The quieter western bank of the Chao Phraya, home to some of Bangkok's newest luxury developments.
Khlong San is seeing rapid development with luxury hotels and riverside dining, but remains less crowded than the opposite bank.
The BTS Skytrain doesn't reach here directly, so river boats and taxis are how visitors move around — it's peaceful because of that insularity.
Khlong San, on the western (Thonburi) bank of the Chao Phraya, was a quiet residential and light-industrial district until ICONSIAM opened here in 2018 — the mega-mall anchored a wave of investment that's transformed the immediate riverfront while the surrounding streets remain largely unchanged.
Beyond the mall itself (see the ICONSIAM guide for the indoor floating market and river-view dining), Khlong San retains genuine older Bangkok character just a few streets back — old shophouses, small noodle stalls, and a slower pace than the glossy riverfront suggests.
The free ICONSIAM shuttle boat from Saphan Taksin BTS is the easiest way in; alternatively, the newer Krung Thon Buri and Wongwian Yai BTS extension stations serve the wider district from inland.
Evening brings ICONSIAM's riverside light shows and a livelier restaurant scene; weekday afternoons suit a quieter browse through both the mall and the older streets behind it.