Beyond the Angkor ticket booth, Siem Reap runs on small money: free 18th-century pagodas, market noodle bowls under 8,000 riel, dollar bicycle hire and a bat colony that costs nothing to watch. Three days built around what locals actually pay.
One of Siem Reap's three oldest pagodas, founded in the 18th century. The main vihara holds rare 19th-century Reamker murals in which French colonials appear smoking pipes. Open 06:00-18:00, monks chant around 17:00.
The former royal pagoda of King Sisowath, now home to the Center for Khmer Studies and its free public library, the largest Khmer-language research collection in Cambodia. Grounds dawn to dusk, library Mon-Fri 08:00-17:00.
Riverside pagoda tracing back to the 15th century, crowded with painted concrete tableaux, a boat-shaped shrine and a reclining Buddha said to be carved from a single tree trunk. Open 06:00-18:00 and near-empty at midday.
Thousands of Lyle's flying foxes roost in the tamarind trees here and stream out overhead at dusk. The adjacent golden shrine to the sisters Chek and Chorm draws locals with lotus buds and incense all evening.
Siem Reap's biggest local market, out on National Road 6, where residents actually shop: 5,000 KHR noodle bowls, prahok fish paste, palm sugar, gold and hardware. Busiest 06:00-09:00 and winding down by noon.
The 1920s covered market beside the river. Skip the souvenir aisles for the eastern food hall, where stalls plate num banh chok rice noodles in fish gravy, fried noodles and iced coffee for a couple of dollars.
A two-block strip of converted shophouses west of the river with independent cafes, tailors and free-to-browse galleries. Cheap sit-down iced coffee with air-conditioning, plus rare shaded pavement for walking.
The night market Cambodians go to: a dirt lot on Road 60 with a Ferris wheel, carnival games and rows of grills selling skewered pork, grilled corn, fried crickets and tarantulas from around 3,000 KHR a portion.
An 11th-century Angkorian sandstone temple 6 km south of town with a working pagoda beside it, reached by a flat riverside bike ride past stilt houses and rice paddies. No Angkor pass checkpoint stands on this road.
A silk and stone-carving workshop that trains rural Cambodians in Khmer crafts. Free guided tours run 07:30-18:30 and walk you past wood carving, lacquering, silver plating and stone polishing with artisans at work.
A small pagoda built around a glass stupa holding the bones of Khmer Rouge victims recovered from the grounds, with photo panels covering 1975-79. Novice monks often practise English with visitors in the shade.
A 140 m hill 12 km south of town topped by a ruined 9th-century temple, with an open view over Tonle Sap lake, the floating villages and flooded forest — the least crowded sunset viewpoint in the Siem Reap area.