Destinations Menu
RSS
CAMBODIA | Phnom Penh, Cambodia Travel Guide
Sunday, May 12, 2024
2 Of 2
The Riverside and South
The Riverside
Along the Mekong River is an array of Colonial buildings almost a mile long. These used to be merchants’ offices, shops, private residences, and government buildings. Today they are shops, restaurants, bars, and guesthouses.
Although the Silver Pagoda is attractive, it is not the most famous wat in Phnom Penh. That honor goes to Wat Ounalom, shown at left. This is located just north of the National Museum at Street 154 and Samdech Sothearos Boulevard. It faces the Tonlé Sap. Prior to 1976 over 500 monks lived here, but their leader was killed by the Khmer Rouge and the facility was heavily damaged. Even so, this wat is the official headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism. At one time it housed a hair of Buddha.
Wat Phnom
Located at the end of Boulevard Tou Samouth at Street 96 (the north end of the city), this is one of the oldest wats in the city. It dates from 1372, although it has been rebuilt many times.
The Victory Monument
If you go south from the Royal Palace, between Street 268 and Preah Sihanouk Boulevard, you come to the Victory Monument. It was built in 1958 to celebrate independence from French Colonial rule. In the vicinity is a variety of good-quality Colonial architecture – mostly on Streets 53, 178, 114, Norodom Boulevard, and Samdech Sothearos Boulevard.
South of the Center of Town
There is a museum dedicated to the victims of genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. This museum, the Tuol Sleng, is on Street 113, close to Street 350. It commemorates the victims taken to the Khmer interrogation and torture center at Tuol Svay Prey High School. More than 20,000 people passed through this school and were either killed and buried on the grounds or taken to the Choeung Ek (Killing Fields) and killed there. There are displays of photos and other paraphernalia – the Khmer were very methodical, taking photos and keeping historical records of all their victims.
There are numerous other wats and riverside sights if you have extra time to spend in Phnom Penh, but with so much else to see and do in the country and around the region, two days is just about enough for most short-term visitors. Following are some ideas for day-trips from Phnom Penh. For the longer jaunts to the mountains, Sihanoukville, Battambang, and, of course, Angkor Wat, see the other sections devoted to those areas.
Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Overview
Hotels(1)
Restaurants(1)
Attractions(1)
Activities(1)
Weather Forecast
- Reported on:
Sun, 05/12/2024 - 06:00
- Reported on:
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More