Bangkok’s most spectacular cultural attraction, The Grand Palace is a vast temple complex of dazzling opulence and intricate detail, sprawling across nearly 220 000 square kilometres of the city. Originally built in 1782, it has served as the primary residence of the Thai monarchy for over 150 years and is a famous religious landmark, incorporating several deeply sacred sites such as Wat Phra Kaew, which houses a small but revered emerald Buddha dating to the 14th century.