Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 04/06/2026 17:38:00

Occupying a substantial city block at the corner of Ratchadamri Road and Rama I Road in the central Pathum Wan district of central Bangkok, Central World is one of the largest shopping malls in Thailand and one of the principal commercial landmarks of the central city. The complex covers around five hundred and fifty thousand square metres of gross floor area across eight retail levels and contains around five hundred individual shops, around one hundred restaurants, two large department stores and the principal IMAX cinema of central Bangkok. The site has been the principal central shopping centre of Bangkok continuously since the opening of the original World Trade Center complex on the same site in 1990. The original World Trade Center was a more modest seven-storey shopping complex anchored by the Zen department store, with a total gross floor area of around two hundred and fifty thousand square metres. The original complex was operated by the Wang Petchaboon Group until its sale to the Central Pattana group in 2002. The current Central World development was carried out by the Central Pattana group between 2003 and 2006 and involved a substantial expansion and complete external refurbishment of the original World Trade Center building. The new development effectively doubled the gross floor area of the original complex, added a substantial new outdoor public plaza at the central corner of the site and provided a complete external glass cladding to replace the older concrete facades of the 1990 building. The rebranded Central World complex was formally opened on 21 December 2006. The mall contains two of the principal Thai department store brands as its anchor tenants. The Central Department Store on the eastern wing of the complex is the flagship Bangkok branch of the Central group, while the Zen department store on the southern wing serves the higher-end fashion market. The remaining retail space is divided between around five hundred smaller individual shops covering all the principal Thai and international fashion brands, electronics, sports equipment, books, jewellery, household goods and the various other standard mall retail categories. The dining offering across the various floors includes around one hundred individual restaurants and cafes spread across the principal seventh and eighth floors of the complex, with substantial separate offerings in the smaller food court areas on the basement and lower floors. The principal central plaza at the corner of Rama I and Ratchadamri is the principal central public space and hosts the famous annual Bangkok New Year countdown celebration, one of the most heavily attended single public events anywhere in the central Thai capital.