Our Guide to Siem Reap Markets – Where to Go and What to Buy. Old Market, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Our Guide to the Best Siem Reap Markets – When to Go and What to Buy

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Our guide to Siem Reap markets covers the liveliest local markets in the northern Cambodia city that’s the gateway to Angkor Wat. Rise at dawn to join the locals to buy the freshest produce, savour the tastiest market breakfasts, and absorb the bustling early morning atmosphere. Hire a guide to translate and you can get your fortune told or get a manicure.

Daily local markets are sprinkled all over the Northern Cambodia city of Siem Reap, from Old Market in the city centre dating to the French colonial period to the big bustling market that is Psar Leu and the sleepy little neighbourhood markets in the outer villages.

Siem Reap also has numerous artsy crafts markets for Cambodian souvenirs, the best known of which are the excellent Made in Cambodia market, and the okay Art Market, which doesn’t sell a whole lot of art.

There are Night Markets, of which there are several in Siem Reap selling generic souvenirs that are mostly made in Thailand, Vietnam and China, that can be found at markets all over Southeast Asia.

As responsible travel advocates it’s hard to recommend some of these products, which are often of dubious origins and are made in factories that may or may not employ under-age and/or enslaved workers.

For booking market tours and street food tours, we recommend Get Your Guide and EatWith, where you can also book cooking classes and meal with locals. We may earn a commission but you won’t pay extra.

Siem Reap Markets Guide – Where and When to Go and What to Buy

Note that ‘market’ in the Cambodian language of Khmer is written as written both as ‘phsar’  and ‘psar’, and is pronounced ‘sar’. These are the best Siem Reap markets where we recommend you spend your time.

Phsar Chas – Old Market

Phsar Chas or Old Market – also written as Psar Chaa because the ‘s’ in ‘Chas’ is silent – is in the heart of the old town centre and is the most accessible of the local Siem Reap markets.

Tuk tuk drivers will call Phsar Chas the “tourist market” although most admit to never having been inside. Yes, it has many souvenir stalls and as you stroll around you’ll undoubtedly be subjected to annoying shouts of “Buy something! No charge — just looking!” But it’s not just a tourist market.

While there are plenty of stalls on the market’s outer rim targeted to tourists selling stone carvings and faux antiques (on the river side on Pokamber Avenue), generic Southeast Asian souvenirs and hippy clothes (on Street 11), spices and snacks packaged for tourists (on Street 9), and outdoor gear, backpacks and guidebooks (on 2 Thnou Street AKA Hospital Road), these are interspersed with stalls where locals and expats shop.

I can guarantee you tourists are not going to be buying glitzy gold jewellery, hardware, bedding and kitchenware, having their hair cut and nails manicured at the beauty shops, and nor will they be shopping for fresh produce, meat and seafood. So, no, Phsar Chas or Old Market is not just for tourists.

In the early morning, small-scale sellers spread out their produce on the ground in the aisle between the shoe shops, which starts at the central Hospital Road entrance and finishes near the seafood stalls.

They lay out everything from freshly picked fruit and vegetables to homegrown herbs, foraged leaves and roots, and fresh fish and frogs, which they’ll be skinning, scaling and gutting right there on the ground. They’re only there in the morning, so go early.

Head into the heart of Phsar Chas to the wet market (named as such because the floors are generally wet from the melted ice which is used to keep the fresh seafood cold) and you’ll see locals shopping.

Most are Cambodians who live, work and run businesses in the surrounding streets of the Old Market quarter. You’ll also see chefs from Siem Reap restaurants, cafes and hotels in the centre of town shopping for produce, which is always a good sign.

In the centre of the market, at the stalls stretching all the way to the opposite side of the building on Street 11, you’ll find permanent vendors selling fruit and veg, herbs and roots, fresh kroeung (curry paste), palm sugar, and dried spices.

There’s also just-caught fish from the nearby Tonle Sap, South East Asia’s largest freshwater lake, along with seafood and crustaceans from the southern coast; free-range local chicken and pork, along with poultry and meat; Siem Reap’s famous Chinese-style sweet sausages, dried fish, prahok, and fish sauce.

