Phare began here
Phare Ponleu Selpak is a Battambang non-profit arts and circus school empowering young people through artistic, educational and social programmes.
VISIT PHARE BATTAMBANG ↗
CAMBODIA’S CREATIVE NORTH-WEST
Take the
slower road.
A river city of artists, cooks, old shophouses and rice-country horizons. Battambang does not shout for attention. It rewards everyone who gives it time.DISCOVER BATTAMBANG ↓THE SURPRISE BETWEEN ICONS
Quietly one of
Cambodia’s best cities.
Battambang sits naturally between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, yet feels entirely its own. The centre is walkable, the Sangker River sets an easy pace and the province opens almost immediately into farms, villages and temple hills.
Stay two nights. That is enough to taste why UNESCO recognised its gastronomy, meet the arts community and experience the countryside without reducing it to a long day trip.
UNESCO CREATIVE CITY OF GASTRONOMY
The rice bowl
has a table.
In 2023 Battambang became Cambodia’s first member of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, recognised for gastronomy rooted in fertile land, rice culture and traditional knowledge. Taste it in market noodles, seasonal fruit, fermented flavours, home kitchens and a new generation of cooks treating Khmer food with confidence.BATTAMBANG AT UNESCO ↗THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE ARTS
Creativity
changes lives.
See work where it is made
Visit studios, galleries and arts spaces with curiosity. Ask about the artist, buy directly when possible and give the work more attention than a quick photograph.
The city is part of the gallery
Heritage shophouses, cinemas, villas and public buildings make the old centre rewarding on foot or bicycle—especially with an architecture guide.
FROM BATTAMBANG TO THE WORLD
Art with
real energy.
The artists who electrify audiences in Siem Reap trace their story to this campus. Check the current Battambang performance calendar, tour respectfully and see how circus, music, theatre and visual art become education and opportunity.ONE UNFORGETTABLE DAY
City morning.
Country afternoon.
Bats at dusk.
- 08:00MARKET BREAKFASTStart where the province’s rice, fruit, fish and family recipes meet.
- 10:30OLD CITY + ARTWalk streets 1–3, the river and galleries with someone who can read the buildings.
- 14:00RIDE THE COUNTRYSIDETake the bamboo railway, then follow small roads to makers, farms and temples.
- 17:30PHNOM SAMPEAUHold still as the evening bat stream writes a moving line across the sky.
THE BAMBOO RAILWAY
Simple.
Joyful. Cambodian.
A small platform, open air and countryside rushing past at human scale. Confirm which operation your guide is taking you to, agree the price before riding and treat village stops as communities—not sales displays.MAKE IT PART OF THE JOURNEY
The beautiful
middle chapter.
Arrive overland
Make Battambang the creative pause after Angkor rather than racing straight to the capital.
Let the city breathe
One urban day, one countryside day and evenings slow enough for food and conversation.
Complete the story
Continue south by comfortable daytime transport and arrive ready for the capital.
THE BEST PLACES DON’T ALWAYS SHOUT