13 cultural and artistic things to do in Siem Reap, Cambodia, more than Angkor Wat
When we hear of Siem Reap, we often associate it with visiting Angkor Wat. However, there are still many more cultural and artistic activities to explore in Siem Reap other than visiting Angkor Wat. If you are art and culture enthusiasts, you will enjoy the list of things to do in Siem Reap, Cambodia provided in this article.
List of Contents
- Artistic and Cultural things to do in Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Things to do in Siem Reap 1: Visit Angkor Wat (Angkor Archaeological Park)
- Things to do in Siem Reap 2: Visit Angkor National Museum
- Things to do in Siem Reap 3: Visit Floating Village
- Things to do in Siem Reap 4: Visit Pub Street/ Street 08
- Things to do in Siem Reap 5: Visit and shop at local art markets
- Things to do in Siem Reap 6: Try local street food
- Things to do in Siem Reap 7: Enjoy aesthetic hotels and pool bars
- Things to do in Siem Reap 8: Join cooking class and learn how to cook Cambodian cuisines
- Things to do in Siem Reap 9: Watch Apsara dance show
- Things to do in Siem Reap 10: Try yoga, spiritual journey or get blessing from monks
- Things to do in Siem Reap 11: See Cambodian circus show
- Things to do in Siem Reap 12: Visit local supermarket
- Things to do in Siem Reap 13: Take tuk tuk or remorque for short ride
- Is it safe for females to walk alone in Siem Reap?
- What is the airport for Siem Reap, Cambodia?
Artistic and Cultural things to do in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Things to do in Siem Reap 1: Visit Angkor Wat (Angkor Archaeological Park)
Visiting Angkor Wat (Angkor Archaeological Park) is a must thing to do in Siem Reap. It’s an iconic historical and cultural site, renowned for its incredible temple architecture that attracts numerous photographers and tourists from around the world. Exploring Angkor Wat provides insights into the history of the Khmer Empire and Cambodia.
For essential information before visiting Angkor Wat, you can read this article, it covers information such as dress code, best months to visit, clothing colours for stunning photos, must-see temples and more.
If you are looking for the best Angkor Wat day tour that is trustworthy, well-organised, worry-free and with an amazing tour guide that you can learn history of Khmer Empire, Cambodia and Angkor, I highly recommend you to go for this tour. You can check my detailed review about it here.
Things to do in Siem Reap 2: Visit Angkor National Museum
The Angkor National Museum offers in-depth insights into the history of Angkor and the Khmer Empire. It showcases various artifacts, including sculptures and statues, related to this period. The museum also provides some information regarding Buddha. I got to understand some gestures of Buddha here.
If you are looking for detailed information about Buddhas, Angkor Wat temples, the shape of stones, history, stories of Khmer, its kings, and more, I highly recommend visiting the Angkor National Museum. And spare about 1hr 30 minutes for this museum, because there are a lot of information for tourists to learn.
Doing it before your guided tour of Angkor Wat is even better, as it allows you to gain a deeper understanding of what you are going to see at Angkor Archaeological Park and if you plan to join Angkor Wat guided tour, you can even take chances to ask professional tour guide questions and learn related stories.
Things to do in Siem Reap 3: Visit Floating Village
Visiting floating village is one of my favourite things to do in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It offers an awe-inspiring journey, allowing you to discover colourful houses built on the river and witness Cambodia’s traditional way of life—a scene rarely seen in our everyday lives.
If you are looking for an amazing cultural experience, I highly recommend choosing Kampong Phluk Floating Village on Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, as your destination, and join this unforgettable, well-organised Kampong Phluk floating village sunset tour.
Things to do in Siem Reap 4: Visit Pub Street/ Street 08
In my opinion, the Pub Street in Siem Reap isn’t just a place to party or to get drunk, in fact I was more attracted to the design of the neon lights, signs, and decorations on this street.
There are also many restaurants providing local and international cuisines. We had dinner at Khmer Family Restaurant, it’s delicious. The whole vibe and service was amazing too. We enjoyed it very much, and highly recommend it to you if you are looking for great vibes, tasty and creative Khmer cuisines in Siem Reap.
You will find many things to do at places with aesthetic vibes on Pub Street, for example Temple Massage (I am always very picky with massage, but from my standard, they are great!!), and a rooftop bar like this.
So yea, I’d say even if it is small, walking on Pub Street in Siem Reap is interesting and enjoyable, it offers a totally different feeling than walking on the bar street in Ho Chi Minh (where I find it to have a noisy and somewhat sketchy atmosphere).
Things to do in Siem Reap 5: Visit and shop at local art markets
Some of my happy findings in Siem Reap are the art, creative markets I’ve found randomly. These include Siem Reap Art Center Night Market and Made in Cambodia Market.
At these 2 markets you will find bracelets, rings with gems/stones, local souvenirs, handmade crafts, and the best thing is the paintings of Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple, floating village, and more. If these are things you like, you need to go visit these 2 art markets in Siem Reap.
Things to do in Siem Reap 6: Try local street food
As a Taiwanese Asian, Asian cuisine isn’t usually a surprise for us, and noodles and rice are very common foods. However, in Siem Reap, Cambodia I tried something simple but totally new for me and truly delighted me- Lort Cha (Cambodian stir-fried rice pin noodle). It tastes amazing, in my opinion it’s even better than Vietnamese and Hong Kong style rice noodles. My Italian friend Ale also tried it and said it’s really good too. When you visit Siem Reap or other cities in Cambodia, don’t forget to give it a try and let me know how it is!
