Is Phnom Penh worth visiting?
Phnom Penh is worth visiting if Cambodia’s recent history and capital-city reality matter to you. It is not as instantly charming as Siem Reap, but skipping it can leave the trip feeling strangely incomplete.
Answer
Phnom Penh is a city with rougher edges, traffic, heat and moments that do not try to charm you. That is also part of why it matters. The capital gives Cambodia a different weight from the Angkor-and-beach version of the trip: recent history, riverfront life, markets, food and the sense of a country still moving through its own complicated story. Go for context, not polish. Skip it only if your trip is deliberately short, soft and centred on Angkor or the coast.