One of the more distinctive things about Phnom Penh is its large array of historic buildings. There are many old villas and government buildings from the colonial era, as well as many modernist structures from the period just after Cambodia's 1953 independence. Phnom Penh escaped most of the madness of the early 1990s, which saw most of the historic buildings of other Southeast Asian capitals torn down and replaced by featureless high rise office buildings.
Photos of buildings of Architectural interest around Phnom Penh. Click on any of the thumbnails to see the full size image.
Singapore Embassy
A well-maintained villa
A royal residence near the National Museum
The old French Market, Psar Thmei
The Maybank bank building
Dentist office
Olympic Statium
The old train station
Public library
Post Office
Old villa used as a police station
Phnom Penh's architecture is still at risk, with a new wave of development starting. Some buildings have been lost, while many others have been restored. Khmer Architecture Tours offers tours of the capital's significant buildings, or you can download a self-guided walking tour of the city center for free from their web site.
You can see many of the buildings just wandering the area between the Independence Monument and Wat Phnom. The one significant building outside of this area is the Olympic Stadium, which can be reached on foot or by a short tuk-tuk trip.