This lakeside complex has a boardwalk seating area with stage for live music. What's more remarkable, however, is a gilded wooden 'royal barge' moored 650ft around the shore. Once a feature of the central moat, the barge is far more boat-like than the bigger, concrete Yangon version. When it's quiet, you can have a beer without eating a meal.
Royal Lake Cafe
Mandalay
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.37 MILES
To get a sense of Mandalay’s pancake-flat sprawl, climb the 760ft hill that breaks it. The walk up covered stairways on the hill's southern slope is a…
8.39 MILES
This lovely 1834 teak monastery is Inwa’s most memorable individual attraction. It's supported on 267 teak posts, the largest 60ft high and 9ft in…
1.67 MILES
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26.68 MILES
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8.03 MILES
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2.98 MILES
The world’s longest teak footbridge gently curves 1300yd across shallow Taungthaman Lake, creating one of Myanmar’s most photographed sites. In dry season…
2.2 MILES
A meditative departure from the usual Burmese 'douse-it-all-in-gold-and-pastels' aesthetic, this gorgeously carved teak monastery is beloved by tourists…
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4.91 MILES
This ‘early offering shrine’ is the most important of the temples on Sagaing Hill’s southern crown and the first you’ll come to on climbing the One Lion…
Nearby Mandalay attractions
1.06 MILES
If you want to squeeze full value out of your Mandalay 'combo' ticket, head to this 1996 concrete-pillared reconstruction of an early 19th-century…
1.16 MILES
You can see giant woks being cast at this fascinating little foundry, located near Bagaya Kyaung. There are no real hours – these guys seem to work…
1.24 MILES
There's not much to see at these ruins beyond crumbling foundations and kids playing, but they do make for an atmospheric detour. They're just east of…
1.48 MILES
Lining the Sagaing–Mandalay road, just southeast of Mahamuni Paya, is workshop after workshop (an estimated 75 in total) where you can see (or purchase,…
1.61 MILES
This attractive 19th-century square-based stupa has a gold spire and white/ice-blue lower sections from a 2006 makeover. It's set in a nursery of…
1.61 MILES
This vast bell-shaped pagoda, erected by King Bagyidaw in 1820, is the tallest structure (185ft) for miles around. Men only are allowed to climb halfway…
1.67 MILES
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
2.06 MILES
Rock dust and cheroot smoke fill the air in this heaving grid of cramped walkways, where you'll find a mass of jade traders haggling, hawking and…