Antiques & Art - River City Bangkok

River City in Bangkok is a well known shopping center aimed at the sale of antiques. It comprises 4 floors of shops selling antiques and antiquities, arts & crafts, jewelry, leather products, souvenirs, Thai silk products as well as offering some specialty goods, tailor shops, places to eat and the ubiquitous massage. Shops start as soon as you enter the building with most of the downstairs shops offering souvenirs, Thai silk products and Tailor shops. The design of River City antiques is such that there is central court which is usually occupied by show pieces by various shops, but most of the antique shops start on the 1st floor. There is some debate about shopping for antiques. here. Many tourists say that it's a tourist trap with inflated prices and "antiques" that could well have been made yesterday and just around the corner.

One thing that should be of concern is the fact that so many of the shops are selling so many of the same antiques, usually Buddha busts, reclining Buddhas and so on, and so with this in mind, you should be careful about what you buy and how much you pay, and it'll pay to bargain.

Those selling antiques decorate the shops to look like very expensive, high-end outlets with just a few items, giving the impression that the items are rare, difficult to get and expensive, so don't let the environment put you off bargaining hard. Don't be intimidated by your surroundings. Having said that though, we suggest you only buy if you know what it is you are buying unless of course you have loads of money and just love the item for what it is.

So, where to buy antiques in Bangkok if not at River City? Well, we feel they are all very much the same and so River City as just as good as the rest, just be careful.

Main entrance to River City	Walkway leads into Royal Orchid Sheraton

Where Is River City And How Do I Get There?

River City is situated next to The Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, book here, and is on the banks of Bangkok's main river, the Chaopraya (river of kings). The nearest skytrain station is at Saphan ( Sapan ) Thaksin but it is too far to walk from there to River City and so you could, if coming from in town, take the skytrain to Saphan Taksin and then take a short txi ride or Tuk Tuk ride to River City or you could take the river ferry from Saphan Taksin to the same place.

If you are coming from Kao Sarn Road area, or The Grand Palace area, you can't get the skytrain, but you can get a taxi, Tuk Tuk or get the river ferry.

If you take the river ferry, get off at Si Phraya



If you are staying at The Millenium Hotel, River City is directly opposite, and you can take the cross river ferry or even the hotel's own ferry service. This applies to other hotels such as The Peninsula.

What Is Nearby?

There is not a lot in the same area except hotels and OP Place: The Asian Heritage Shopping Centre, which also sells antiques, art & crafts and is a smaller version of River City. Also in area is The Oriental Hotel, book here which is next to O.P Place.
If you don't mind a walk, then there is The Shangri La Hotel book here. Other than that, there's nothing of interest in walking distance. If you want to get somewhere, you need to take a taxi or take a river cruise or river ferry.

Cruises & River

The River City Shopping Mall is also home to the river cruises which go up and down the Chaopraya river during the day and evenings. A day's cruise to the ancient capital of Ayuttaya:

River Sun Cruise
Tel. (02) 266-931 6, (02) 266-9125-6
From: The River City Shopping Complex
Time: 8.00 a.m.-5.00 p.m. every day
Cost: 1,500 Baht/person

Tailors, Souvenirs and Silk Products	Main Foyer

Various Thai, Chinese and Burmese artifacts	Buddha images in wood or marble

Shop Listings

	ANTIQUES & CRAFTS
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website
	160	TOUCH ANTIQUES
	161	AUGUST'9
	162	CHOR-FAH
	163	ZEBITH GALLERIE
	164	CHART COLLECTION
	165	CHO-FAH
	166	I-YARA
	168	ASIAN EXOTIC
	169	SOPHA LEE
	JEWELRY
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website
	112	TRIPLE 3
	131-2	LUCK GEMS
	140	BOWINS SILVER	www.bowinsgroup.com
	LEATHER PRODUCTS
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website
	106 - 7	KEANLIS
	118	SIAM LEATHER GOODS	www.siamleathergoods.com
	136	L K LEATHER
	RESTAURANTS
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website / Address
	105	SALA THAI	23 River City Shopping Complex Yotha Road Talad Noi, 10100 Samphanthawong, Bangkok p: 662 2370077
	113	SALA THAI
	122-126	LA GRANDE PERLE	http://www.lagrandeperle.com/
	134-5	CHART GALLERY CAFE	86-100 Soi Captain Bush, Charoenkrung SOi 30 Phone : +66 2639-5580/1
	SOUVENIRS
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website
	103 - 4	RIVERYA HANDMADE
	116	THANU	www.thanu.com
	115	AA. SOUVENIRS
	127	TINKLE BELL
	128	KENG SOUVENIR
	137- 8	GIFTS DE L'ORIENTAL	www.giftoriental.com
	THAI SILK AND TAILOR
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website
	101 - 2	RIVER COLLECTION
	108	FASHION GALLERIA	www.fashiongalleria.biz
	109	J.S.THAI SILK
	110	HONG KONG DESIGNERS	www.fashiongalleria.biz
	111	NEW NICE SILK
	129	DE' GLAM FASHION HOUSE	www.deglam.com
	130	OBVIOUS
	133	ZINNIA THAI SILK
	139	L. C. DESIGN
	141-2	ELEGANCIA
	144-5	SILK COLLECTION
	SPECIALTY SHOPS
	Shop No.	Shop Name	Website
	114	KRUNGTHEP RIMNAM CO., LTD.
	117	PRIVATE COLLECTION
	119	PRIVATE COLLECTION
	120-1	COTTAGE INDUSTRIES EXPOSITION (THAILAND) LTD.
	143	WAT PO GALLERY
	146	PRIVATE COLLECTION

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