Wat Pho stands on Rattanakosin Island directly south of the Grand Palace; King Rama I rebuilt it from 1788. Its best-known treasure is the gilded Reclining Buddha, 46 metres long and 15 metres high, made under King Rama III in 1832.

The temple is the home of traditional Thai massage: its stone inscriptions on medicine have been on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register since 2008, and its school of medicine and massage was founded in 1955. We suggest pairing it with the Grand Palace in a single morning.