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Siem Reap is home to Cambodia’s finest restaurants, including the outstanding Cuisine Wat Damnak, named Cambodia’s Best Restaurant when it crept onto the San Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at #50 in March 2015. The town’s Khmer restaurants should be your priority, including Sugar Palm and Chanrey Tree for outstanding traditional food, served in beautiful spaces. However, Siem Reap also boasts an abundance of restaurants offering international cuisines, from Italian to Indian.

Despite its generally laid-back vibe, Siem Reap can get a little exhausting at times. The heat can be punishing, and a long day exploring relics and ruins can take it out of even the fittest individuals. Thankfully, there is no shortage of pampering options to rejuvenate you here in Temple Town—and the spa at the Lotus Blanc resort is one of the best. The facility here has numerous strings in its seductive bow. A wide range of Khmer massage treatments includes a traditional herbal body wrap complemented by a lemongrass-oil rubdown and a steamed-poultice massage by a Kru Khmer (herbalist). The spa stocks the exclusive Kerstin Florian line of skin-care products, ensuring luxurious facials for every skin type.

Seeing is certainly believing when it comes to Angkor Archaeological Park. Nevertheless, detailed information about the various wonders of the Khmer empire is somewhat lacking at the ruins themselves. That’s why a stop at this informative, if expensive, privately owned museum is crucial for visitors who want to get an inside track on Khmer sculpture and the epic tale of Angkor. The exhibits themselves aren’t overly impressive; indeed, the collection has been criticized for being visually pleasing without displaying many pieces of genuine Angkorian significance. However, the presentation is first-class, and it is one of the only places in Cambodia offering outsiders some essential understanding of the history and culture of this once-dominant empire.

Located just north of Angkor Thom (the ancient capital of the Khmer empire), Preah Khan sees significantly less footfall than the likes of Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. Dedicated to the father of Jayavarman VII, the complex is one of the grandest of all the temples at Angkor Archaeological Park. Its smaller size and reasonable state of preservation makes it an ideal place for visitors to while away an hour or two at least. The delicate religious and mythological reliefs, including dancing goddesses and holy sages, are a highlight of the complex. Although the main entrance to Preah Khan is in the east, most tourists enter at the west gate near the main road, walk the length of the temple, then double back to the central sanctuary to exit at the north gate.

The beloved Cambodian breakfast dish of nom banh chok is a love-it-or-hate-it dish for most foreigners, who would probably prefer to have this cold to luke-warm noodle dish served hot. The process of making these rice noodles is depicted in bas reliefs on Angkor temples, suggesting that the dish dates back to the Khmer Empire and traveled to Thailand at the end of the Angkorian era. In Thailand, there is a similar noodle dish called kanom jeen. In Siem Reap it’s typically served at street-side stalls and by roaming women vendors who carry baskets of ingredients on their shoulders. Like anything in Cambodia, you can expect to find an array of versions but a favorite comes with a yellow kroeung curry, a mound of thinly sliced banana blossoms, pickled cucumber, and fresh fragrant green herbs.

Anlong Veng was the last stronghold of the communist Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled Cambodia brutally from 1975-79, when it forced city dwellers into the countryside to work on collective farms. The result was some 3 million deaths due to executions, torture, beatings, hard labour, malnutrition, disease, and lack of medical care. The Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was Brother Number One, while its military chief Ta Mok was Brother Number Five. Responsible for countless massacres as well as purges within the party, Ta Mok was also called The Butcher. Ta Mok remained powerful after the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979, controlling much of this northern area of Cambodia and 3-5,000 guerillas from this base. After a party split in 1997 (yes, the Khmer Rouge survived almost 20 years after it was ‘overthrown’), Ta Mok took control, placing Pol Pot under house arrest. Following a government attack on Ta Mok’s house in 1998, he fled to the forest with Pol Pot, who died a few days later. Ta Mok was captured at the Thai border in 1999 and died in prison of heart complications in 2006. Travelers interested in Cambodia’s history can combine a visit to Pol Pot’s cremation site with a stop at Ta Mok’s House. Overlooking a lake that Ta Mok had made, the rustic house is decorated with a map of Cambodia and murals of Angkor Wat and nearby Preah Vihear. The cages at the front of the house apparently held tigers. The house is popular with Cambodian tourists, canoodling couples and monks.

Most travelers to Siem Reap are here to see the magnificent remnants of the Khmer Empire and don’t have Cambodia’s gruesome genocidal history high on their to-do lists. Those sorts of sites – the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek, where hundreds of thousands of Cambodians were buried in mass graves, and Tuol Sleng prison, where some 17,000 were tortured and executed – are reserved for the capital, Phnom Penh. However, for the curious, the completists, and those interested in Cambodia’s modern history, there are a couple of sights at Anlong Veng, not far from the Thai border. Anlong Veng was the last stronghold of the ruthless Khmer Rouge, which ruled the country brutally from 1975-79. The communist regime was responsible for the deaths of millions of Cambodians by execution, torture, hard labor, malnutrition, and disease. The cremation site of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has been given the attention it deserves. None. After Pol Pot died while on the run, presumably of a heart attack, his body was hastily burned beneath a pile of rubbish. The site is covered by a rusty corrugated iron roof in a littered gully behind some decrepit buildings on the edge of Anlong Veng. On the main road a small hand-painted sign points in the direction of a gravelly track leading down to the site. Blink and you’d miss it. The site takes all of a few minutes to visit and is not worth a second longer. It can be combined with a stop at Ta Mok’s House if you’re heading to/from Preah Vihear.

