Private Phnom Penh Tuk-Tuk City Tour of 9 Highlights in 3 Hours

The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda

The Royal Palace has been the residence of Cambodia's kings since the capital returned to Phnom Penh in the 1860s, a walled compound of golden-roofed halls and manicured gardens facing the river. From the tuk-tuk stop outside the walls you see the Throne Hall's spire, the Moonlight Pavilion on the riverside wall and the long lawns where families gather at dusk. The adjoining Silver Pagoda takes its name from the thousands of silver floor tiles inside and holds the emerald Buddha and a life-size gold Buddha set with diamonds.

On this private tour the palace is a photo stop from outside, with your guide explaining the layout and history; if you want to go in, the compound is open mornings and afternoons with a midday break and an entrance fee paid at the gate, and your driver waits. Royal Palace tuk-tuk tours are the classic way to see this part of the city, because the broad avenues around it are made for a slow open-sided ride.

The National Museum of Cambodia

A few steps north of the palace, the National Museum is the terracotta-red building with tiered roofs and carved gables, built in the 1920s in traditional Khmer style around a courtyard garden with lotus ponds. It holds the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture, from pre-Angkorian stone deities to the great bronzes and the statues that once stood in the temples of Angkor, arranged by period around the open galleries.

The tuk-tuk stops outside for photos of the façade and the garden, and your guide explains what is inside and how it fits with the temples you may be seeing elsewhere in Cambodia. The museum opens daily from morning to late afternoon with a ticket paid at the door, so it is an easy place to return to on your own; on this three-hour loop the stop is from outside only. Many guests pair the museum with the palace for a longer visit the following day.

Independence Monument and the Norodom Sihanouk statue park

The Independence Monument stands on a roundabout at the meeting of two of Phnom Penh's grand boulevards, a lotus-shaped tower of dark sandstone with tiers of naga heads, built in 1958 to mark the end of French rule in 1953. It is modelled on the central tower of Angkor Wat and is the focus of national ceremonies; at night it is lit in the colours of the flag. The tuk-tuk circles the roundabout and stops at the park beside it for a photo without the traffic.

East of the monument stretches a long garden where a bronze statue of King Norodom Sihanouk stands under a golden canopy, a memorial that Cambodians visit with flowers and incense. The lawns and fountains of this park are the city's favourite evening promenade, and your guide uses the stop to explain the story of independence and the modern monuments that line the avenue towards the river.

Wat Phnom: the hill that gave Phnom Penh its name

Wat Phnom is a temple on a small wooded hill in the north of the city, the only rise in a flat capital and the place where, legend says, a widow named Penh found sacred statues in a tree washed down by the river and built a shrine for them in the fourteenth century. The city grew around her hill and took her name. A broad stairway flanked by nagas and lions climbs to the sanctuary, which is busy with worshippers lighting incense and asking for luck before exams or journeys.

The tuk-tuk stops at the foot of the hill and your guide walks up with you if you wish; the climb takes a few minutes and the small entrance fee is paid at the gate. Around the base is a park with a large flower clock, and the shaded slope is a cool pause in the middle of the Phnom Penh city tour. Opening hours are from early morning to evening, every day.

Wat Ounalom and the riverside on Sisowath Quay

Wat Ounalom is the headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism, a monastery founded in the fifteenth century on the riverfront north of the palace, with a main hall, a stupa said to hold a hair of the Buddha and courtyards where monks in saffron robes come and go between the buildings. The tuk-tuk stops at the gate for a short visit, and your guide explains the role of the monastery and the daily rhythm of the monks.

From there the route follows Sisowath Quay, the riverside promenade along the Tonle Sap that runs three kilometres past cafés, flags and the lawns in front of the palace, with views across the water to the confluence with the Mekong. Riding it in an open tuk-tuk, with the river breeze on one side and the palace roofs on the other, is the stretch guests remember most from Phnom Penh sightseeing by tuk-tuk; it is also where the best sunset views in the city are found.

Central Market and the further highlights

The Central Market, Psar Thmei, is a landmark in its own right: a great yellow art-deco dome from 1937 with four wings radiating from a central hall, one of the largest domes of its kind when it was built. Inside are jewellers and watch sellers under the dome, and stalls of clothing, fabrics, flowers and food along the wings. The tuk-tuk stops for about twenty minutes, long enough to walk through the hall and take photos of the dome from the plaza outside.

The remaining highlights are chosen with your driver-guide to suit your interests and the time: the old French quarter around the post office, the Chaktomuk Conference Hall on the river, the Russian Market in the south or a street of local life you ask about. That flexibility is the advantage of a private tuk-tuk tour of Phnom Penh over a fixed-route group, and the loop ends with drop-off at your hotel about three and a half hours after it began.