A very short drive of 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Bangkok along the banks of the Chaopraya River will bring you to Bang Pa In, summer palace of the kings of Thailand.
The palace dates back to the seventeenth century, pre-dating the establishment of Bangkok as the capitol, although it did fall into disuse for a long period.
All the buildings you see date from its revival by King Mongkut (Rama IV) in the nineteenth century.
Today, the palace is only used infrequently, and then mostly for state occasions rather than as a royal summer residence.
