Phnom Penh, KH

The standard-bearer for fine Khmer cooking, in a garden-courtyard setting in BKK1 that draws Cambodian families for special occasions. The kitchen elevates village dishes like fish amok and prahok-laced salads to a level you will not find at the street stalls. This is the place to understand how good Cambodian food can be when given room.

A long-running BKK1 favourite spread over several floors of a traditional wooden house hung with lanterns and antiques. The menu runs across Khmer and Thai classics, and the layered, leafy interior is half the reason to come. A reliable, atmospheric introduction to the local kitchen at a fair price.

A buzzing tapas restaurant near the riverfront that trains former street youth for careers in hospitality, run by a long-standing social enterprise. The small plates skip across Cambodian and global flavours and the mocktails are inventive, all served by trainees finding their feet. Eating here directly funds the programme, and the food stands on its own merits.

The sister restaurant to Friends, set in a colonial villa with a garden and pool, focused on regional Cambodian country cooking. It is where to try the dishes other restaurants leave off the menu, including the famous crispy fried tarantulas for the brave. Another training restaurant, so the meal supports young Cambodians learning the trade.

A tiny, cult noodle counter near the Russian Market turning out fresh hand-cut noodles, gyoza and bao to a devoted local following. It does a handful of things and does them very well, which is why the small room fills fast at lunch. Cheap, fast and consistently excellent.

A wood-fired pizza spot in the Russian Market district that has won over a city full of tough pizza opinions with a properly blistered crust. It is the place locals send each other when the craving for a real pie hits. Casual, slightly pricier than the Khmer spots, and worth it.

An Oaxaca-leaning Mexican kitchen in the Russian Market area, doing from-scratch salsas, tacos and a proper margarita that fills a genuine gap in the city. The flavours are bright and the kitchen is serious about its chilies. A reliable change of pace from rice and noodles.

A bright, ethically minded bistro near the Russian Market leaning on organic produce and a menu that crosses into Middle Eastern mezze, wraps and salads. It is a comfortable, airy lunch stop with fair-trade leanings and a loyal following. Good for a lighter, vegetable-forward meal in the heat.

A long-established Indian and Nepali kitchen near the Independence Monument that has fed the city's curry cravings for decades. The tandoor turns out reliable breads and the thalis are generous, drawing a steady local and resident crowd. A dependable old hand rather than a trend.

A healthy all-day cafe in BKK1 built around smoothie bowls, grain plates and good coffee, popular with the district's younger crowd. It is the kind of bright, plant-leaning spot you come to for a recovery breakfast or a working afternoon. Calm, clean and consistent.

A rambling garden cafe in a wooden house near Tonle Bassac, sourcing from its own and partner farms for a brunch-leaning menu of eggs, salads and wood-fired bites. Kids run on the lawn while parents linger over coffee, making it the city's easy family weekend spot. Green, slow and a world away from the traffic.

The city's flagship plant-based cafe, an earth-to-table kitchen turning out fully vegan bowls, burgers and juices that win over committed carnivores. Bright, modern and health-focused, it has made meatless eating genuinely appealing in a meat-heavy city. Good for a clean, light meal between sights.

The riverfront promenade running along the Tonle Sap opposite the Royal Palace, a flat landscaped boulevard that is the city's communal living room. At dawn and dusk locals fill it for tai chi, aerobics and strolling, with the rivers on one side and cafes on the other. The easiest, most atmospheric walk in town.

A leafy public park between the Royal Palace and Independence Monument, shaded by old trees and dotted with monuments and a temple. It is a flat, easy green loop in the centre, busiest in the cool of early morning and evening with families and exercisers. A pleasant pause from the surrounding traffic.

The tongue of land across the river from the centre, with a riverside park and promenade looking back at the city skyline where the Mekong and Tonle Sap meet. It is far quieter than the city-side quay, popular with local families for an evening walk and a breeze off the water. The view back to the floodlit palace is the payoff.