Other than Lort Cha, their Fish Amok is also a Cambodian traditional dish that is very tasty, special and worth a try. We had Amok, Lort Cha and mango salad quite often during our trip in Cambodia, and we both liked it. I would not hesitate to recommend them to you.
When you try these local foods from street vendors, you can experience eating while sitting on small chairs and using small tables like these. It’s an interesting cultural experience worth trying.
If you want a guided food tour so you can get to know more of the local food, you can join this highly rated tour for the experience.
Things to do in Siem Reap 7: Enjoy aesthetic hotels and pool bars
I was surprised when I checked hotels in Siem Reap, because the majority of them look so zen, peaceful, aesthetic, and are with plants and Southeast Asian style interior design/decorations as well as nice pools with pool bars.
As for the price, it is considered friendly and quite cheap, even for 4 and 5 stars hotels.
Here are suggested hotel options that are with aesthetic design and close to Angkor Wat:
(This list is shown in descending order of price):
Things to do in Siem Reap 8: Join cooking class and learn how to cook Cambodian cuisines
After trying some of the delicious Cambodian/Khmer local dishes, you might be curious about how their delicious foods are made?
Joining a cooking class at a local’s home and shop at local market for ingredients is your chance to learn how to make 4 of their authentic special dishes and experience local life.
For this high rating experience, you can book it through this one or this, both of them offer discounts sometimes, I suggest you check both to find out the best price for it.
Things to do in Siem Reap 9: Watch Apsara dance show
The Apsara dance is a traditional Cambodian Khmer dance and one of the most significant cultural expressions in Cambodia. It’s often performed during royal and religious events.
If you would like to understand more of the Khmer culture, and art, watching this Apsara dance show while enjoying a great buffet at the hotel will be a fine pick!
Things to do in Siem Reap 10: Try yoga, spiritual journey or get blessing from monks
In my opinion, Siem Reap is a spiritual, zen, peaceful, artistic city, which means you can also find meditation, retreat, yoga, self-care sessions and spiritual activities in this city easily.
After a long search for the spiritual activities, Hariharalaya and Baby Elephant were 2 places I put on my to-do list for Siem Reap, but unfortunately I didn’t get time to go this time. If I go next time, I will share my reviews about it with you, otherwise you can let me know how your experiences are like if you’ve joined them before.
There is also a traditional and unique activity- to experience water blessing by monks. If you are interested in Buddhism and want to experience Cambodian ritual, get blessings from monks, and receive a red bracelet in the end, this tour is recommended.
Things to do in Siem Reap 11: See Cambodian circus show
The Cambodian circus is a famous show among tourists to get to know the culture. This is not the typical circus that shows only circus tricks, this one even incorporates Cambodian history and people’s stories as well as contemporary arts into the performance, which gained a high rating, and is likely to sell out.
If you want to experience this artistic and cultural thing to do in Siem Reap, you can check here to see the availability and price of the circus show.
Things to do in Siem Reap 12: Visit local supermarket
One thing I like to do when visiting new cities is to visit and shop at local supermarkets and find their local snack, food and local price. In Cambodia, I love the dried fruit/vegetable and coconut chips the most. It’s super good! If you are looking for snacks to try or bring home as souvenirs, I recommend you to get these and get them at local supermarkets instead of getting it from the airport, which I find the price is double, sometimes even triple.
Things to do in Siem Reap 13: Take tuk tuk or remorque for short ride
While we all know that taking a van or car with air conditioning is more comfortable for commuting, if you’re commuting within Siem Reap “city centre”, which isn’t too big, I’d recommend giving a tuk-tuk or remorque a try. It’s a typical and commonly used mode of transportation in Southeast Asia, and it can be quite fun.
I usually book it via Grab App, or ask the hotel staff to arrange for us. For safety reasons, I’d avoid getting random ones on the street though, especially if you are travelling alone.
Is it safe for females to walk alone in Siem Reap?
Before I went to Cambodia, I thought everywhere was going to be dangerous, but when I visited Siem Reap, I felt peace and safe. The people here are so kind, friendly, honest and it’s like they are smiling from the hearts, yes even to strangers. And we could feel that they were genuinely like this, not treating people nice because they were after anything from people. (at least all the people we met here are like this).
Hence, I’d say Siem Reap is mostly safe for walking alone, but there are still some things to keep in mind. Avoid carrying valuables or wearing expensive and revealing clothings. Also, don’t walk alone when you’ve been drinking or late at night on quiet streets. Stick to busy main roads where there are lots of people around, and always be aware of your surroundings.
What is the airport for Siem Reap, Cambodia?
The airport for Siem Reap is called Angkor International Airport (SAI), it is the newest airport that opened in 2023 to replace the previous airport Siem Reap International Airport (REP).
For the address of new airport- Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI): click here
Please note that, compared to REP airport, the new airport SAI is further from the city centre, so it would take approximately 1 hour to reach Siem Reap city centre instead of 15 mins. If you need to plan anything right after you arrive, don’t forget to count the transportation time too.
Easiest way to go to the city from SAI airport will be ordering a taxi/tuk tuk via the Grab App by yourself or you can arrange a transfer by car with air conditioner in advance here.
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