The hook
Cambodia's riverfront capital, where a golden royal palace and a lively market sit a short distance from the prison and the killing field that memorialise one of the 20th century's worst genocides.
01Why it's worth it
Phnom Penh holds two very different faces of Cambodia. There is the elegant one: the gilded Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, the French-colonial riverside where the Mekong and Tonlé Sap meet, the bustle of the art-deco Central Market and the city's growing café and food scene. And there is the unavoidable weight of recent history: under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, this city was emptied and roughly a quarter of the country's people died. Two sites bear witness, the Tuol Sleng prison, a former school turned into a torture centre, and the Choeung Ek killing field outside town, and visiting them is harrowing but is, for many, the most important thing they do in Cambodia, essential to understanding the country. It is a city to engage seriously, not just pass through.
02How to experience it
Give Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek a quiet, respectful morning with the audio guides; they are heavy, and that is the point. Balance them with the palace, the riverside, and the market, and Cambodia's warm everyday life. Treat the memorials as remembrance, not sightseeing.
From the locals
The advice is to go, and to go seriously: "it's absolutely valuable to stop in Phnom Penh to see the Killing Fields," one traveller wrote. "You should know where you are, and it's hard to grasp that without seeing them." The other recurring regret is time: "most people spend very little time in Cambodia, and the time that they do spend is often visiting just Angkor Wat, and sometimes Phnom Penh. That's a pity — the country has much more to offer, and arguably is far more interesting away from the tourist-centric sites."