Location: Bagan
Top Things to do in Bagan
Countries
What to do and see in Bagan, Mandalay Region: The Best Things to do Good for a Rainy Day
Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ; MLCTS: pu.gam, IPA: [bəɡàɴ]; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.
Restaurants in Bagan
1. Jasmine Family Lacquerware Workshop
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 164 reviews
Reviewed By sso617 - Bern, Switzerland
One of the best things I did in the Bagan area, maybe THE best, was go to this workshop. You will have a real experience. It is a family business, on their family compound (amazing to see), and they make beautiful, exquisite lacquer items of all types. There was zero pressure, everyone was friendly, but most importantly, they actually wanted to have a relationship with you as someone interested in what they do in the traditional way. It's hard to describe--they show you *everything* about how lacquer items are made: materials, processes, etc. Going here is a completely different experience from just buying a lacquer item in a shop. It will mean so much more to you when you get it home if you buy it here. And you will be convinced that you got the best possible product. Prices seemed entirely fair to me. But, again, this is a whole experience, not just a shopping experience. The location of the shop is correct on Google maps. Just keep going until your dot is where their shop is. As others have noted, please use an e-bike to get there; local politics and the location of the shop dictate that the owners must pay tuk-tuk and taxi drivers to show up, so they are forced to charge you more as well. It's just a five minute walk from the main road, if that, but again, e-bike is best. I was a solo traveler and sometimes that means feeling a bit awkward in situations like this, but in this case it felt completely natural. Can't recommend enough. There's a reason it's the #1 shopping experience in Bagan!
2. Pennywort Cooking Class
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 131 reviews
We offer morning or afternoon cooking classes. The morning class starts at the New Bagan market at 07.30am where we browse and do some shopping the walk to my house for cooking and lunch. The afternoon class starts at my house at 3:30 pm and we chat, cook and enjoy dinner. Our aim is to introduce you not only to Myanmar food but also our culture, lifestyle and how food and dining is a key part of our social life. We are not professional chefs, we just love sharing food and stories with travellers. The class is at our house with local cooking equipment and traditional recipes- part of it is hands-on and part is demonstration. The menu includes soup, salad and main course. We do require advance bookings so that we can prepare. Please let us know your name, your hotel (in case we need to contact you) and any food allergies or dietary requirements. The class is 20 USD per person (Please note that we cannot accept credit cards!) which includes the class, all food and drinking water, tea and coffee. 20% of the tour price going to the Kuthodaw Library, a library we set up to promote reading to the young people in our neighbourhood. We do hope you will come cook with us! Please let me know if you have further questions. Thank you, Maythu
Reviewed By 109jessieg
May's cooking class has been a highlight of my time in Myanmar. I have done it twice, in the morning and the afternoon and loved them both. May's is a wonderful host and the experience is incredibly authentic and warm. The food is excellent, varied and fine for both vegan and vegetarians. May also shares the recipes with you via email which is great! Visiting the markets in the morning tour is a rare insight into the local life in Bagan, and shouldn't be missed. If you can, bring along children's books to donate to May's community library.
3. Pomelo For Myanmar
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 14 reviews
Reviewed By 97tammys
This is a very awesome shop in so many different ways! It’s a great pit stop for picking up unique and beautifully made fair trade items. More importantly, it also gives the shopper a chance to connect with and understand Myanmar’s social-economics landscape a bit better as the store supports various local communities. The shop assistant was incredibly friendly and took his time to explain many items to me.
4. Golden Ladle Cooking Class & Restaurant
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 39 reviews
Here I have great news for you that I would like to introduce you with the little kitchen cooking class where you can make local foods together with local residents. I have got the idea for my clients to offer local food cooking experience as a being English Tour Guide for those who would like to create fantastic foods at my " Golden Ladle" cooking class.Then we offer two classes in a day.There are morning class and evening class.Morning class normally start at 8:30am which is included to visit the market. Evening class has won't. We start evening class at 4:30pm.The classes take about three hours.We usually make different burmese dishes at our class. There are normally six or seven dishes we teach in the class.Thank you in advanced.
Reviewed By kevinTarmak
Made the evening class, it was only two of us and we learned to cook 5-6 dishes. You actually do most of the cooking in this class which is what we were looking for. Very friendly family and good food. We recommend.
5. Bamboo Spa
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 18 reviews
Welcome To Bagan Myanmar! Bamboo Spa (Bagan) is young sister of Lily Spa (Bagan). The owner of Bamboo Spa Nwe nwe worked as a Spa Manager @ Amata Resort in Napali Beach for over 8 years and now start a own business in here. Anyway both of our places are giving the best massage in town with reasonable price. Specially our Burmase Traditional is famous in here. Anyway We are Warmly Welcome, Where
Reviewed By kevinTarmak
Went there on during our trip in Bagan. Very very friendly staff and clean. We took the full body oil massage and it was perfect. The masseuse asked us if we wanted medium or strong massage, and checked on us a couple of time to make sure we had a good experience. We recommend this place.
6. Gubyaukgyi Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 197 reviews
Reviewed By dustythoughts - Manchester, United States
This stunning temple is remarkably well-preserved and very beautiful, considering it's from the 12th century. The frescoes on the wall are gorgeous and are worth visiting just for themselves, although the temple itself is also lovely. The dim interior helps provide an aura of calmness and sacredness. This temple is clearly very well-maintained with a sense of awe and love that testifies to the spirituality of the place.
7. Golden Cuckoo Lacquerware
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By EliseB897
The owner welcomed us at the family workshop. An amazing experience to understand the process to produce laquery art. I recommend to take the time to visit the workshop. Great explanation, great learning Thank you for being so generous
8. Gubyauknge Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 26 reviews
Reviewed By kianpin - Singapore, Singapore
Probably one of the best temple in Bagan with nice paint work describing the life of Buddha.. No photo and video allowed inside the temple
9. Ever Stand Lacquerware Workshop
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
Reviewed By Sofs115 - London, United Kingdom
A stop at a lacquerware workshop is a must in Bagan and I certainly recommend Ever Stand Lacquerware Workshop. I asked to see the workshop and if someone could explain the process to me when I entered. A lady immediately showed me around, explaining step by step how it worked (I was surprised by the complexity, the level of skill and artistic talent required to make each piece!). All the employees were very friendly, smiling as I walked by. There's a shop that displays the work that they do. Everything was so beautiful that I walked around for a good 15 minutes before making a decision! The ladies at the shop were very friendly and NOT pushy at all. At no point did they try to push a sale on me, which felt quite nice. I felt a lot more eager to buy something without the pressure and the beauty of the objects spoke for itself. The prices vary greatly from $$$ to cheaper items starting at $3, depending on the quality. Items which have a flaw (sometimes so small you can't even see it), are put on one shelf at lower prices.
10. MBoutik
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 69 reviews
MBoutik is a social enterprise initiative by ActionAid Myanmar and the business of Myanmar Women Craft Producers Association (MWCPA).
Reviewed By bobinathens - Nokomis, United States
MBoutik has a superb collection of cloth and other items produced by women all lver the country. The many kinds of bags are special vaklue. The shop also stocks spectacular yardage of traditional woven cloth. The shop has recentlky moved to a location in New Bagan. It's in a side street just off the main road. Look for the sign on the main road.
