Accommodation ★★★

Smack-bang in the middle of Bangkok with beautiful views of the park, this is prime real estate for fancy condos with big prices. But there are mid-range alternatives. We found 40-sqm studios in (1) Lumpini Park View (Rama IV Rd., 02-677-6630-1) for B15,000/month, while even some of the more fancy-looking places like (2) The Rajdamri (Ratchadamri Rd., 02-252-8855) have rooms starting at B25,000 for 45-sqm. Jumping up a bit, we found a nicely sized one-bedroom in (3) Baan Somthavil (Soi Mahatlek Luang 3) for B25,000. If you have deep pockets, fancy new places on the Ratchadamri side of the park like (4) Baan Rajprasong (Ratchadamri Rd., 02-264-6464), (5) The Colony Lumpini (Soi Sarasin, 02-561-5050), (6) 185 Rajdamri (Ratchadamri Rd., 02-651-9600) and (7) St. Regis Residences (Ratchadamri Rd., 02-207-7777) go from B45,000 to B200,000 a month.

Lumpini Park

Environment ★★★★★

As good as it gets. (8) Lumpini Park alone dominates the area, off which leads some really nice little sois, especially on the Wireless side. Away from the roads, there’s also a great raised bike track that connects Lumpini Park with another cycle-friendly green space, Benjakitti. (Get your set of wheels at (9) Culture Cycliste, G/F, Indosuez Building, Wireless Rd., 02-651-4114.) Footpaths are not as well maintained as on Rama 1—and motorbike taxis love to use them to dodge the traffic—but they’re nowhere near the worst. Your main complaint living here is going to be traffic jams.

Osha

Dining ★★★★

A great mix of street food and decent restaurants. We recommend the hugely popular somtam joint (10) Jae Kee’s on Soi Polo (02-655-8489), where the fried chicken is topped with mounds of delicious garlic. Nearby you’ll find the popular brunch spot (11) Brooklyn Baker (Inside Retreat on Vitayu Spa, Soi Polo, 081-855-7090), which supplies pastries to Casa Lapin and has a similar kind of vibe. For something more refined, try (12) Osha (Wireless Rd., 02-256-6555), one of the hottest new Thai restaurants in town, or the renowned steakhouse and bakery (13) Neil’s Tavern (Soi Ruamrudee, 02-256-6874-6).

You Bahn

Bars ★★

If you’re looking for a place to party, head up to Langsuan—bars in the Lumpini area itself are pretty slim on the ground now Brown Sugar’s closed. But there are a couple of places. Our favorite is (14) You Bahn (Tk Wireless Rd., 095-546-9163), a cozy, nicely-designed café that transforms into a bar at night. For late-night partying with the city’s young, wealthy and well-dressed, there’s also the Royal Bangkok Sports Club’s (15) Falabella (Ratchadamri Rd., 02-252-5131).

Transportation ★★★★★

Quite literally surrounded by BTS/MRT stations on all sides, with BTS Ratchadamri and MRT Lumpini being the main ones. Traffic on all roads surrounding the park can be terrible during rush hours, but being so central means it’s not that hard to get anywhere. And of course, you can always cut through the park on foot shaded by trees.

Community ★★★

Largely dependent on what side of Lumpini you reside. At the Sarasin end, you’ll find lots of office workers who won’t cause you any trouble but don’t make for the most colorful neighbors either. Lower Ratchadamri is home to wealthy expats and lots of short-term residents holed away in high-rise condos, while the sub-sois of Wireless Road and down to Rama IV have a nice community feel with plenty of mom-and-pop stores.

What else?

Hospitals

(16) Chulalongkorn Hospital is literally just across the road from Lumpini Park.

Groceries

Not very many places to get groceries, though surrounding areas like Siam and Chidlom have plenty of high-quality supermarkets.