Hotels near Angkor National Museum

The Angkor National Museum opened in 2007 on Charles de Gaulle Avenue and runs eight themed galleries across two floors. The Gallery of 1,000 Buddhas is the standout, and the rooms on Khmer religion, the great kings and the evolution of temple architecture explain what you are about to walk through in the field. Labels are in English and Khmer throughout.

Admission is 12 dollars for adults, with an audio guide at 5 dollars in several languages. The building is air-conditioned, which matters in April when Siem Reap regularly passes 36C. Allow 90 minutes to two hours. Photography is not permitted in the galleries and bags go into lockers at the entrance. Opening hours are 08:30 to 18:00 daily, and the last entry is at 17:30.

Pro Tip: Come on your arrival afternoon, before the first temple day rather than after it. The Jayavarman VII gallery makes the Bayon faces legible, and knowing which king built what turns the park into a sequence instead of a blur of grey stone.