How many days in Phnom Penh? 2 days detailed Itinerary

Wat Phnom is a Buddhist temple (called a Wat in Cambodia) sitting on top of the only real hill in the capital city. The story goes that a wealthy old lady called Doun Penh found a floating Koki tree in the river which had four different Buddha statues and one of Vishnu inside it. She then got the villagers to build a temple on the hill to house them, which was the first Wat constructed on Wat Phnom hill. The temple itself has been rebuilt several times over the years, but is very beautiful, especially the grand statues of lions and naga guarding the eastern staircase. Locals come here to make offerings and pray for good luck, plus there's a small shrine to Doun Penh herself.

The National Museum is located next to the Royal Palace which makes it logical to visit both together. The museum showcases one of the world's largest collections of Khmer artwork, sculptures, ceramics and a variety of ethnographic objects. There's more than 14,000 items on display, dating from prehistoric times all the way up to the height and aftermath of the Khmer Empire. Even the building is stunning, a graceful traditional terracotta structure with a beautiful courtyard garden.

Friends is a restaurant owned by a NGO called the Tree Alliance. Their mission is to assist street children obtain skills to make a better life for themselves. The food is excellent and what you pay goes to an excellent cause. There's options for vegetarians, as well as meat or fish dishes and even a giant creepy crawly bugs burger if you're an adventurous eater! Just make sure you leave room for dessert as well as their divine smoothies or cocktails – a cheeky frozen daiquiri is perfect for those hot Cambodian days…

After lunch, head to the Royal Palace, where the King of Cambodia officially resides. Obviously you can't visit the parts where the royal family lives, but there are still sections of the palace you can see, along with the beautiful formal gardens. There are always lots of locals relaxing on the grass, feeding birds and placing offerings. You can go inside the beautiful golden-spired Throne Hall and there's a small building to the left where you can see replica outfits worn by King Norodom Sihamoni during his coronation.

Within the Royal Palace complex is the Wat Preah Keo Morakot temple, which translates to temple of the Emerald-Crystal Buddha, and is also called the Silver Pagoda. It's called silver because the floor is covered in five tonnes of silver tiles although most of them are covered. There are also lots of stunning statues on display, like the Emerald Buddha, made of Baccarat-crystal, and a life-sized solid-gold Buddha adorned with 2,086 diamonds!

After a day of exploring and walking amongst all those stunning buildings, head back down behind the National Museum to Chez Gaston, one of the best French restaurants in the city! What can I say, sometimes I really just need some homemade foie gras and a glass of good red wine… There's a set menu that changes daily, with entrée, main, dessert and a glass of house red or white. Even if you don't choose the set menu, everything is very affordable, delicious and authentically French.

Finish off a busy day with a relaxing and romantic cocktail at the best sky bar in Phnom Penh. The Sora Skybar is on the rooftop of the luxurious Rosewood Hotel, offering unparalleled views over the city. They make amazing cocktails, have an extensive whiskey “library” and even have a menu of cigars to enjoy! The after sunset menu (served from 7pm – 9pm) is more limited but you should definitely try the ‘Romeo & Juliet' cigar and cocktail bundle for $19, while listening to DJs playing smooth music.

The Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is one of the many horrific places where the Khmer Rouge soldiers literally beat to death (bullets were considered too expensive to use) almost 3 million of the then 8 million population between 1975-9. It is harrowing and extremely sad to experience. But we think it's important that everyone visits to get an idea of how badly the Cambodians suffered. One of the most visually awful things was the “Killing Tree”, against which infants were battered to death then thrown into the burial pit behind, while happy Communist sounding revolution music blasted loudly from the speakers to drown out the cries to people outside becoming suspicious. All ‘batterings' happened at night when it was dark and easier to hide.

The Daughters of Cambodia is an NGO helping survivors of sex trafficking in Cambodia by teaching them new skills and providing jobs. There's also a café on-site which serves delicious smoothies, cakes and other food for breakfast, lunch or a snack. Their gooey chocolate brownies, in particular, are so good! Prices are reasonable and you eat knowing you are helping out a good cause.

The S21 is a former school turned torture prison where people arrested by the Khmer Rouge were tortured until they made false confessions about made up allegations against them before they were taken to the Killing Fields to be killed. They didn't know they would be killed – this was all in secret. It was all part of a ‘cleansing' ideal of the Khmer Rouge to rid society of all intellectuals, the middle class, priests etc. So anyone with any form of education was regarded as a threat to the regime and would be arrested, tortured then beaten to death. As with the Killing Fields, a visit is a must but it is of course very sad and will affect you. One of the things that affected us most was this (translated) sign of rules prisoners had to abide by when arriving at the prison.

If you have time and are feeling it (visiting Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek can be pretty harrowing) then we suggest a trip to the Russian Market next. This bustling bazaar could be the perfect palate cleanser after the darker sites you've visited earlier, and it's definitely a crazy, colorful destination! It's only called a Russian market because the many expats (a lot of whom were Russian) shopped here during the 80s, but it's filled with discounted name-brand clothing, souvenirs, handicrafts and antiques.

The best way to finish off your two days in Phnom Penh is to enjoy a sunset dinner cruise down the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers. You'll get to enjoy a delicious dinner served on the boat, catered for by some of the city's top restaurants, and with vegetarian options. Seeing the sun set and the city's lights come on from the water is a beautiful way to end the day, especially with a cocktail in hand and your love next to you!