Victory Monument
Five bayonets clasped into one obelisk — the Italian sculptor who made its statues hated the combination and called it "the victory of embarrassment."
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Erected in June 1941 to mark Thailand's territorial gains from Vichy French Indochina in the Franco-Thai War, this traffic-circle monument is entirely Western in design — a deliberate contrast with Bangkok's other major monuments. The names of 656 soldiers and civilians who died in that conflict are cut into the shaft. It has also served as a recurring protest site, most recently in 2022.
What to look for
- The central obelisk formed by five bayonets clasped together — look for where the separate blades emerge near the top
- Five statues in Western heroic style representing the army, navy, air force, police, and civilian population, made by Italian sculptor Corrado Feroci (who worked under the Thai name Silpa Bhirasri)
- The 656 names of the Franco-Thai War dead inscribed on the obelisk
Take BTS to Victory Monument station (N3, Sukhumvit Line) — the monument sits at the center of the traffic circle directly below the elevated tracks on Phaya Thai road.
Victory Monument is one of 38 sights worth the detour in Bangkok, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Bangkok pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Bangkok
- Grand PalaceIn 1782 a king moved his entire capital from Thonburi to Bangkok and built this walled city — Thailand's seat of power for the next 143 years.
- Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)Every Thai king since 1783 has personally added to this temple — and the reigning king still presides over state ceremonies here today.
- Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)Named for Aruna — the Hindu charioteer who drives the sun at dawn — this riverside spire was built to face the light it honors.
- Baiyoke Tower IIBangkok's tallest hotel stacks an observatory, a bar, and a revolving roof deck across three floors at 309 metres.
- BTS SkytrainBangkok sits in chronic gridlock — three elevated lines run above it on 70 kilometers of track connecting the city end to end.
- Rajamangala National StadiumThailand's largest stadium swells like a concrete wave — narrow at each end, rising steeply until the stands crest exactly at the halfway line.