The quality of the produce is so good at Phsar Chas that it’s not unusual to see some of Siem Reap’s best chefs shopping here, including Chef Joannès Rivière of Cuisine Wat Damnak.

You might also bump into us picking up some seafood, although I have to say that I prefer Phsar Leu and Psar Sammaki. I usually only go to Phsar Chas if I have to go into the Old Market quarter for something else.

The produce is so inexpensive that if you’re a chef on holidays or you simply enjoy cooking, you could be tempted to swap your hotel for an apartment so that you can do some cooking.

When to Go to Psar Chas Market

Hit Old Market around 7-8am am to get a real insight into everyday life, see the small-scale sellers in the shoe aisle gutting fish and skinning frogs, and to sample one of the quintessential Cambodian breakfast noodle soups, kuy teav.

Most Psar Chas vendors are at the market all day from the wee hours of the morning until around 5-6pm. If you’re more interested in taking photos than shopping, then it’s better to go either mid-morning or early afternoon when it’s quieter and the local ladies won’t be elbowing you out of the way.

If you’re doing some serious food shopping, the earlier the better. Avoid the late afternoon if you can. By the end of the day, the produce has been sitting out since morning, so, let’s just that the market is, ahem, ‘aromatic’ at best.

What to Buy at Psar Chas Market

When it comes to food, all the fresh produce is great quality. Try the noodle soup (kuy teav) and Khmer desserts. Buy some of Siem Reap’s famous sausages, a jar of prahok and some spices to take home. For snacking while you’re here, the fruit is wonderful quality and the Cambodian cashews are super crunchy.

For souvenirs, buy Cambodian checked cotton kramas, silk table runners, place mat and coaster sets, coconut wood servers, mini palm wood mortar and pestles, and kitchenware and gadgets, such as nifty vegetable peelers.

Phsar Leu – Upper/Higher Market

The city’s biggest market, Phsar Leu – which means Upper Market or Higher Market – is one of our favourite Siem Reap markets. It’s located on National Route No 6, the highway that connects Siem Reap to Phnom Penh in the south, and in the opposite direction, the airport, Battambang, and Thai border. It’s a busy, dusty road that visitors either love or hate.

Sprawling Phsar Leu is the largest and most compelling of Siem Reap markets, and for me it’s one of Southeast Asia’s best markets. It’s even more local than Phsar Chas, with few tourists finding their way here. If you spot foreigners, they’re probably expats or they’re on a food tour with a chef.

If you can handle the, um, heady ‘fragrances’, it’s best to visit early in the morning if you’re keen on taking in the local action. If you’re still half-asleep when you arrive, the wet market’s fresh fish and meat section and buckets of prahok (a beloved seasoning and ingredient of fermented fish that’s used in many dishes, such as prahok k’tis) will wake up your olfactory system.

You’ll find all kinds of stores here selling everything imaginable. A circuit of the outer rim is a good place to start. You’ll find everything from stores selling electrical appliances and towels and sheets to hairdressers and beauty salons.

Alternatively, you could head straight to the main entrance, where you’ll see stalls selling baked goods, such as French-style baguettes, biscuits and pastries, and then head into the centre of the market.

While shops offering similar products tend to cluster together – in the middle are the gold shops, there’s a row of shoe vendors beyond these, and opposite those are kitchenware and hardware sellers – things are actually pretty mixed up. You’ll find stalls selling wedding dress sprinkled throughout the market for instance – just in case you’re looking for one.

The food section is right at the back and it’s dustier and even more dimly lit than that at Phsar Chas, making for particularly atmospheric images if you’re a photographer, and a fascinating stroll if you’re not. This is a good spot to sample Cambodian breakfast soups, such as nom banh chok, in the morning.

Amongst the stalls selling sausages, beef jerky and prahok, you’ll spot a few fortune tellers reading cards and palms, as well as a few beauty shops doing blow-dries and manicures. Hire a guide to accompany you to translate if you want your fortune told or a mani-pedi.

