Chulalongkorn University, founded by Rama VI in 1917, is Thailand's oldest and most prestigious university. The campus occupies a large block south of the Siam shopping district and provides one of Bangkok's most pleasant environments for walking — wide avenues of trees, historic red-brick buildings from the early 20th century, and a large campus park (Chula 100 Pi Park).
The Faculty of Architecture building and the original Mahawajiravudh building are worth seeing for their period Thai-European architecture. The university art centre runs exhibitions, and the campus bookshop carries the best selection of Thai academic and art publications in Bangkok. On weekday afternoons the food stalls and restaurants around the campus perimeter (particularly along Henri Dunant Road) are busy with students and offer reliable, cheap Thai food.