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Travel and food in King Taksin's footsteps
Itineraries arranged in the order you would actually travel around town. Tap any stop to see it on the map, and find restaurants and markets near the ruins.
Itineraries
Where to stay, souvenirs and gifts
Recommended food near the ruins
The old market of the Hua Ro community, right beside the line of Maha Chai Fortress, where the Burmese entered the city in 1767, and within walking distance of Chandra Kasem Palace. The Crown Property Bureau now oversees the running of the market, and in 2025 the municipality and the province had a project to improve the landscape of Khlong Maha Chai at the market as a community-based tourist attraction. A good place to stop for breakfast before starting the route in King Taksin's footsteps.
A rice porridge stall in Hua Ro Market recommended by locals: a good breakfast before you start sightseeing. The riverside at Maha Chai Fortress is a few minutes' walk away. Stalls in the market usually open in the morning and close when they sell out, so go early.
A red pork rice shop in Hua Ro Market recommended by locals. Stop for breakfast or lunch while visiting the north-east of the city island, near Maha Chai Fortress. Stalls in the market usually close when they sell out, so go before noon.
A beef-noodle shop whose owner started selling around 1961 and moved to the current roadside spot around 1977. You can choose stewed beef, tendon, offal and beef balls. It is in the MICHELIN Guide 2026; at lunchtime you may have to queue, and it takes cash only.
A lunchtime favourite of Ayutthaya locals for more than 50 years. The MICHELIN Guide notes that the shop goes through about 100 kg of meatballs a day. There is both blanched fresh beef and stewed beef, and condiments such as the chilli vinegar are made in-house as well. It is in the MICHELIN Guide 2026.
A family boat-noodle shop now in its third generation, which has been selling for more than five decades. It received a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2026. The bowls are small, so people usually order several each. There is parking, it takes cash only, and it is not far from Wat Mahathat.
King Taksin's footsteps beyond Ayutthaya
From Rayong and Chanthaburi, where he gathered his forces, to Thonburi, where he set up his capital. Every place opens in Google Maps for directions.
At Wat Ban Phran Nok in Uthai district, where Phraya Tak rode out and beat the Burmese force that came to intercept him on 4 January 1767. There is a royal monument, and the province holds a commemoration every 4 January.
An old temple in the centre of Chonburi town. Phraya Tak is said to have stopped here to gather men on his way to Rayong. The mondop has murals on King Taksin's recovery of independence. Open daily, about 7:00 am–6:00 pm (according to tourism listings).
Rayong was Phraya Tak's first base after leaving the capital. The temple's name is said to come from the mustering camp (chumphon) set up here. In its grounds are a shrine to King Taksin the Great and a large satue tree to which, it is said, his war elephant was once tethered. The King Taksin the Great Learning Park is next door.
Chanthaburi is the town Phraya Tak took in a single night in June 1767 and used as his base for building ships and gathering forces before setting out to recover the capital. The King Taksin shrine in Chanthaburi town is revered by the people of the province.
The royal monument to King Taksin the Great in Thung Na Choei Public Park, Mueang Chanthaburi district: a place to pay respects that is in town and easy to reach.
The area believed to be the shipyard where warships were built before the fleet set out to recover the capital in 1767. The remains of an old ship were found here; studies still debate whether it was a ship of King Taksin's fleet.
King Taksin's palace, on the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya River, now within the Royal Thai Navy headquarters. There is a shrine to King Taksin the Great in the palace grounds. It is opened to the public for paying respects and visiting at certain times, such as around 28 December; check the Navy's announcements before you go.
The temple next to the Thonburi Palace. In the Thonburi period it lay within the palace grounds, and it once housed the Emerald Buddha after the image was brought from Vientiane. The chronicles say King Taksin entered the monkhood at this temple during Phraya San's rebellion.
A temple in Thon Buri district, with twin chedis in front of the old ordination hall believed to hold the ashes of King Taksin and his principal queen. There is a statue of the king in front of the new ordination hall. Many people come to pay their respects on 28 December.
The equestrian statue in the middle of Wongwian Yai, on the Thonburi side, where agencies and the public lay wreaths on 28 December, the anniversary of the coronation.