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Phnom Penh Culture & history

Our most recommended Phnom Penh Culture & history

Phnom Penh: S-21 Prison and Killing Fields Half-Day Tour

1. Phnom Penh: S-21 Prison and Killing Fields Half-Day Tour

At 8:00 AM, depart from your hotel and drive to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, located about 16 kms south of Phnom Penh. Here,you will experience a very moving and confronting experience. The Killing Fields were the final resting place for over 17,000 men, women, children and infants between 1975 and 1978. It is estimated the Khmer Rouge Regime took the lives of between 2 and 4 million Cambodians during their destructive and devastating time in control between 1975 and 1979. Your guide will provide you with a detailed tour of the fields. Continue to Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975, Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It rapidly became the largest center of detention and torture in the country. Prisoners were repeatedly tortured and coerced into naming family members and close associates, who were in turn arrested, brought to S21, tortured and eventually killed. Spend time discovering the harrowing truths of the prison. At 12:00 PM, your tour comes to an end and your guide will transfer you back to your hotel.

Phnom Penh: Tour of Tuol Sleng Prison and Choeng Ek Memorial

2. Phnom Penh: Tour of Tuol Sleng Prison and Choeng Ek Memorial

You will be picked up from your hotel at the preferable time you selected by a shared A/C transport to visit the highlights of Phnom Penh and learn more about the history of Cambodia from our professional tour guide, starting with S-21(Security Prison 21)of Tuol Sleng that was In 1975, Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison. Spend time discovering the harrowing truths of the prison, and then drive to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, located about 16 kms south of Phnom Penh. You’ll visit the memorial built in memory of the more than 17,000 victims who were killed at Choeung Ek by the Khmer Rouge. Transfer you back after this half day tour completed.

Half Day Royal Palace, National Musuem and Wat Phnom Tour

3. Half Day Royal Palace, National Musuem and Wat Phnom Tour

A guide will pick you up at your hotel and drive you to Phnom Penh City. Your first stop is Wat Phnom, a 14th-century Buddhist temple. At 27 meters, it is the highest religious structure in the city. Your next destination is the Royal Palace (under renovation) – a majestic building constructed in 1866 by King Norodom. Stroll through its beautiful gardens while admiring the various pagoda style structures. The silver pagoda is named after its floor, which comprises of 5,000 silver tiles. Inside, it houses a gold Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds. Finally, you will visit the National Museum – a museum dedicated to preserving the Khmer art. Among the hundreds of pieces are examples of pre and post Angkorian art.

Half Day Tour of Tuol Sleng and Choeng Ek Killing Field

4. Half Day Tour of Tuol Sleng and Choeng Ek Killing Field

Your Euro-Khmer guide will pick you up from the hotel that you stayed in Phnom Penh and our guide & driver drive you to the killing fields of Choeung Ek – 15 km south of Phnom Penh. The infamous killing fields have a bloody history. Once an orchard and a Chinese cemetery, the Khmer Rogue, lead by Pol Pot, turned the place into what became known as the killing fields. Over four years they massacred and buried 2.5 million people. After remembering the dead, return to Phnom Penh to visit Tuol Sleng Prison. Meaning hill of the poisonous trees, Pol Pot turned a once popular high school into a high security prison. 20,000 people were imprisoned there, many of whom were tortured for information. Today it serves as a museum and a reminder of darker days. Your Euro-Khmer guide will return you to your hotel or guesthouse in the early evening.

Phnom Penh City Tour + Mekong River Boat Trip

5. Phnom Penh City Tour + Mekong River Boat Trip

Following a hotel pick-up at 08:00 from Phnom Penh City area hotel, your first stop will be Royal Palace. The Royal Palace is one of Phnom Penh’s most splendid architectural achievements. Next, head to Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, a phenomenal area in Cambodia filled with hundreds of years of history. You will visit Cambodia's National Museum, offering a charming setting for a stunning collection of ancient Khmer art. Next up, you visit Wat Phnom. The temple has a strong connection with the establishment of the capital city of Cambodia. The current name of the city Phnom-Penh in native language means literally the hill of Ms. Penh. Wat Phnom temple was built in 1373.  After lunch at your own cost, you will board your boat and travel down the Tonle Sap River to where it meets the mighty Mekong River. You are cruising past the floating villages and onto the first of two islands. Your boat will first dock in the village of Prek Bongkong on Silk Island. Enjoy a tour of the working silk farm known as Heng Naysim Traditional Cambodian Weaving House, to see how silks are made by tracing the steps from collecting the silk from silkworms, to crafting the final shimmering sheets. You will have the opportunity to purchase beautiful handmade silk products direct from the farm. You will spend one hour back at Phnom Phen city by the same 1-hour boat ride. You will proceed to visit the Independence Monument. Built in 1955, this symbolizes Cambodian independence gained from French colonialism in 1953. This monument is a copy of the Bakong temple (a temple from the Rolous group of the 9th century). The one-hundred Nagas and snake motif can be seen in  historical, cultural, archeological, and business contexts. At approximately 18:00, you'll arrive back at your hotel in Phnom Penh city area where the tour will end.

