National Museum

Located just north of the Royal Palace, the National Museum was recently rested to its former glory as one of the finest examples of Khmer architecture. On display are more than 5,000 artifacts and objects d'art from the 6th to the 13th centuries. They include sandstone sculptures, royal barges, palanquins and silk, intricately woven with silver and gold threads. There are also rare religious objects in gold, silver and bronze.

Independent Monument

The Independence Monument (Vimean Ekareach) in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, was built in 1958 following the country's independence from France. It stands on the intersection of Norodom Boulevard and Sihanouk Boulevard in the centre of the city. It is in the form of a lotus-shaped stupa, as the style seen at the great Khmer temple at Angkor Wat and other Khmer historical sites.

Royal Palace

Built in 1866 by His Majesty Preah Bat Norodom, the Royal Palace is now home to his Majesty Preah Bat Nodom Shihanouk and Her majesty Preah Reach Akka-Mohesey Norodom . Most of the buildings inside the palace are closed to the public, except for special occasions.

Toul Sleng and Killing Field

When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 they converted a former high school in the suburbs of Phnom Penh into a detention and torture center known as Toul Sleng, S-21. A genocide museum was established at Toul Sleng after 1979 and today it remains as it looked when abandoned by the Khmer Rouge.
Hundreds of faces of those tortured line the walls inside the old school. Most of the 17,000 people detained at Toul Sleng were eventually transported to Choeung Ek, a mass gravesite located 15 km outside Phnom Penh. Known to locals as the Killing Field, Choeung Ek serves as a memorial to those killed under the Khmer Rogue rule. These sites can be extremely distressing, but are and essential part of understanding Cambodia’s tragic past.