Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda

Location: Samdach Preah Theamak Lethet Ouk, Phnom Penh.

Opening Time: 8:00-11:30 ;14:00-17:00.

Entrance Fee: 6.5 US Dollar.

The most important architecture of Phnom Penh is the Royal Palace. It was built in 1813. The current Cambodia king’s house is in the Royal Palace. Looking in distance from the the Tonle Sap River, the palace appears particularly beautiful and mysterious under the sky.

Most of the buildings are opened to tourists except the king’s house. The main buildings include the Throne Room of Prasat Tevea Vinichhay which is used for the coronation of kings, official receptions and traditional ceremonies; the Chan Chhaya Pavilion which is a venue for dance performances; the king's official residence called the Khemarin; the Napoleon Pavilion and the spectacular Silver Pagoda. Many statues are spread around the grasses of the garden. Except for the foreigners, many Cambodian people come here to worship. You need to take off your shoes and hats before you get into the Throne Room of Prasat Tevea Vinichhay and Chan Chhaya Pavilion, and no photographing is allowed inside the palace.

The Royal Palace has strong traditional Khmer and religious features: all the buildings have steeples which symbolizes prosperity; the buildings were painted with yellow and white which respectively represent Buddhism and Brahmanism. The paintings in the surrounding ambulatory are the fairy stories painted by 40 artists of Cambodia.