Phnom Penh stands where the Mekong, the Tonle Sap and the Bassac meet, a confluence the Khmer call the four faces. It became the capital in 1866 and was called the pearl of Asia under the French. On 17 April 1975 the Khmer Rouge emptied it at gunpoint within three days, and it stood almost empty until 1979. Everything about the city today follows from that.
The Royal Palace
Built from 1866 and still the residence of the king, so parts are closed. The Throne Hall with its 59 m spire, the Napoleon III pavilion given by France, and above all the Silver Pagoda, whose floor is laid with more than 5000 silver tiles weighing a kilogram each, and which holds a Buddha of 90 kg of gold set with 2086 diamonds. Covered shoulders and knees are required and enforced.
The National Museum
Next door, in a terracotta building from 1917, the finest collection of Khmer sculpture anywhere: pieces removed from Angkor for safety, including a reclining bronze Vishnu and the celebrated statue of Jayavarman VII in meditation. An hour here before travelling to the temples changes what you see there.
The riverfront and Wat Phnom
Sisowath Quay runs along the Tonle Sap with restaurants and an evening promenade where the whole city walks, exercises and eats. Wat Phnom, on the only hill in the city, is the founding legend: a wealthy widow named Penh found four Buddha statues in a tree floating down the river and built a shrine on the mound, hence the name, the hill of Penh.
Markets
Psar Thmey, the Central Market, is an art deco cross-shaped hall from 1937 with a 26 m dome, selling jewellery, watches and electronics. The Russian Market, Psar Toul Tom Poung, is hotter, denser and better for textiles, silverware and factory-surplus clothing, with a food court in the middle worth eating at.
Practicalities
Tuk-tuks are everywhere and apps such as Grab and PassApp set the price. Traffic is dense but slow. The city is safe by day; bag snatching from motorbikes is the main risk and means carrying bags on the inside. Boat trips at sunset on the confluence are cheap and pleasant.
Independence and after
The Independence Monument, a lotus-shaped stupa from 1958, marks the end of French rule in 1953 and is lit at night. Nearby, Wat Botum and the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument sit in a park that fills every evening with aerobics classes, badminton and food carts. It is the best free spectacle in the city.
Bassac and the new city
The area around the former White Building, a landmark of 1960s New Khmer Architecture demolished in 2017, has become the centre of a construction boom financed largely from abroad. The Chaktomuk Conference Hall by Vann Molyvann survives and is the finest building of that era still standing.