Things to do in Siem Reap

Landmark · Angkor Archaeological Park

The largest religious monument on earth and the reason the town exists — and, with a resident pass, somewhere you can visit on a whim.

Local tip: Sunrise is famously crowded. Residents go late afternoon on a weekday, when the light is better on the western face and the coaches have gone.

Culture · Angkor Archaeological Park

Two hundred stone faces above the walled city of Jayavarman VII, plus the Terrace of the Elephants and the Baphuon.

Local tip: Cycle the Angkor Thom loop rather than driving it — the interior roads are shaded, flat and almost empty once you leave the main circuit.

Neighborhood · East bank of the Siem Reap river

The leafy east-bank streets where most long-stay foreign residents end up — independent cafés, design shops, yoga studios and quiet lanes.

Local tip: Wat Bo and Kandal Village are walkable to each other and to the Old Market, which in a town without transit is the whole argument for living here.

Food · Southeast of the centre, National Road 6

The big, unglamorous local market where the town actually shops — produce, fish, hardware and food stalls, with almost no tourists.

Local tip: Go early. It is a fraction of Old Market prices for the same goods, and the food stalls at the back do the best cheap breakfast in Siem Reap.

Nightlife · Old Market (Psar Chas)

Three loud blocks of bars and neon, ringed by much better alleys of small restaurants, galleries and night-market stalls.

Local tip: Locals treat Pub Street itself as a landmark to walk past. The lanes behind it — Alley West and The Passage — are where residents actually drink.

Nature · 8km west of town

An eleventh-century reservoir eight kilometres long, still holding water, where Khmer families swim, picnic and rent inner tubes at weekends.

Local tip: This is where Siem Reap goes on a Sunday and almost no visitor ever does. Bring a hammock, buy grilled fish and beer from the shacks on the southern bank, and swim.