Photo by Taohou (CC BY 2.0)
Siem Reap
Gateway to Angkor
Siem Reap was a small rural village until the rediscovery of Angkor. The town grew steadily with the arrival of the French who started to excavate the ancient monuments. The French built the colonial style buildings of the French quarter, an area in the center of town on the West bank of the Siem Reap river.
With hundreds of thousands of people visiting the Angkor Archaeological Park yearly, the city has seen rapid growth. Tourism is the city’s most important source of income.
Angkor National Museum
The Angkor National Museum exhibits artifacts discovered at the temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park and provides information about art, culture, architecture and religion of the Khmer empire.
The museum consists of nine themed galleries including the Gallery of 1,000 Buddha, Khmer civilization, Religion and beliefs. Two galleries are dedicated to two of Angkor’s most famous monuments, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Start your visit watching a short informational movie.
The Angkor National Museum is located at 968 Vithei Charles de Gaulle. It opens daily from 8:30 am until 6:30 pm. Tickets are US$ 12 per person. You can rent an audio guide in several languages including English, French and Chinese at US$ 5.
Cultural Performances
Siem Reap offers several cultural performances like the Apsara dance show, a ladyboy cabaret show and a circus.
Rosana Broadway
A fun evening out for adults and children is the ladyboy cabaret show of Rosana Broadway. Extravagant dancers wearing outrageous outfits in vibrant colors perform acts in beautiful stage settings that vary with the acts.
Watch an entertaining show that portrays the cultures, dances and music from several countries around the world. The entertaining Rosana Broadway show is a mix of traditional Khmer, Broadway, Bollywood, Chinese, Japanese and European acts.
The show starts at 8 pm. Deluxe tickets are US$ 35, VIP tickets US$ 45. The theater is located on National Road 6, a few kilometers East of the city center.
Phare, the Cambodian Circus
Phare, the Cambodian Circus is a fun night out for young and old. Watch an energetic and funny show with music, dance, acrobatics, fire and art. Phare is a combination of circus, music, dance and theater telling both historical and modern day Cambodian stories.
There is a show every Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. The circus is located near the intersection of Phare Circus Ring Road and Sok San Road, South West of the city center.
Apsara dance show
Watch a traditional Khmer dance show at the air conditioned Apsara Theatre & Restaurant.
Dancers wearing beautiful and colorful costumes perform a variety of dances including the Apsara dance. A leaflet explains the various dances and the meaning of some of the hand gestures. The stage sets vary with the acts that are accompanied by music played on traditional instruments.
Watch the dance show at the Apsara Theatre & Restaurant on Street 26 near the intersection with Wat Bo Road.
Photo by Pierre Andre Leclercq (CC BY-SA 1.0)
Cambodia Cultural Village
Around the large park are several villages that showcase the cultures and customs of various ethnic peoples in Cambodia. Here you can watch traditional ceremonies and cultural shows like dances in traditional, colorful clothing. At the Kroeung village for example, you can watch the “selection of son in law” ceremony.
Spread out over Cambodia Cultural Village are miniature versions of famous buildings around the country like the Wat Phnom and the Royal palace in Phnom Penh.
There is a restaurant and several stands where you can get Cambodian street food like grilled chicken egg, bread with grilled beef or dim sum.
Cambodian Cultural Village is located along National Road 6, West of the city. Ticket price is US$ 15.
Markets
There are many indoor and open air markets around Siem Reap, the most touristy ones in the center of town. Much of the goods are cheap and low quality, brand products are often fake. Be careful buying expensive gold or silver items or gemstones.
Psar Chas
Just South of Pub Street on the North bank of the Siem Reap river is the old market, known as Psar Chas in Cambodian. It’s a fun place to wonder up and down with its exotic smells and colors.
If you are looking for souvenirs, Psar Chas sellers offer Khmer handicrafts, silk items, scarves as well as jewelry. Vendors also sell clothing, fashion accessories, shoes, vegetables and fruit. Always haggle to get a better price. The old market opens daily from 7 am until 8 pm.
Angkor Night Market
The Angkor night market is a busy, touristy market selling mostly clothing, clothing accessories, souvenirs and handicrafts. Vendors can be pushy. Prices are negotiable, so bargain for a good deal. Get a cheap foot massage or watch the hilarious drag show in the back of the market.
Angkor night market is on Angkor Night Market street, about 500 meters North West of Psar Chas market.
Made in Cambodia Market
The Made in Cambodia market is a small open air market where everything for sale is made by Cambodians. It is a good place to buy gifts or souvenirs.
This market does not offer the generic items sold at other markets. Among others you can buy paintings, silk items, jewelry and lacquerware. There is various entertainment on the market like live music.
The Made in Cambodia market opens daily from 12 noon until 10 pm. You can watch a traditional Khmer dance show on Saturday at 6 pm. It is located at the end of Street 27, on the South bank of the Siem Reap river.
Cambodia Landmine Museum
Millions of landmines have been placed in Cambodia for about three decades until 1997. The founder of the Cambodia Landmine Museum, Aki Ra, disarmed many of the landmines on display. He also adopted several dozen children who were wounded or orphaned because of landmines. They now live at the Relief Center.
Besides landmines, the informative museum also exhibits hand grenades, mortars as well as guns, machine guns and large bombs dropped from bomber planes. Information boards provide background.
