The full name for the gardens is the Royal Crusade for Independence Gardens. This is a bit of a mouthful and it’s often shortened to the Royal Gardens. You’ll also find the Royal Residence just opposite, but this isn’t open to tourists.

It was here that King Sihanouk and General Lon Nol plotted Cambodia’s independence from their French colonial overlords in the 1950s. At the other end of the gardens, the King and Lon Nol would look out to see the largest colonial-style hotel built during the French occupation (Raffles Grand d’Angkor Hotel) while they sat in their French-made residence – maybe they used this as their inspiration!

Nowadays, the park has become a very popular spot for both locals and tourists to spend some time outside with their friends and families. There are gardens, a pagoda, shrines, bats, a river, exercise classes, a tourist information centre and a cafe. Everything you need to spend a few hours relaxing and enjoying the space.

It is an area that provides visitors with a restful antidote to the dusty streets of downtown, and a handful of free attractions to help you while away a couple of lazy hours if you are lucky enough to be spending more than the requisite three days in Siem Reap.

The peaceful Royal Gardens consists of The River Garden and the rather grandiose-sounding Royal Crusade for Independence Gardens. On the southern side of the gardens lies the building often incorrectly referred to as the “Royal Palace” – it is simply a royal residence — an understated affair, more pied-a-terre than palace, which is not open to visitors. It does, however, hold a significant place in Cambodian history as the temporary home of King Sihanouk while he and General Lon Nol were planning The Royal Crusade for Independence from France– hence the gardens’ name — in the 1950s.

Attraction Facts

• The park is sometimes known as the “Bat Park” because of the hundred of bats which call the trees their home.
• The Royal Park is popular with both tourists and locals. You’ll often see families and friends enjoying the open space together.
• The area is often the centre of any celebrations in town, especially the Water Festival and Khmer New Year.

By now you will be just steps from a helpful looking “Tourist information office” which sadly houses less information than the smallest of pocket guidebooks. You will also be just yards from where you started. Take a walk through the shops of Sivatha Boulevard back towards Pub Street and The Old Market area of town, or if it’s a Friday you could always pop into the the Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa on the west side of the gardens, and enjoy some live music, half price drinks and free canapes between 16:00 and 19:30 at their Explorateur Bar.