Best of Phnom Penh: Half-Day Private City Tour

6. Best of Phnom Penh: Half-Day Private City Tour

At 8:00 AM, start your tour of the charming capital with a visit to the city’s namesake, Wat Phnom. The pagoda was built to house Buddhist relics washed ashore by the river. After, you will visit the Royal Palace built in 1866 by King Norodom. See the different structures of this pagoda-style compound and stroll in its beautiful garden. Visit the Silver Pagoda named because of it’s floor that is comprised of 5,000 silver tiles. A gold Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha are also housed here. Continue to the nearby National Museum. Built in 1917, it is an exceptional example of traditional architecture and is exclusively devoted to preserving and displaying Khmer art and sculptures. Hundreds of pieces are housed here including both pre-and post-Angkorian pieces. At 12:00 PM, your tour will come to an end and your guide will transfer you back to your hotel.

Phnom Penh's Killing Fields: 4-Hour Guided Tour

7. Phnom Penh's Killing Fields: 4-Hour Guided Tour

The peaceful stretch of green fields at Choeung Ek hide the horrors that occurred at the site in the 1970s. Located 17 kilometers from Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek was made famous in the movie called The Killing Fields. On this 4-hour guided tour you’ll visit the memorial built in memory of the more than 17,000 victims who were killed at Choeung Ek by the Khmer Rouge. The remnants inside the memorial and the mass graves that dot the area are reminders of the suffering of the victims. This journey into Cambodia’s past will provide you with a background on the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge regime. It will also give you an appreciation of the struggle that Cambodian people have faced and their tremendous courage to move on and rebuild their nation.

Phnom Penh Private Tour: Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, S-21

8. Phnom Penh Private Tour: Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, S-21

Explore the troubled, but fascinating history of Cambodia on a 6-hour sightseeing tour in Phnom Penh, and visit some of the city’s most beautiful pagodas and palaces, as well as the infamous genocide museum of Tuol Sleng. Following a hotel pick-up, your guide will take you to the Royal Palace, built in 1866 by the French after King Norodom relocated the royal capital from Oudong. Located on the western banks of the Tonle Sap River and Mekong River, the palace complex features stunning Khmer architecture, divided into 4 main compounds. The grounds of the Palace are also home to the Silver Pagoda, which received its name because its floor is made of 5,329 silver tiles. Learn about the Khmer kings, resident at all times, with the exception of the period when the Khmer Rouge took control in 1975. See gold and jeweled Buddha statues in the Silver Pagoda, and the Angkor Wat style Bell Tower. Then, learn about the turbulent years of the Khmer Rouge at the infamous Tuol Sleng Museum. Located in a former high school that was used as the notorious Security Prison 21, the Genocide Museum traces the story of the Killing Fields and the torture and executions that took place from 1975-79. See exhibits that tell the stories of some of the estimated 20,000 prisoners that were killed. Return to the city center for a drop off at your hotel, or a riverside café or bar if you want to take in the sunset.

Phnom Penh: National Museum, Russian Market & Wat Phnom

9. Phnom Penh: National Museum, Russian Market & Wat Phnom

Get an insight into the art and culture of the Khmer Empire on a half-day tour of Phnom Penh, and experience life in the city today at one of the most vibrant markets. You will start your tour at the National Museum of Cambodia, which houses Khmer art and sculptures from different periods of Cambodian history. See bronze statues, stone heads, and traditional ceramics among the 14,000 items in the museum's collection. Inspired by Khmer temple architecture, the museum complex was constructed between 1917 and 1924, and renovated in 1968. Continue to the Russian Market, named from the time when most foreigners in Cambodia were Russians. Bargain for souvenir gifts among the stalls selling silks, carvings, and curios. End your tour at Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh’s namesake temple. Enjoy lovely views over the tree-lined avenues of Phnom Penh at sunset, and explore the shrines, pagodas, and murals depicting stories from the Reamker - the Khmer version of the Ramayana - the grounds.

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What people are saying about Phnom Penh

Overall rating

4.5 / 5

based on 282 reviews

Kim was a great tour guide. the car was beautiful and felt luxurious with great air con and my partner and I felt we got more out of this tour with the personal experiences of our incredible guide. there was a lovely balance of history and purpose intertwined with giving us some space to look in our own time. Kim's English was fantastic also and his knowledge of the survivors and relationship also made this tour special

Mr. Hong our guide used to be a history teacher, and his passion and talent for prividing information in a fascinating way made this trip so enjoyable. I wish I could have Mr. Hong guide us for our entire stay in Cambodia! the prison is very interesting to see, and I woukd highly recommend this tour.

We really enjoyed our tour. Our guide Sophy was extremely helpful, kind and very informative. He also gave us lots of nice recommendations of things to do and places to eat in Phnom Penh after our tour. We would really recommend this tour. Thanks Sophy.

The tour was great. Channak, the guide, explained very well the history and politics of Cambodia, giving also a personal context to the places we visited. very recommended

This tour and my guide was amazing. I would highly recommend this tour to other travelers.