There is also some fantastic street food at Phsar Leu in the late afternoon and early evening at the front of the market, including lort cha (stir-fried short rice noodles with pork, spring onions, and sprouts) and nom kachai (also written as num kachai and num kachay) which are Chinese-style rice flour chive cakes.

When to Go to Psar Leu Market

If you’re a lover of markets, you can easily spend a few hours here browsing, shopping or shooting photos. If you’re serious about any of those pursuits then visit early in the morning for an authentic local experience.

If you’re heading to Psar Leu to buy fresh produce, aim to arrive around 7am or no later than 8am and use the small entrance on Lok Ta Neuy Road beside the CP Freshmart Cambodia mini-mart. This narrow lane will take you to the main market building and is lined with women selling beautiful fresh vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and fruit, along with sellers of prahok, dried fish, farm-fresh eggs, etc.

By mid-morning they’ve packed up and gone home, but you’ll still find plenty of vendors around the perimeter of the main market building as well as in the backstreets and narrow alleyways that wind around the market. Psar Leu is a lot bigger than it at first seems.

Late afternoon is quieter and the locals are less likely to get annoyed with you getting in the way, however, an hour or two before sunset and the market is bustling once again, particularly on the lane that runs around the perimeter of the market when locals will shop from their motorbikes on their way home from work.

Note that most shops at Psar Leu shut at around 5pm, although the food stalls and shops on the outer rim of the market will stay open an hour or two longer.

What to Buy at Psar Leu Market

Phsar Leu is another great spot to buy kitchenware and household goods if you are settling into the city for a while or have a generous luggage allowance. This is where to buy a granite mortar and pestle, a retro thermos flask, tiffin boxes, and enamel stencilled trays.

I also like to buy batik sarongs, which I use as table cloths and get made into cushion covers. Other good buys for expats include colourful woven grass mats, floor cushions, fold-up picnic mats, and hand-made knives.

Made in Cambodia Market

The Made in Cambodia market is the most home-grown, ethical and eco-friendly of Siem Reap’s Night Markets, with stalls operated by independent artists and designers, and NGO-operated social enterprises, such as Friends International’s Friends ‘n’ Stuff, which sells accessories and jewellery made from recycled materials, such as newspaper and rubber tyres.

The market has returned to its old neighbourhood. Initially located at the Shinta Mani Resort, it moved to the Kings Road Angkor tourist complex on River Road, before moving back to the street that Shinta Mani is located on, tucked behind the street food stalls on the corner. You’ll see the signs and if you don’t, just ask at one of the shops.

When to Go to Made in Cambodia Market

The Made in Cambodia Market is open from 12 noon until 8pm daily so it’s perfect for a post-lunch or pre-dinner shop.

What to Buy at Made in Cambodia Market

What not to buy?! There are some many cool things to buy at the Made in Cambodia market, it’s hard to know where to start. Plus, you can be assured that everything is locally-made, often by the stall-holders, so you don’t need to feel guilty.

For starters, I love the groovy handbags, clutch purses and belts made from aluminium drink can ring pulls by CAN’ART and the wallets and necklaces made from recycled newspaper by Friends ‘n’ Stuff.

I also adore the hand-crafted jewellery by Saomao and Ammo made from spent bullet casings, while Sombai‘s rice spirits in beautiful hand-painted bottles make for a fantastic gift or souvenir.

Road 60 Market

Road 60 Market on the edge of Siem Reap, on the road that runs beside the Angkor Archaeological Park Ticket Office, is definitely the most local of Siem Reap’s Night Markets.

Beloved by Cambodians from as far as Phnom Penh for its fantastic street food, this popular evening eat street is pretty much locals only, with the occasional expat, and the even rarer tour guide showing up with small groups of nervous-looking tourists.

I’m not sure if it’s the baskets of fried insects or skewers of offal that frighten them – or the fact that the stalls line either side of a busy thoroughfare. Yep, that will be Road 60.