Launched in 1929 with a glamorous opening party attended by royalty, this grande dame has long been the most elegant hotel in the Cambodian capital, hosting everyone from Charlie Chaplin to foreign journalists covering the civil war. Part of the Raffles group since 1997, the meticulously restored building—a mix of Art Deco, French Colonial, and Khmer styles—is replete with artisan-crafted decorative touches. Outside, tropical gardens, courtyards, and striking sculptures surround two swimming pools. Hand-woven carpets, polished wood floors, claw-foot tubs, and silk accents—from the throws to the robes—set the scene in the 175 rooms, suites, and apartments.

Khmer culture comes alive at fine-dining restaurant Le Royal (serving Royal Khmer cuisine) and the Apsara dinner-dance show (offered weekly from November–March in the gardens), while international dishes are on the menu at the indoor-outdoor Café Monivong and poolside terrace. The retro-chic Elephant Bar—a city institution, like its counterpart at the Raffles in Siem Reap—is a favorite for afternoon tea and evening cocktails; don’t miss the “Femme Fatale,” created in honor of Jackie O’s visit in 1967. Signature massages using local herbs and traditional healing techniques can be enjoyed at the boutique spa.

Siem Reap’s emergence as a somewhat unlikely destination for fashion lovers is largely due to the efforts of one individual: Madagascar-born Eric Raisina. Inspired by the Khmer artisanal silk weaving he witnessed on a trip to Cambodia back in 1996, Raisina decided to base himself in the country and hasn’t looked back since. He opened his original haute couture outlet in 2005, and his daring designs, colorful and often inspired by ancient Cambodian culture, have earned acclaim worldwide. Admirers of his work can find it for sale at two locations in Siem Reap: at his couture house on Charles de Gaulle Avenue and at the FCC Angkor hotel.

Opened in 1932 in the historic Royal Khmer compound, this landmark hotel was the first luxury lodging in the area, catering to well-heeled adventurers intent on visiting the storied ruins of the temples at Angkor. Everyone from Charlie Chaplin and Charles de Gaulle to Jackie O and, more recently, Angelina Jolie have slept within its dramatic, art deco walls. Just a short walk or tuk-tuk ride to central Siem Reap, the hotel, now part of the Raffles collection, features 15 acres of manicured gardens with more than 20,540 species of tropical plants, making it a relaxing oasis after a day spent exploring the temples. Following a major restoration by David Grace Designs in 2019, the 119 rooms, suites, and villas—some set in the original main building, others overlooking the garden or pool—are now a vision of French windows, hardwood floors, and marble bathrooms with Italian tiling and oversized rain showers. Some have added perks like furnished terraces, high ceilings, or four-poster beds. Elsewhere in the hotel, features like the 1929 metal-and-timber elevator, art deco black-and-white tiles, and classic conservatory have been refurbished but maintained.

The large central swimming pool is ringed by loungers, while the tucked-away spa has a sauna, Jacuzzi, and six treatment rooms for excellent, regionally inspired therapies. Both in-house and outside guests frequent the six drinking and dining options, which include the legendary Elephant Bar, the elegant Restaurant Le Grand (serving both Western and Royal Khmer cuisine), and the completely renovated Apsara Terrace, which offers a dinner-cum-cultural dance show three or five nights a week, depending on the season. The on-site gallery and boutique showcase high-quality local goods.

If you’ve come to Siem Reap, you’ve already got architectural wonders on the mind. And though you’ll spend your days learning about a 1,000-year-old civilization, a stay at Viroth’s Villa allows a more recent era of Khmer creativity to be contemplated: the 1960s. The decade saw the arts flourish in newly independent Cambodia, most notably in the modernist New Khmer Architecture style.

Viroth’s Villa’s boxy, petite, two-story building is one of the Le Corbusier–inspired genre’s few remaining examples (there are others in Phnom Penh and Kep, on the coast), and its owners, Fabien Martial and Viroth Kol, went to great pains to honor its clean lines and honest aesthetic when renovating the dilapidated building in 2007. Rooms use local materials to modern effect, with dark gray tiled floors and polished terrazzo baths, woven water hyacinth mats, and teak doors. Decor is kept to a minimum—a single standing Buddha, a giant frond from an Elephant Ear palm in a vase—but expertly curated and placed, lending the property the feel of a Southeast Asian art gallery. The intimate, seductive style can also be found in the couple’s second, larger property, Viroth’s Hotel, a newly constructed 1950s-inspired space that opened in January 2015.

A short walk from the Old Market in Siem Reap, Wat Bo is one of the oldest temples in town. The immaculate gardens and stunning Khmer architecture are certainly worth a look. After taking in the sights here head across Charles De Gaulle Rd. for a look around the Old French Quarter.

Giant stone faces greet visitors as they enter the Bayon complex. This ancient Khmer center houses over 200 of these serene faces, with theories they were modeled after the bodhisattva (enlightened being) or the Bhuddist king, Jayavarman VII, who built the city center.

So as to not repeat the past, we must learn from it, even when it is difficult to face. Visiting the Buddhist memorial at Choeung Ek is one of those experiences. Located outside the city of Phnom Penh is the memorial and burial site of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. An enormous commemorative stupa is filled with the skulls of people whose lives were taken during this horrible period in history. Throughout the surrounding park, there are many places to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in Cambodia.

A room at S-21 where prisoners were systematically tortured for weeks on end by Khmer Rouge soldiers in order to ferret out false confessions that the victims had committed acts of treason against Pol Pot and the regime. When I look at these images I really do find myself at a loss for words--this is one of those pictures that really do convey more emotions that spoken vocabulary ever could. It reminds of the video game Silent Hill, except it’s real--the evils of man are deeper than the pits of his imagination.