A rural Mekong island a short ferry ride upriver, known for silk weaving and a flat network of lanes through stilt-house villages and farm plots. Renting a bicycle and looping the island is the classic half-day escape from the city, all level riding past looms and orchards. A complete change of pace within sight of the capital.

The terracotta-red pavilion beside the Royal Palace holding the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture, drawn from Angkor and beyond. The galleries open onto a serene central courtyard garden that is reason enough to visit. The single best place to understand the artistry behind the temples you may go on to see at Angkor.

The great art-deco market hall of 1937, a cross-shaped dome painted ochre-yellow that is a landmark in its own right. Under its arms you will find everything from gold and gems to fabric, electronics and a food court of Khmer stalls. Come as much for the architecture and the bustle as for anything you might buy.

The French cultural institute, a long-running hub for exhibitions, film screenings, concerts and workshops set in gardens near Wat Phnom. It is the steadiest source of arthouse film and live performance in the city, with a relaxed cafe to match. Check the programme; there is usually something on most nights.

A cultural organisation that revives traditional Khmer performing arts, staging evening shows of classical dance and shadow puppetry for visitors. The performances, often held by the National Museum, are a direct line to art forms the Khmer Rouge nearly wiped out. A meaningful, beautiful way to spend an evening.

A narrow back lane behind Wat Langka strung with a dozen tiny, individually themed bars, each barely the size of a living room. It is the city's most characterful drinking strip, low-key and creative rather than a club scene, drawing a mixed local and resident crowd. Bar-hop the lane and find the one that fits your mood.

The weekend riverside night market where Khmer families gather to eat off mats on the floor, browse cheap clothing stalls and watch live music. It is a local social ritual more than a tourist bazaar, best for the food court and the people-watching. A relaxed, family-friendly way to spend an evening on the river.

A rooftop bar near the top of one of the city's tallest towers, with an open deck that gives the widest sundown view over the sprawl and the rivers. It is the dressed-up evening option, all cocktails and skyline rather than character. Come for the view at golden hour and the breeze you will not get at street level.

The walled royal compound on the riverfront, a complex of gilded, steep-roofed throne halls and pavilions that is still the king's official residence. The showpiece is the Silver Pagoda, its floor laid with thousands of solid silver tiles and a Buddha set with diamonds. It is the single most concentrated dose of Khmer royal architecture in the country.

The hilltop temple that gave the city its name, set on the only rise in an otherwise flat town and reached by a naga-railed staircase. Legend has it a woman named Penh founded it to house Buddha images she fished from the river. It is a working temple where locals come to pray for luck, busy with incense and caged birds rather than tourists.

The riverside monastery that is the headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism, a sprawling 15th-century complex of stupas and prayer halls beside the Tonle Sap. It is the spiritual centre of the country rather than a tour-bus stop, so you are likely to share it with chanting monks and few other visitors. Quiet, atmospheric and free to wander.

A calm, working temple in the heart of the BKK1 district, one of the city's oldest pagodas and a centre for meditation. Unlike the marquee temples it sits among offices and cafes, so it draws monks and local worshippers more than visitors. A genuine pocket of stillness in the busiest part of town.

The lotus-shaped monument at the centre of the city's grandest intersection, a dark-red sandstone tower built to mark independence from France and modelled on the towers of Angkor. It anchors a landscaped boulevard that fills with families and skaters in the cool of the evening. More a place to circle and watch the city than to enter.

A former school the Khmer Rouge turned into the S-21 interrogation prison, now a memorial to the people killed there. The classrooms, cells and walls of photographs are left largely as they were found, making for one of the most sobering and important visits in the country. Difficult but essential to understanding modern Cambodia.

The best known of the killing fields, a peaceful patch of countryside south of the city where thousands were executed and buried in mass graves. A memorial stupa filled with skulls stands at the centre, and a careful audio guide walks you through the grounds. A quiet, reflective counterpart to the Tuol Sleng prison in town.