ท่าพระจันทร์

Tha Phra Chan, known as Moon Pier, sits on the Chao Phraya River beside Thammasat University in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon District. Ferries carry commuters between Rattanakosin Island and Thonburi across the river. The riverside opens onto a busy market. Shops, bookstores, restaurants, and food stalls surround displays of Thai amulets and astrologers.

The area once contained Prince Prachaksinlapakhom’s palace before the land entered the privy purse. A ferry company later rented the site. Fort Phra Chan once formed part of Bangkok’s early Rattanakosin defences near the Grand Palace. Though the fort disappeared, its place remains woven into the surrounding streets.

Phra Chan Road runs between the former Front Palace wall and Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit. Large Burma padauk trees line the old roadway. Across the water, Siriraj Hospital, Wat Rakhang, and Thon Buri railway station face the pier. The station begins the Southern Line, including the Kanchanaburi Line, known as the Death Railway.