About Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew
Construction began in May 1782, under Rama I, and for almost a century and a half the court and the government worked inside these walls, until the move to other residences in 1925. The walled grounds cover about 218,000 square meters, and you can spend the whole morning just looking at roofs: overlapping layers, tips that rise like flames, gold and colored glass throwing the sun back.
The heart of the visit is Wat Phra Kaew, called a chapel rather than a temple because no monks live there. High on the altar, the Emerald Buddha is only about 66 centimeters tall, and the silence around it says a lot about its importance. The palace still hosts official ceremonies, so opening hours may change on royal family dates.
