Top 10 Things to Do in Phnom Penh

The former high school turned S-21 interrogation centre where the Khmer Rouge imprisoned and tortured up to 20,000 people is now a harrowing museum of remembrance — essential, devastating, and morally unmissable.

The art-deco ochre dome of Central Market, built in 1937, shelters a warren of stalls selling gold jewellery, dried fish, silk, electronics, and the best bowl of kuy teav noodle soup you'll find in the capital.

The tree-lined quay where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers meet is the social spine of modern Phnom Penh — lined with restaurants, bars, and cafes where locals gather at dusk to eat corn, fly kites, and watch the golden river light fade.

Fifteen kilometres south of the city, the memorial stupa filled with 5,000 skulls at Choeung Ek — the largest Khmer Rouge execution site — stands as Cambodia's most important site of memory and solemn pilgrimage.

Perched on the only hill in this flat city, the 27-metre artificial mound topped by a gleaming pagoda gives Phnom Penh its name and remains the city's spiritual focal point, especially during Khmer New Year celebrations.

Housed in a stunning terracotta pavilion built in 1920, the national museum holds the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture — including monumental sandstone figures from Angkor — in a tranquil garden setting.

Cambodia's national dish — fish steamed in a coconut-milk curry laced with kaffir lime and lemongrass, served in a banana-leaf cup — is the essential taste of the country and best tried at a traditional restaurant near the riverfront.

The labyrinthine covered market popular since the 1980s is the best place in the city to buy Cambodian silk scarves, silver jewellery, vintage clothing, and hand-painted artworks at prices far below those on the tourist strip.

Every Friday and weekend evening, the stretch of riverside north of the Royal Palace transforms into a sprawling night market of Khmer street food, handmade crafts, and live traditional music under strings of fairy lights.

The former high school turned S-21 interrogation centre where the Khmer Rouge imprisoned and tortured up to 20,000 people is now a harrowing museum of remembrance — essential, devastating, and morally unmissable.

The art-deco ochre dome of Central Market, built in 1937, shelters a warren of stalls selling gold jewellery, dried fish, silk, electronics, and the best bowl of kuy teav noodle soup you'll find in the capital.

The tree-lined quay where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers meet is the social spine of modern Phnom Penh — lined with restaurants, bars, and cafes where locals gather at dusk to eat corn, fly kites, and watch the golden river light fade.

Fifteen kilometres south of the city, the memorial stupa filled with 5,000 skulls at Choeung Ek — the largest Khmer Rouge execution site — stands as Cambodia's most important site of memory and solemn pilgrimage.

Perched on the only hill in this flat city, the 27-metre artificial mound topped by a gleaming pagoda gives Phnom Penh its name and remains the city's spiritual focal point, especially during Khmer New Year celebrations.

Housed in a stunning terracotta pavilion built in 1920, the national museum holds the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture — including monumental sandstone figures from Angkor — in a tranquil garden setting.

Cambodia's national dish — fish steamed in a coconut-milk curry laced with kaffir lime and lemongrass, served in a banana-leaf cup — is the essential taste of the country and best tried at a traditional restaurant near the riverfront.

The labyrinthine covered market popular since the 1980s is the best place in the city to buy Cambodian silk scarves, silver jewellery, vintage clothing, and hand-painted artworks at prices far below those on the tourist strip.

Every Friday and weekend evening, the stretch of riverside north of the Royal Palace transforms into a sprawling night market of Khmer street food, handmade crafts, and live traditional music under strings of fairy lights.