"The Royal Palace" Royal Palace Tip by balhannah

You really shouldn't miss this, it is just beautiful.

The Royal palace was built in 1866, as the residence of the King of Cambodia, his family and foreign dignitaries. It is the home of the current King...... King Norodom Sihamoni.

The Royal Palace complex and attached 'Silver Pagoda' compound consist of several buildings, and beautifully landscaped gardens all located within walled grounds overlooking a riverfront park.

In 1863, a temporary wooden Palace was constructed a bit north of the current Palace site in Phnom Penh. Many of the buildings of the Royal Palace, were constructed using traditional Khmer architectural style but also incorporated European features and design as well. One from this period is the Napoleon Pavilion which was a gift from France in 1876.

King Sisowath (1904-1927) made several major contributions to the current Royal Palace.

From the time of the coup in 1970 when Cambodia became a republic, through the Khmer Rouge regime, and the communist regime of the 80s, until 1993 when the Monarchy was restored, the Royal Palace alternately served as a museum and was closed.
During the Khmer Rouge regime, former King Sihanouk and his family resided and were held as prisoners in the Palace.
In the mid-90s, many of the Palace buildings were restored and refurbished.

Except for the area of the actual Royal residence, the Khemarin Palace, most of the Palace grounds and Silver Pagoda are open to the public.

Enter from the gate on Sothearos Blvd about 100 meters north of Street 240.
Guide pamphlets and tour guides are available near the admission booth.
Multi-lingual tour guides available.

Leave yourself plenty of time to look around, I took heaps of photo's here.

It is only open from 7.30 to 11.00am and 2.00 to 5.00pm.
Admission is $6.50
There are EXTRA charges for CAMERA & VIDEO CAMERA.
The Palace grounds are closed during official functions.

Directions: Enter from the gate on Sothearos Blvd about 100 meters north of Street 240.
Website: http://www.canbypublications.com/phnompenh/pproyalpalace.htm -