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.

The Independent Monument commemorates the 1953 end of French rule over Cambodia. Designed by a Cambodian architect, the Naga (a mythical bird symbolizing strength and benevolence) motif of the monument is a symbol for the country's htmlirations. The Naga also adorns most important buildings in the country, including the Olympic Stadium and the Chatomuk Hall, which marks the convergence of four main river: the upper and lower Mekong, the Tonle Sap and the Bassac River.

Legend has it that after a major flood a wealthy Khmer widower named Daun Penh found a large tree on the bank of the Tonle Sap with four ancient statues of Buddha hidden inside. In 1434 she decided to erect a large hill and build a temple to house sacred relics. Today, Wat Phnom remains the highest artificial hill in Phnom Penh and the center of many forms of religious activities.

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.Also within the palace walls is

    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.