Best Shopping & Markets in Siem Reap
Psar Chas, the Angkor Night Market, and the artisan workshops — silk, stone carving, and silverwork — that keep Khmer crafts alive.
Artisans Angkor
Watch a carver rough out a Bayon face, then buy the real thing — the quality gap versus market souvenirs is enormous, and the training mission is genuine.
Psar Chas (Old Market)
Walk the wet-market core at 7am — lotus stems, lake fish, curry pastes — for a free show of what Siem Reap actually eats before the souvenir rows wake up.
Angkor Night Market
Come after a Phare show for the full Siem Reap evening: browse, haggle gently (it is someone’s livelihood), and finish with a $1 mango shake.
Senteurs d’Angkor
The best small-and-packable gifts in town: lemongrass soap and Kampot pepper survive a backpack far better than a stone Buddha.
Shopping in Siem Reap
Siem Reap shopping runs from $2 night-market T-shirts to museum-grade stone carving, and knowing which tier you're in is the whole game.
Markets
Psar Chas (the Old Market) is the original: a working wet market for locals in the core, souvenirs around the rim. Go at 7am for the produce theatre even if you buy nothing. The Angkor Night Market and its neighbors light up from late afternoon — haggle gently and with a smile; the difference between a good price and a great one is someone's dinner. The Made in Cambodia Market on the east bank is the curated exception where everything is genuinely made in-country.
Artisans
Artisans Angkor grew out of the workshops that trained craftspeople for the temple restorations; the free workshop tours (stone, lacquer, silk) are an attraction in their own right, and the quality gap versus market copies is enormous. Senteurs d'Angkor does the best packable gifts in town — lemongrass soap, balms, and Kampot pepper. Prices at both are fixed, fair, and support real training programs.
One honest note: anything labeled "antique" almost certainly isn't — and genuine antiquities cannot legally leave Cambodia. Buy new, buy local, and your money does the most good.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I haggle at Siem Reap markets?
At the night markets and Psar Chas souvenir rows, yes — gently and with a smile; opening prices typically have 30–50% of room. Fixed-price shops like Artisans Angkor and Senteurs d’Angkor are exactly that: fixed, fair, and supporting training programs.
What should I buy in Siem Reap?
Khmer silk, stone and wood carving from Artisans Angkor, Kampot pepper, lemongrass soaps and balms, and Sombai infused rice wine. Skip anything sold as an "antique" — genuine antiquities cannot legally leave Cambodia.
What currency do market stalls take?
US dollars are the de facto tourist currency — bring small bills, as $50s and $100s are hard to break. Change under a dollar comes in Cambodian riel (about 4,000 riel to $1). ATMs dispense USD.