The Cambodia Landmine Museum opens daily from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm. Admission is US$ 5 including audio guide. The museum is located along National Road 67, about 25 kilometers North of Siem Reap town. Take a tuk tuk or taxi and have the driver wait as it can be difficult to find a ride back to the city.
War Museum Cambodia
The War Museum Cambodia exhibits military equipment used during almost three decades of civil war in Cambodia. On display are among others a Russian Mil helicopter, a MIG jet fighter, canons, anti aircraft guns, army trucks, landmines, missile launchers, tanks and machine guns. Photos and story boards provide details about various wars in recent Cambodian history.
War Museum Cambodia opens daily from 8 am until 5:30 pm, admission is US$ 5. A guided tour by a war veteran is included in the ticket price. The museum is located about one kilometer off National Road 6, next to Siem Reap city hall, about five kilometers from the center of town.
Angkor Silk Farm
Visit Angkor Silk Farm to see how hand woven, colorful silk garments are made. Join a free guided tour that shows each step of the labor intensive silk production process. Learn how silk worms are grown, threads are extracted from the cocoons, the dyeing, spinning and finally weaving of the end product. Good quality hand made products are for sale at the shop.
To get there, take a tuk tuk for about US$ 5 from the city center or join the free shuttle bus from Artisans Angkor in the center of town at 9:30 am or 1:30 pm. Guided tours are available in various languages like English, French, Chinese, Spanish and Japanese. Entrance is free. Angkor Silk Farm is located off National Road 6, about 15 kilometers North West of the city center.
Nightlife Siem Reap
Much of the Siem Reap nightlife is centered around Pub Street (Street 8) in the center of town, a few hundred meters from the river. Here you will find bars, nightclubs and massage shops as well as Khmer and international restaurants including Italian, French and Indian.
Angkor What? Bar
The Angkor What? Bar on Pub Street is one of Siem Reap’s best known bars. A lively bar with happy hours, Angkor What? Bar has an inside and an outside area. The DJ plays rather loud music, there is a dance floor inside. Cocktails are US$ 3, beers US$ 1. During happy hour beer is just US$ 0.50. The bar opens daily from 2 pm until 3 am.
Elephant Bar
One of Siem Reap’s most attractive bars is the Elephant Bar in the beautifully restored colonial style Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. A high end bar with a good ambiance, the Elephant Bar offers a good variety of cocktails, gins and other drinks. The signature drink is the Airavata, served in a three headed elephant bowl. There is a terrace in the large garden.
The bar opens daily from 4 pm until midnight. Happy hour every weekday from 4 pm until 6 pm. Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor is located at 1 Vithei Charles de Gaulle near the river North of the city center.
Scribe Bar & Grill at FCC Angkor
Situated in a beautiful colonial style building, the Scribe Bar & Grill is a high end bar with an indoor and outdoor area. The bar has an extensive cocktail menu as well as a good selection of beer and wines and good food.
Scribe Bar & Grill opens daily from 11 am until 11 pm. The bar is located at the FCC Angkor by Avani hotel on Pokambor Avenue on the Siem Reap river next to the Royal residence.
Miss Wong Cocktail Bar
A unique place in Siem Reap is Miss Wong Cocktail Bar. Enjoy the relaxed ambiance in an atmosphere of a 1920’s Shanghai bar. The beautiful Chinese décor consists of red painted walls decorated with Chinese portraits, photos and Chinese lanterns. Miss Wong offers a long list of cocktails as well as a food menu and snacks like dim sums.
Miss Wong Cocktail Bar opens at 5 pm. You will find it on Street 26, about a hundred meters from the river.
Photo by Bahnfrend (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Getting to Siem Reap
You can get to Siem Reap by air, train, bus or taxi.
Read Getting to Siem Reap & Angkor for details or search below for tickets.
Buy tickets online
Check out all alternatives and details and buy tickets online at the 12Go website.
Getting around Siem Reap
You can get around town by car with driver, tuk tuk, regular bicycle or electric bicycle.
Bicycle
Riding a bicycle is a fun way to get around the center of town.
Rent one through your hotel or go to one of the rental shops like Aing Kimsan Bicycle shop & rental, which has two shops in Siem Reap. The first is across the street (Street 6) from the Borei Angkor Resort & Spa. The second one is on Preah Sangreach Tep Vong Street opposite the Mony Reach Angkor hotel. Rent either a regular bike or a mountain bike. Bikes are well maintained; bike locks and helmets are available. Rental rates are between US$ 5 and 8 per day.
Electric bicycle
Very suitable for the hot climate, easy to ride and faster than a normal bike are electric bikes.
Ride them around Siem Reap and the Angkor Archaeological Park. Across the park are places where you can charge the battery for free. Rent an electric bike at Green E-bike on Sivutha Boulevard, near the intersection with Night Market Street. They will give you a short training how to use the bike.
Tuk tuk
Waiting for customers at every street corner, a tuk tuk is very easy to find. A short trip in town will cost around US$ 3. A full day rental to get around the Angkor Archaeological Park will cost some US$ 20 - 25, depending on where you want to go. Agree on price, duration and places to stop before starting the trip.
If you don’t like the hassle of finding a tuk tuk and haggling for a good price, download the Grab app or PassApp on your phone.
Car with driver
If you prefer to get around town and Angkor in an air conditioned car, hire one for a day or several days. Prices depend on distance and duration; there is an extra charge for the temples farther away from town.
Book one through your hotel or use Grab or PassApp. A reputable company in town is Siem Reap Taxi Service, that can be reached at +855 12427540.
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