Bangkok

Located between the Queen Sirikit Gardens and the Children's Discovery Museum, this massive enclosure with rockeries, plants, ferns and a waterfall features some of the most dazzlingly beautiful butterflies in Thailand. Boasting dozens of species, including rare butterflies, looking up at the dome at any given moment, visitors to the Bangkok Butterfly Garden and Insectarium can see more than 500 types of butterflies, such as the Golden Birdwing or Siam Tree Nymph. The Queen Sirikit Gardens are a wonderful place to take a walk and feature magnificently coloured flowers, mazes, ponds and shady trees. Visitors who come here can enjoy a wonderful day of stunning gardens and scenery, butterfly spotting and even picnicking.

Address : Rod Fai Park, BTS Mochit

Featuring fun, interactive exhibits, the Children's Discovery Museum in Bangkok encourages hands-on experience in science, nature, culture and society. With galleries themed Body and Mind, Culture and Society, and Technology, children can learn about a multitude of sciences in an interesting and enjoyable way. The best times to visit are in early morning and late afternoon, in order to avoid large school groups.

Address : Chatuchak Park

Opening times : Open daily 10am to 4pm

Admission : Free

Built by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) as his private garden adjacent to the royal palace, the Dusit Zoo is Thailand's oldest zoo. The zoo boasts an animal hospital, zoo museum and educational centre, sightseeing train, activity ground and cafeteria. Kids will love exploring everything that the Dusit Zoo has to offer and meeting rare animals like the White Bengal Tiger and Albino Barking Deer, along with others such as monkeys, penguins and camels.

Address : Rama V Road, Dusit

The two and a half hour, 100-mile (150km) train ride to the Monkey Temple in the town of Lopburi is an easy day trip out of Bangkok. Legend has it the temple was founded by a fallen arrow of Hanuman, the Hindu Monkey God. The animal kingdom hierarchy is reversed here as the temple gives the monkeys free roam and food. Often novelty turns into nervousness as visitors are followed by crowds of the impolite inhabitants. Visitors can buy packs of sunflower seeds for THB 10 to feed the monkeys, but should keep watch of loose items like glasses, purses, and especially food as the monkeys are keen pickpockets and they bite. November is the Monkey Festival in Lopburi but it is interesting to visit year-round.

Address : Lopburi, 93 miles (150km) north-east of Bangkok.

The Royal Grand Palace is a popular Bangkok attraction. Construction of the palace began in 1782 and was completed in time for the coronation of King Rama I, and opened in 1785 to signify the end of the Burmese invasion of Thailand. The palace itself is made up of a complex array of smaller buildings, most notably the Wat Mahatat (the Palace Temple) and the Wat Phra Keow (the Royal Chapel), which houses the famous Emerald Buddha sculpted from a single piece of jade, one of the most revered objects in Thailand.

Address : Na Phralan Road, Phra Nakhon

Opening times : Open daily 8.30am - 3.30pm

Admission : THB 500

Located in the Siam Paragon Shopping Centre, the Bangkok Sea Life Ocean World is one of the largest aquariums in Southeast Asia and features seven different zones; from weird and wonderful and deep reef, to living ocean and rocky shore. The aquarium features 30,000 marine animals, including Oriental Small-Clawed otters, ragged-tooth sharks, stingrays and giant groupers. Children will simply love Siam Ocean World, where they can watch live shows, have a shark encounter, ride in a glass-bottom boat, or enjoy a 4D cinema experience.

Address : Basement floor, Siam Paragon Shopping Centre

Website : http://www.sealifebangkok.com

Opening times : Open daily 10am - 9pm.

Admission : THB 990, concessions are available.

Originally set up to for research to extract the venom from snakes to make anti-venom, the Snake Farm is a great place to take the kids if they're interested in these slithering creatures. Featuring Malayan Pit Vipers, King Cobras, Banded Kraits and Russell Vipers, the Snake Farm educates the public on snakes and safety surrounding them. Venom-milking and snake-handling shows are held daily at 10:30am and 2pm on weekdays, and 10:30am on public holidays.

Address : Corner of Henry Dunant and Rama IV Roads

Website : http://www.saovabha.com/en/snakefarm_service.asp

Opening times : Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 9.30am to 1pm.

Admission : THB 200 for adults.

Wat Suthat is among the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok and is home to the beautiful 13th-century Phra Buddha Shakyamuni, a 25-foot (8m) tall bronze Buddha image that was brought from Sukhothai and containing the ashes of King Rama VIII. It is also known for its exquisite wall paintings, done during the reign of Rama III. The enormous arch made of teak outside the wat is all that remains of an original swing which was used to celebrate and thank Shiva for a bountiful rice harvest. Teams of men would ride the swing on arcs as high as 82 feet (25m) into the air, grabbing at bags of silver coins with their teeth. The swing ceremony was discontinued in 1932 due to countless injuries and deaths, but the thanksgiving festival is still celebrated in mid-December after the rice harvest.

Address : Sao Chingcha Square