When to Go to Road 60

Stalls start setting up around 4pm each afternoon and are packed away again at the end of the night. Arrive about an hour before sunset if you’re a keen photographer, as the light can be fantastic.

Or head here after dark for the buzziest atmosphere. If you have a family, don’t miss the tiny amusement park. Have your tuk tuk driver wait for you as it can sometimes be tricky to get a ride back to town. Expect to pay around US$3 each way depending on how long you spend there.

What to Buy at Road 60

Don’t even think about leaving without a pair of floral pyjamas. And make sure you try plenty of street food! Sample everything from crispy wok-fried insects (the quality and freshness are far better here than Pub Street) and sour green fruits to barbecued meats and delicious Cambodian desserts.

More Siem Reap Markets to Visit

If you’re a market enthusiast and a completist, I also like these local markets.

Phsar Samaki

On the opposite side of the road to Phsar Leu (above) on the way back into the heart of town, the interior of Phsar Samaki is grittier, darker and more crowded than Phsar Leu but the action is around the perimeter of the market and the back laneway about an hour before sunset and well into the evening.

Phsar Samaki is the first point of call for farmers, suppliers and wholesalers, so this is where you’ll find the freshest and cheapest fruit, vegetables and herbs. This is where the other Siem Reap markets come to buy their produce.

When other Siem Reap markets are closing at 5-6pm, Samaki is just getting started and stays open until late. In the early evenings, stalls set up out the front of the market selling everything from fried noodles to grilled meats.

Phsar Polanka

Another of my favourite Siem Reap markets, bustling little Phsar Polanka is on the quieter upper riverside. It has a few good food stalls inside, including an excellent dessert lady just inside the entrance.

The mobile carts outside are the place to buy glistening roasted pork and duck. One stall sells delicious num pang, the Cambodian version of the Vietnamese banh mi, a baguette stuffed with pork, salad, pickles, mayo, maybe some canned fish – or pâté, when it’s called num pang pâté.

Phsar Krom

This dusty, sprawling, tin-shed of a market feels as if it’s set in a remote rural village rather than Cambodia’s major tourist destination. It’s definitely the grittiest of Siem Reap markets and the most local (I rarely see an expat here, let alone a tourist) and that’s what I find so appealing.

Most vendors spread out their fresh produce on the ground or on rickety wooden stalls, while others roam around selling everything from baskets of fried water beetles to sour green fruits with spicy chilli sauce.

Don’t miss the fresh effervescent sugar palm juice, poured directly from the bamboo flasks from which the juice was harvested into bamboo cups, and freshly made snacks, such as savoury muffins and sticky donuts.

The Night Markets – To Go or Not to Go?

Siem Reap is home to a handful of Night Markets, including the largest and most popular, the Angkor Night Market, on Night Market Street off the busy main road of Sivutha Boulevard. There’s also the diminutive Full Moon Night Market on Sivutha Boulevard near National Highway 6 (Airport Road) and the compact Art Market on the riverside, just across from Old Market.

While you’ll find ethical little businesses operating stalls at the Night Markets, such as the Kamonohashi Project, a handicrafts social enterprise that fights trafficking of vulnerable women at Angkor Night Market, most stalls sell generic Southeast Asian souvenirs that you’ll see sold at markets right across the region, from hippy clothes from Thailand to tourist trinkets and knick knacks manufactured in China and Vietnam.

If that doesn’t bother you, enjoy your shopping, however, it irks me and here’s why.

For the last couple of decades, I’ve been watching cultures lose their traditional craft practices. Nowhere is this more evident than in the tourist markets around the world that all sell the same factory produced junk.

I’ll never forget the little Bedouin girl at Petra tell me that a knick knack was made in Jordan. Recognising it, I turned it over and showed her the ‘Made in China’ sticker. She stomped off in a huff.

I personally prefer to buy local and support local arts and crafts production, whether it’s traditional practices that are under threat or innovative new design products.

