Travel With Knowledge! These Are The Famous Historical Sites In Phnom Penh

Nowadays, Cambodia has developed its capital into a modern city not inferior to other developed countries in the world. But despite this, Phnom Penh still presents some cultures as well as some tourist attractions worth learning about its history and best for visit on weekends or during vacations.

Today, Compass will bring you to know 12 famous tourist attractions in Phnom Penh with their interesting background history. 

1.  Royal Palace

Ticket price: 1000 Riel for local visitor (free for students) and $10 for foreigner

Opening hours: from 8-11 am and 2-5 pm.

Location: Samdech Sothearos Blvd, Sangkat Chey Chumneas, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

The Royal Palace of Cambodia (full name in Khmer: Preah Barom Reacheaveang Chaktomuk Serey Mongkol) is a complex of buildings which serves as the official royal residence of the King of Cambodia from the reign of King Norodom to the current reign of King Norodom Sihamoni.

The Royal Palace faces approximately East and is situated at the Western bank of the cross division of the Tonle Sap River and the Mekong River called Chaktomuk .

The Palace was first established in 1434 during the reign of King Ponhea Yat but was abandoned when the capital was later changed for several times. The second construction was in 1866 after King Norodom relocated the royal capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh. When King Norodom’s reign ended in 1904, his successor King Sisowath continued to develop and rebuilt the Royal Palace. 

The first Royal Palace to be built at the present location was designed by architect Neak Okhna Tepnimith Mak and constructed by the French Protectorate. The complex is divided by walls into four main compounds. On the south side is the Silver Pagoda, to the north side is the Khemarin Palace and the central compound contains the Throne Hall and to the west is the private sector or the Inner Court. 

2. Silver Pagoda

Location: Inside the Royal Palace

The Silver Pagoda, also known as “Wat Preah Keo Morakot” , is located in the southern portion of the Royal Palace complex. The pagoda was formerly known as “Wat Uborsoth Rotannaram” because it is where the King worshiped, prayed and practiced every Buddhist Silas Day. The Silver Pagoda was built between 1892 and 1902 in the style of Khmer architecture, but at that time it was constructed of wood and brick. In 1962, the old temple was dismantled and reconstructed on the same site with reinforced concrete. In the additional, the royal family and officials also held Buddhist ceremonies there. This pagoda has no monks. However, this Majestic King Norodom Sihanouk lived there for one year when he entered the monkhood on July 31, 1947. 

This temple is called Pheah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot because the main Buddha statue is made of priceless emerald, which Cambodians call Keo Morakot. However, foreign tourists prefer to call the temple “Silver Pagoda” because of the 5,329 genuine silver tiles that cover the floor.

3.  National Museum of Cambodia

Ticket price: 500 Riel for local visitor (free for students), $5 for foreign visitor aged 10-17  and for $10 foreign visitor aged 18 up .

Opening hours: 8am to 5pm

Location: Preah Ang Eng Street (Street 13), Sangkat Chey Chumneas, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

The National Museum of Cambodia was built on August 15, 1917 during the French colonial period in the Kingdom of Cambodia (1863-1953) by the French architect George Groslier.

Groslier’s intended museum was soon associated with the Ecole des Arts Cambodgiens (1917) and became known as the Musée du Cambodge (in Khmer Sarak Montee Krong Kampuchea Thipatai) in 1919. Later in 1920, in honor of French General-Governor of Indochina M. Albert Sarraut, this museum was officially renamed Musée Albert Sarraut. The Museum was officially inaugurated by King Sisowat on April 13, 1920. 

There are more than 14,0000 items housed in the museum. It displays one of the world’s largest collections of Khmer art, including sculpture, ceramics, bronzes, and ethnographic objects dating from prehistoric times to the period before, during, and after the Khmer Empire.

4. Wat Phnom

Ticket price: Free for local visitor and $ 1 for foreign visitor

Opening hours: 7am to 6pm.

Location: Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

Wat Phnom, is the most significant temple which symbolizes the name of Phnom Penh, and a historical site that is part of the Khmer national identity. Set on top of a 27m-high tree-covered knoll, Wat Phnom was built in 1373 and is the tallest religious building in Phnom Penh.

The main entrance to Wat Phnom is via the grand eastern staircase, which is guarded by lions and naga (mythical serpent-being) balustrades, you will also see a huge clock in the middle of the temple. The Chedey and temples of Wat Phnom were renovated several times, in 1434, 1806, 1894, and 1926, and each year of renovation made the sanctuary looks better. Today, many people come here to pray for good luck and success in school exams or business affairs.

This in effect is a sanctuary founded by Daun Penh (Grandma Penh), a wealthy widow who in 1372, retrieved from a river a log with five Buddha statues in it and ordered to elevate a piece of her property on which to build a temple to house the statues. The 27 meters high man-made hill became known as Wat Phnom. 

5.  Independence Monument

Location: Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang I, Khan Boeung Keng Kang, Phnom Penh

The Independence Monument is a unique historical building symbolizing Cambodian Independence gained from French colonialism on November 9, 1953.  The monument also serves as a memorial for the heroism of Cambodian ancestors who gave their life for the country under the leadership of His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk and the independence day has been celebrated to this day.

