of the city center on the road to Phrae. You can see the ceramics being made and even paint your own designs. The extensive showrooms feature a ceramic model city.

Collections from this hip local designer are inspired by the cultural influences of Thailand, from Buddhism to ancient royalty.

The shops of the pioneering company are prime places to buy silk by the yard and as ready-made clothes. The prices are high, but so is the quality and design, and staff members are knowledgeable. In addition to this Bang Rak shop there are numerous other locations throughout the city, including at the Mandarin Oriental, The Peninsula, CentralWorld, IconSiam, and many other shopping centers and five-star hotels.

If you call first, this long-established firm will send a car—a common practice of the city's better stores—to bring you to the shop near Wat Phra Kaew. The selection is massive, and you can order custom-designed pieces.

Thai lawyers Nuttaya and Paniti Chunhasawatikul founded Kad Kokoa in 2018 and quickly earned respect. Their chocolate made with beans from a Chumphon cacao farm won a gold medal in Paris as a preeminent example of showcasing terroir. Along with plain chocolate, there is chocolate flavored with black pepper, salted tamarind, and shiso seeds. There's a cafe here serving chocolate-based drinks, cookies, brownies, truffles, and more.

This bazaar, in a big entertainment complex on the eastern side of the Night Bazaar on Chang Klan Road (clearly marked), is packed with boutiques, food and souvenir stalls (and seating), and inexpensive restaurants. There is often live music, too, mostly Thai pop bands.

Yes, this is backpacker central, with harem pants and cheesy souvenirs for sale, and lots of cheap pad Thai street food, but the people-watching can be entertaining.

If you want the convenience of duty-free shopping, try King Power. You choose and pay for the items at the shop or online, then pick them up at Suvarnabhumi Airport when you depart Thailand (or simply take them with you). You need your passport and an airline ticket, and you need to make your purchase at least eight hours before leaving the country. The airport branch is open 24 hours.

Lamphun is famous for their intricate silk brocade textiles worn by royals for over a hundred years and at Lamphun Thai Silk, one of the area's largest silk businesses, located along the river, you can watch women weave at wooden looms dating back generations. Eight kilometers (5 miles) from Lamphun on the main Lampang highway is a second outlet.

The jewelry sold at this highly respected shop is more expensive than average, but so is the quality.