I like to know who made my souvenirs, whether it’s a painting, t-shirt, bottle-opener, or bracelet. They don’t necessarily have to have been made by an exciting young artist or a workshop of formerly impoverished women who’ve been able to pull themselves out of poverty, although that’s definitely a bonus.

But I do want to be certain that the souvenirs weren’t made by workers enslaved in a factory somewhere, working long hours in horrible conditions for very little money, if any. And I want to be sure they’re not made by trafficked young people or children. Because that’s how a lot of that garbage is produced.

I want to know that animals weren’t harmed in the production of my souvenirs, that the farmed crocodiles from which those beautiful handbags and shoes are produced have been fed well and kept in good conditions and led a happy life, that the ‘fake fur’ is really fake, and that my mementoes weren’t tested on animals or made from endangered species.

Again, if you don’t know the source of your souvenirs, you can’t know these things.

Tips for Visiting Siem Reap Markets

  • For accommodation near markets, see our pick of Siem Reap boutique hotels.
  • Siem Reap markets are generally open from sunrise to sunset although stalls on the outer rim of markets might stay open later as locals will drop by on their motorbikes to grab something on their way home from work. Psar Samaki, a late opener, is one of the few exceptions.
  • Tourist stalls on the outer rim of Old Market, especially on the Pub Street side, stay open later (sometimes to 8-9pm) to take advantage of passing tourist traffic, while tourist markets, such as the Night Markets are open in the evening until around 10pm.
  • A little bargaining at tourist stalls is expected at Siem Reap markets and prices are set accordingly, but don’t be too aggressive. Don’t bargain for fresh produce or street food.
  • This is your chance to use those riels. Cambodian currency is welcome at the markets and prices are often quoted in riels. Remember: US$1 = 4,000 riels.
  • Take a cotton tote or buy an eco-friendly bag for shopping and say ‘no’ to plastic. Siem Reap has a colossal plastic problem due to plastic bags (and plastic water bottles) that the more responsible members of the tourism industry in Siem Reap are working hard to combat.
  • Do sample the street food at Siem Reap markets, but follow the usual rules and go to the stalls busiest with locals, check out the preparation area to make sure it looks clean, and endeavour to use cutlery that’s clean (good stalls might provide a jug of cutlery sitting in hot water). For more tips, see our post on Eating Street Food Safely, part of our Footpath Feasting street food series.

Published 3 November 2016; Updated 16 March 2024

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A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

4 thoughts on “Our Guide to the Best Siem Reap Markets – When to Go and What to Buy”

  1. Dear Lara, I have just arrived in Siem Reap. It is dirty and not full of rules for everything and it has a charm. But have been so far disappointed in the markets. Low quality knockoffs and cheap souvenirs. Thank you for this list it will be most helpful. Chris

  2. Hi Chris,

    I hope your perceptions regarding the cleanliness and lack of rules (we call it “controlled chaos”) don’t get in the way of your experience of this very special place and its phenomenal people.

    Siem Reap is no dirtier than any other developing country where most of the country is considered poor, ‘near poor’ or living on/below the poverty line. The ‘near poor’ earn approx $2.30 a day, and those living on the poverty line are earning around a dollar and struggling to put a meal on the table for their family every day. Feeding their families and surviving are their priorities. Litter is the least of their problems. Those things tend to come much later in a country’s development.

    We have all sorts of other fantastic information on the site that I guarantee will improve your experience here. Please browse our Siem Reap section: https://grantourismotravels.com/destinations/asia/cambodia/siem-reap/

    One of the things I do is craft bespoke itineraries for travellers so they have the best possible experience of the place that they can. Do let me know if that interests you. I can very quickly put something together so the rest of your time in Siem Reap is meaningful and memorable: http://siemreapretreats.com/bespoke-itineraries/

    If you’re not interested in an itinerary I can connect you with excellent drivers and guides who will ensure your experience is special.

    I hope the rest of your stay here is better than your first experiences.

    Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment on any posts if you have questions or want advice.

    all the best,
    Lara

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