The 20-meter high monument was designed by Cambodian architect, Vann Molyvann in 1958, five years after Cambodia's independence. It is shaped in the form of a lotus, which also can be seen at the great Khmer temple at Angkor Wat (Banteay Srei) and other Khmer historical sites.

6.  Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Ticket price: Free for local visitor, $3 for foreign visitor aged 10-18  and for $5 foreign visitor aged 18 up .

Opening hours: 8am to 5pm.

Location: Street 113, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 3, Khan Boeung Keng Kang, Phnom Penh

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is the memorial site of “Security Office 21” (S-21) of Democratic Kampuchea (also known as the Khmer Rouge regime) and located in what was then the abandoned city of Phnom Penh, whose citizens had been evacuated on 17. April 1975.

Formerly a secondary school, S-21 served as the central hub of a vast prison system throughout the country and was used throughout the period as a secret facility for the detention, interrogation, torture and extermination of those deemed “political enemies” of the regime during the years 1975 and 1979. 

After the overthrow of the genocidal regime, S21 has transformed into the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, preserving and presenting evidence of a tragic period in Cambodian history with the aim of encouraging visitors to be messengers of peace. The regime kept extensive records, including thousands of photographs. Several rooms of the museum are lined, floor to ceiling, with black and white photographs of prisoners who passed through the prison.

7.  Cheung Ek Killing Field

Ticket price: Free for local visitor and $ 3 for foreign visitor

Opening hours: From 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Location: Located in Rolous Village, Sangkat Cheung Ek, Khan Dangkor, Phnom Penh

Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (Cheung Ek Killing Field) is a historical tourist site and a place to show the painful history that the Cambodian people will never forget, as this is a former place where prisoners were killed after being detained and interrogated after Tuol Sleng prison during the Pol Pot regime genocide of 1975-1979. it is now become a tourist destination for national and international visitorsto study and research the history of that bitter period.

it was a place where more than 17,000 civilians were killed and buried in mass graves; many of them transported here after detention and torture in Toul Sleng. This place is a chilling reminder of the brutalities of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. In the center of the area is a 17 story glass stupa which houses 8000 skulls exhumed from mass graves. 

8. National Olympic Stadium

Location: Charles de Gaulle Blvd, Sangkat Veal Vong, Khan 7 Makara, Phnom Penh

The National Olympic Stadium located in the center of Phnom Penh, is a historical work of the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann. The construction of the Stadium began in 1962 in preparation for hosting the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (now known as the Southeast Asian Games or SEA Games), but the event was canceled due to political problems in Cambodia. The inauguration of National Olympic Stadium took place on December 12, 1964. The budget to be completed is 778 million riels. 

It should be mantion that all of the National Olympic Stadium’s design ideas are modeled on the principles of Angkor Wat temple with the main entrance to the west.

The National Olympic Stadium has the following major sports venues: the Indoor Stadium, which seats 8,000 people, and the Outdoor Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 70,000. In addition, the stadium also has a swimming complex with 4,000 seats, a tennis court and other sports facilities.

9. Central Market

Location: Sangkat Phsar Thmey, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

Central Market is located in the heart of the capital of Cambodia. it also known as “Phsar Thmey” which mean “New Market".

Central Market is a busy commercial market built during the French colonial period in the early 20th century (1935-1937) during the reign of King Sisowath Monivong by a French architect called Jean Desbois in the Art Deco style and the building painted yellow and gray.

The Art deco building is shaped in the form of a cross with a central dome and has four wings filled with shops selling electronics, watches, bags, suitcases, dry and fresh food, jewelry, low-price clothes from T-shirts to Khmer Krama, antiques, books, souvenirs and other such items.

10. Statue of King Norodom Sihanouk

Location: Near Independence Monument

The statue of King Norodom Sihanouk was erected in 2013 after the death of King Norodom Sihanouk (October 15, 2012), in order to preserve the memory of His Royal Highness for liberating the country from French colonization and the wise leadership made the country very prosperous during the “Popular Socialist Community” period.

The bronze statue is 4.5 meters tall and is housed under a 27 meter high stupa in the park east of the Independence Monument.

11.  Win-Win Monument

Location: Sangkat Prek Ta Sek, Khan Chroy Changva, Phnom Penh

The construction of the Win-Win Monument began in February 2016 on an 8-hectare land, located in Chroy Changvar, some 20 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. It is a symbol of the peace that Cambodia has achieved after the end of the long civil war, this monument will also be a legacy for the Cambodian future generations.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the founder of win-win politics and a major policy to lead Cambodia to bring an end to the civil war based on national unity after the fall of “Democratic Kampuchea” to ensure that all Cambodians come together to reunite their families and society.

12. National Library

Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4 pm

Location: Oknha Hing Pen (St. 61), Sangkat Wat Phnom, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh

The National Library of Cambodia was built on December 24, 1924 by the French colonial government in Indochina, which is now 99 years old. In 1954, after gaining independence from the French colony, the library was renamed from the “Central Library” to the “National Library of Cambodia”.

The library currently has more than 120,000 of manuscripts,  documents, and books on law and administration for Cambodia and Indochina, as well as books on art, travel, and Cambodian history.

Overall, the above historical tourist sites are not only a place for local and international visitors to relax, but also a place that can show the history of Cambodia.