Ratchadaphisek Road (, ), also known as Bangkok Inner Ring Road () is a major road in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. Conceived in 1971 and opened in 1976, it connects earlier portions including Asok Montri, Wong Sawang and Charan Sanitwong Roads to form the city's inner

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

system. The road's name comes from the

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

of the reign of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

. Ratchadaphisek Road crosses major traffic arteries such as

Sukhumvit Sukhumvit Road (, , ), or Highway 3 (), is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities. It follows a coastal route from Bangkok to Khlong Yai District, Trat border to Koh Kong, Cambodia. Sukhumvit Road i ...

Phahon Yothin Phahonyothin Road (, , ) or Highway 1 is a main road in Bangkok and one of the four primary highways in Thailand, which include Mittraphap Road (Highway 2), Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3), and Phet Kasem Road (Highway 4). It begins at Victory Monum ...

, Vibhavadi Rangsit, Lat Phrao,

Phet Kasem Phet Kasem Road (, , ) or Highway 4 (, ) is one of the four primary highways in Thailand, along with Phahonyothin Road (Highway 1), Mittraphap Road (Highway 2), and Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3). At 1,310.554 km, route 4 is the longest highway ...

Rama IV Road Rama IV Road (, ; usually shortened to , ) is a main road in Bangkok, Thailand. It starts at Mo Mi Junction in the area of Chinatown, Bangkok, Bangkok's Chinatown in Samphanthawong District, Samphanthawong and Pom Prap Sattru Phai Districts and ...

and the Si Rat Expressway. Areas around the road are served by numerous rapid transit stations;

Ratchayothin BTS station Ratchayothin Station (, ) is a BTS Skytrain station, on the Sukhumvit line in Bangkok, Thailand. The station was planned to open in 2020 when all stations on the northern extension was completed, but the Ministry of Transport requested the stati ...

and Asok BTS station of Sukhumvit Line,

Talat Phlu BTS station Talat Phlu station (, ) is a Bangkok Skytrain, BTS skytrain station on the Silom Line in Thon Buri District, Bangkok, Thailand. The station is located above the Ratchadaphisek-Ratchaphruek intersection, surrounded by residences, small shops, and o ...

Silom Line The Elevated Train in Commemoration of Bhumibol Adulyadej, HM the King's 6th Cycle Birthday 2nd line, also known as Silom Line, is one of the rapid transit lines of the BTS Skytrain, BTS Skytrain System in Bangkok, Thailand.The line runs eastward ...

, Wong Sawang MRT station of

MRT Purple Line The MRT Purple line () or MRT Chalong Ratchadham line () is Bangkok's fifth rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit Line, Silom Line, Blue Line, and Airport Rail Link. The line is long, serving the north-western area of Bangkok running ...

, as well as two long segments of the

MRT Blue line The MRT Blue Line () or MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkon Line () is Bangkok's third rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit line and Silom line of the BTS Skytrain. It is the first line of the MRT (Bangkok), MRT system and is operated by Bangkok Exp ...

(elevated section in Thonburi between

Tha Phra MRT station Tha Phra station (, ) is an MRT Blue Line station, located at Tha Phra Intersection, Bangkok Yai District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is the self-interchange station of MRT Blue Line and a terminal station. The station was opened in two stages. Firs ...

and

Bang O MRT station Bang O station (, ), is an elevated railway station on MRT Blue Line. The station opened on 4 December 2019. The station is one of the nine stations of phase 3 of MRT Blue Line The MRT Blue Line () or MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkon Line () is Bangkok ...

, and an underground section between Lat Phrao MRT station and Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre MRT station).

Ratchadaphisek entertainment district

The Ratchadaphisek district stretches from the junction with

Rama IX Road 250px, Rama IX Road is formed by the frontage road of Si Rat Expressway in the area of Suan Luang Rama IX Road, also written as Rama 9 Road (, ) is one main road in east Bangkok. It starts at Rama IX Intersection, where Ratchadaphisek meet Asok ...

to the one with

Sutthisan Winitchai Road file:Sutthisan Winitchai Road - Eastbound.jpg, Sutthisan Winitchai Road in the area of Huai Khwang file:Ratchadaphisek Road (northbound) at Sutthisan Intersection.jpg, Ratchada-Sutthisan Intersection, where Sutthisan crosses Ratchadaphisek Roads ...

. It is a well-known entertainment area, including shopping complexes such as The Esplanade, cinema complexes such as

Major Cineplex Major Cineplex Group Public Co. Ltd. is the largest operator of movie theaters in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Combined with its subsidiary, EGV Entertainment, the company has 838 screens in 180 locations around Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. Amon ...

, a night bazaar, and night markets as well as love hotels. Along with

Royal City Avenue Royal City Avenue or RCA is one of Bangkok's largest entertainment and clubbing areas. Located on in Huai Khwang district, RCA is a long street located between Rama IX Road and Phetchaburi Road. It contains a multitude of bars, nightclubs and l ...

(RCA) and

Patpong Patpong (, , ) is an entertainment district in Bangkok's Bang Rak District, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. Patpong is internationally known as a red light district at the heart of Bangkok's ...

, portions of the district are designated as "entertainment zones" and thus allowed to remain open until 02:00. Previously, in the 1980s, the same area was home to several large Thai restaurants in the form of garden restaurants. They were usually traditional Thai wooden houses with waiters wearing distinctive Thai costumes. The largest one was "Tamnak Thai" (ตำหนักไท, "Thai palace"). The restaurant was divided into four Thai houses, serving food from all four regions of Thailand. The waiters wore Thai costumes but skates for speedy service. It later closed down and the owner reopened it under the name

Royal Dragon Restaurant The Royal Dragon Restaurant () of Bangkok, Thailand was recorded in the Guinness World Records as the world's largest restaurant in 1992. The restaurant had seating for 5,000 diners. It was surpassed in capacity by the current record holder, the ...

on Bang Na–Trat Road in the early 1990s, which

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

has recorded as the world's largest restaurant.

Rapid Transit

* The

runs on Ratchadaphisek Road in two long segments; an elevated section in Thonburi between Tha Phra and Bang O stations, and an underground section between Lat Phrao and Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre stations. Ratchadaphisek MRT station itself is in the northeast section of Ratchadaphisek Road, in Din Daeng district. * Wong Sawang MRT Station of

is located above Wong Sawang Intersection. *

and Asok BTS station of Sukhumvit Line is located above Ratchayothin intersection. *

is located above Ratchadaphisek-Ratchapruek intersection.

Ratchadaphisek entertainment district

Rapid Transit

References

See also