Since its opening in 2009, CentralFestival Pattaya Beach has dominated the city’s skyline. It is easily the tallest structure on the beachfront and, with over 300 shops housed within, it also dominates the area’s shopping scene. It is the home of many high street fashion brands, including Calvin Klein, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Nautica and Zara. There is also a wide selection of food outlets, from the Central Food Court on the bottom floor to Oishi Ramen on the top, with Middle Eastern Italian and western cuisines represented in between. Electrical stores include PowerBuy, Canon and Samsung outlets while the Central Department Store covers five floors of the Second Road end of the building. With the addition of a cinema and bowling alley, CentralFestival is one of the main social hotspots in the city as well as being a shopper’s paradise.

What CentralFestival has in height, Royal Garden Plaza has in width. Stretching out along the southern end of Beach Road, it is a distinctive landmark for the bright red aircraft stuck out of the Second Road entrance and the yellow balloon rising out of the roof, both of which belong to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum which takes up most of an entire floor. The remaining three floors, however, are the home of an array of high street brands including Levi’s, Esprit, Von Dutch and Converse. There is also an impressive range of souvenirs, jewelry, beachwear, electrical goods and dining options.

A combination of a living museum, live show and shopping center, Pattaya Floating Market is an extremely popular attraction as well as being a great place for souvenir shopping. Being an artificial reconstruction of the popular floating markets in Bangkok, it is considerably safer and easier to navigate and is home to a great selection of high-quality wares such as clothing, handicraft, art and jewelry. There is also the option to scoot around the stilted village in a small boat, enjoy some of the cultural demonstrations or dine at the great selection of small eateries offering Thai meals and snacks from across the country.