Phnom Penh

National Museum
Built in 1917 in traditional Khmer architecture and inaugurated in 1920 by King Sisowat. It houses more than 5000 pre-Angkorian and Angkorian artefacts and it is the world best collections of Khmer archaeological, religious and artistic artefacts from the 4th to the 13th century.

Silver Pagoda
Formerly a wooden building, was rebuilt by King Sihanouk in 1962. The pagoda's steps are of Italian marble, and inside, its floor is comprised of more than 5,000 silver blocks which together weights nearly 6 tones. In the centre of the pagoda is a magnificent Buddha statue made of Baccarat crystal. In front is a 90 kg golden Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, dating from 1906. It was made from the jewellers of King Norodom.

Royal Palace
The Royal Palace was mainly built by the French in 1866 on the site of the old town. The entrance is on Samdech Sothearos Blvd. Opposite the entrance are the walls of the royal residence and the stable of the elephant. The pagoda-style compound was build by the French, and since November 1991, has been home, once again, to Prince Norodom Sihanouk. The main building on the compound is the Throne Room which was build in 1917. It has a tiered roof and a 59 m tower, influenced by Angkor's Bayon Temple. It was used for coronations and other official occasions such as the reception of foreign ambassadors when they presented their official credentials.

Wat Phnom
Located on a man-made hill, 27 meters high, from which the city takes his name. The pagoda was built for the first time by the lady Penh in 1372 to house four Buddha statues said to have been deposited by the waters of the Mekong River. The present temple was build in 1926.

Independence Monument
It was build in 1958 to commemorate independence from France 1956.

Tuol Sleng Museum
Called also the "Museum of Genocide", was a high school, before it became the main torture and interrogation centre during the Pol Pot period, between 1975 and 1978. Countless people died under the torture and were thrown into mass graves in the school compound. Others were taken to Choeng Ek for their execution. Only seven prisoners survived because they were sculptors and could turn out countless busts of Pol Pot. The Museum exhibits, trough display of torture implements, photographs and paintings, the scale of the Khmer Rouges atrocities. All their victims were methodically numbered and photographed. This pictures now cover the museum's walls.

Choeung Ek - Killing Fields
It was the execution ground for the torture victims of Tuol Sleng. Today a huge glass tower stands on the site, filled with the cracked skulls of men, woman and children exhumed from 129 mass graves in the area. It is estimated that around 40,000 Cambodians were murdered at Choeung Ek between 1975 and 1978.