16 of the best · Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The sculpture of Angkor at the National Museum, classical dance with Cambodian Living Arts, the buildings of New Khmer Architecture, and films and talks at Meta House and the Institut français.
Our 16 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
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Three Phnom Penh addresses we return to, chosen from this list by people who know the city well.
Angkor in stone and bronze
The sculpture galleries of the National Museum, around its garden courtyard.
Dance and music
The organisation that supports Cambodia’s artists and lists performances of dance and music.
13E Street 830, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
Films and talks
The German-Cambodian cultural centre: films, talks, exhibitions and a bar.
48 Street 228, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
What foreigners may own, and where people buy.
The back story
The sculpture of Angkor at the National Museum, the classical dance kept alive by Cambodian Living Arts, the modern buildings of the 1960s and the city’s cultural centres: the arts of a capital that rebuilt them.
Visual arts
The sculpture of Angkor, and a museum of remembrance.
Angkor in stone and bronze
The sculpture galleries of the National Museum, around its garden courtyard.
Daily 8am–5pm
The memorial museum in a former school that became the S-21 prison between 1975 and 1979.
Street 113, corner of Street 350, Boeung Keng Kang, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
Exhibitions in the city’s creative cafés.
Off Street 240
A plant-based café and art gallery in an alleyway off Street 240, open since 2013.
Alleyway of Street 240½, off Street 244, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
Since 2000
A café and community art space, established in 2000 near the Independence Monument.
The Royal Palace, the Central Market’s dome and New Khmer Architecture.
An Art Deco dome
The yellow Art Deco market hall of the 1930s, under its great dome, with jewellery, silk and food stalls.
New Khmer Architecture
A fan-shaped riverside hall of New Khmer Architecture, facing the Chaktomuk.
A lotus tower
The lotus-shaped tower at the crossing of Norodom and Sihanouk boulevards, marking independence in 1953.
New Khmer Architecture
A university building of New Khmer Architecture, famed for its sweeping concrete forms.
New Khmer Architecture
The great stadium of New Khmer Architecture west of the centre, where the city comes to exercise at dawn and dusk.
The King’s residence
The golden-roofed palace on the river, with the Throne Hall and the Silver Pagoda open to visitors.
Performing arts
The art the whole country rebuilt.
Dance and music
The organisation that supports Cambodia’s artists and lists performances of dance and music.
13E Street 830, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
Screenings and talks at the cultural centres.
Cinema and gallery
The French cultural institute: cinema, exhibitions, a media library and courses.
218 Street 184, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
Films and talks
The German-Cambodian cultural centre: films, talks, exhibitions and a bar.
48 Street 228, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
Folk & cultural traditions
Silk, crafts and social enterprises.
Made in Phnom Penh
The visitor centre and shop of a social enterprise that trains and employs women.
63C Street 456, Phnom PenhExplore View on map
