If you want to visit an exotic location, Cambodia is no doubt a perfect destination for you. There are many natural attractions as well as tourist sites which will allow you to discover the best of Cambodia. Waterfalls, beaches, and jungles await you. Besides, there are many museums in Cambodia for those who wish to enjoy a slice of its history on your Cambodia tour.
Here is a list of museums in Cambodia to visit to learn more about Cambodia’s glorious history as well as its rich culture and heritage:
1. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
As one of the most visited sites by local and foreign tourists in Cambodia, the Tuol Sleng Museum is located in the center of the city of Phnom Penh. This establishment, after having been a high school, was converted into a detention center nicknamed S-21. Located in the heart of Phnom Penh, this museum preserves evidence of a tragic period in Cambodian history, to encourage visitors to be messengers of peace.
Useful information:
- Opening hours: Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Admission price :
- Non-Cambodian: $5
- Non-Cambodian 10-18-year-olds: $3
- Free for Cambodian women
- Age recommendation: It is recommended that children under the age of 14 not visit the museum.
2. Cambodian Museum of LandMines
This is another great place to explore the history of Cambodia. The Cambodian Landmines Museum throws a lot of light on the dark times that this beautiful place has faced. It has lots of images, audios as well as artifacts, and real landmines collected by the owner of the museum.
Useful information:
- Hours of Operation: Open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Entrance fee: around $5
3. National Museum of Cambodia
The National Museum in Phnom Penh offers an exceptional collection of more than 14,000 pieces covering a period ranging from prehistory to the 19th century. This museum, housed in a beautiful building in a traditional Khmer architectural style, is Cambodia’s largest museum of cultural history and the country’s main museum of history and archeology. Also, it houses one of the largest collections of Khmer art in the world. Besides, it is made up of four galleries, spanning 2800 m2, which surround a patio with flower basins of superb lotuses. A visit to this museum is essential during your trip to Cambodia to take a full measure of the artistic genius of this brilliant civilization.
Useful information:
- Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. except for Cambodian holidays (last admission at 4:30 p.m.).
- Entrance fee: 5 euros
- Guided tours in Khmer, English, French, and Japanese are available.
- Photos are only allowed outside and on the museum patio.
4. Kampot Provincial Museum
It is one of the museums in Cambodia that explicitly shows the problems that Kampot faced during the reign of the Khmers and during the civil war.
This museum has three elements:
- A series of 8 large panels retracing the major stages in the history of the province of Kampot. The privileged periods, because of the existence of sources are the pre-Angkorian period, the XVIII and XIX centuries, the colonial period under the regime of the protectorate, and the contemporary period.
- The presentation of 38 photos on the history of Kampot
- A dozen archaeological pieces found in the Kampot region. Most of the pre-Angkorian period. These pieces are made available by the regional Fine Arts department.
Useful information:
- Opening hours: daily 8 am-11.30 am and 2 pm-5.30 pm
- Entrance fee: $2
5. Cambodia War Museum
The Cambodia War Museum is the largest war museum to be found in Cambodia and is the only Cambodia museum in Siem Reap that has such a massive range of artifacts and weapons of war. Therefore, it will give you a lot of information on the conflicts Cambodia has faced during the years of peril.
Useful information:
- Opening hours: daily 8 am-5.30 pm
- Entrance fee: $5
6. Angkor National Museum
The Angkor National Museum located in Siem Reap offers you a 3 to 5-hour visit for the most erudite devoted to “the Khmer golden age.” You will discover 1500 years of History from the establishment of the Funan kingdom in the 1st century AD, until the fall of the great Khmer empire.
The museum reveals these periods, highlights, and explains in a very instructive way, the changes in ideology, and the transitions induced between these eras. You will travel through 8 themed galleries to know and understand this civilization under various prisms.
Hours and prices:
The museum is open every day from 8 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. between October 1 and March 31, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. between April 1 and September 30.
7. Battambang Provincial Museum
It is one of the smallest museums in Cambodia since the French colonies. This building is located in the heart of Cambodia’s second city, on the banks of the Sangker River, a stone’s throw from the night market. It was built in 1963 at the request of Madeleine Giteau, a French historian and curator of the National Museum of Cambodia from 1956 to 1966, to promote the History and the tangible and intangible heritage of Battambang.
Useful information:
- Hours of Operation: The museum is closed on Mondays, and open the rest of the week in the morning and afternoon.
- Entrance fee: approximately $1
8. The Angkor Panorama Museum
It is one of the best-known museums in Siem Reap in Cambodia. The purpose of this museum is to salute the historical value of the Khmer and Angkorian civilization. Thus, it plays the role of a sanctuary that proudly protects the detailed and comprehensive information of ancient civilizations. During your visit, it is certain that the works of art and history exhibited inside the museum immediately give you the impression of reliving this era.
Useful information:
- Opening hours: daily 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Entrance fee: $20
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