Bang Pa-In Royal Palace

Bang Pa-In Royal Palace (Thai: พระราชวังบางปะอิน), also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-in District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province.

King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex:211 in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn.

Amidst vast gardens and landscaping stand the following buildings: Wehart Chamrunt (Heavenly Light), a Chinese-style royal palace and throne room; the Warophat Phiman (Excellent and Shining Heavenly Abode), a royal residence; Ho Withun Thasana (Sages' Lookout), a brightly painted lookout tower; and the Aisawan Thiphya-Art (Divine Seat of Personal Freedom), a pavilion constructed in the middle of a pond.

The palace remains largely open to visitors.

Ho Withun Thasana, or Sages' Lookout

Wehart Chamrunt, or Heavenly Light

Aisawanthipphaya-At Pavilion from the...