Angkor Night Market vs Old Market: Where to Shop

TL;DR

Angkor Night Market vs Old Market covers the categories worth bringing home from Cambodia, the regional craft specialties that anchor them, and the basic quality signals to look for when you shop. Expect to spend $8–$200 depending on category, with textiles and small silver pieces packing most easily and ceramics or large carvings requiring more careful handling. ARUNERA curates pieces by category and ships every order with full provenance.

Two of Siem Reap's most popular shopping destinations offer distinctly different experiences.

Visitors often ask which of Siem Reap's two most prominent markets to prioritize — here's how they actually compare.

Old Market (Psar Chas)

A traditional, centrally located market operating throughout the day, combining food stalls, daily goods, and a dense concentration of souvenir and craft vendors — offering a more authentic, less overtly tourist-oriented atmosphere alongside its tourist-facing sections.

Angkor Night Market

A purpose-built evening market specifically designed for tourism, with a more curated, relaxed layout, live music, and a broader mix of dining and entertainment alongside craft and souvenir shopping.

Product Range Comparison

Both offer overlapping product categories — textiles, jewelry, carvings, ceramics — though Old Market's daytime operation and local-commerce character means it also serves genuine local shopping needs, while Angkor Night Market leans more purely toward the tourism experience.

Atmosphere Differences

Old Market offers a livelier, more chaotic, authentically local commercial energy. Angkor Night Market offers a calmer, more deliberately designed tourist-friendly ambiance with more space to browse comfortably.

Pricing Comparison

Pricing is broadly similar between the two, though Old Market's local-commerce character sometimes allows for more genuine bargaining dynamics compared to Angkor Night Market's more tourist-oriented, occasionally slightly higher pricing.

Which Should You Prioritize?

If you want a more authentic local market experience alongside your shopping, prioritize Old Market. If you want a relaxed, tourist-friendly evening out combining shopping with dining and atmosphere, Angkor Night Market is the better fit. Visiting both, if time allows, offers a genuinely complementary picture of Siem Reap's shopping scene.

FAQ

Which market has better quality craft goods?

Quality varies stall to stall at both markets rather than being consistently better at one over the other; apply the same authenticity checks regardless of which market you're in.

Are the two markets within walking distance of each other?

They're both centrally located in Siem Reap, generally within a reasonable walking or short tuk-tuk distance of each other and the town's hotel district.

Is one market better for food versus shopping specifically?

Angkor Night Market leans more heavily into a combined dining-and-shopping evening experience, while Old Market's food offerings are more integrated into its broader daily local market function.

Sources & Citations

• Regional craft specialties — Cambodian Living Arts, 2024–2025 provincial reports
• Pricing observed — Siem Reap night market & Phnom Penh retail, Q2 2026
• Workshop sourcing — ARUNERA partner records (Kampong Chhnang, Takeo, Kampot)

Related Reading

• Siem Reap Shopping Guide
• Best Time to Shop in Siem Reap Night Markets
• Where Locals Actually Shop in Siem Reap

Skip the market hunt — shop Siem Reap's best craft at ARUNERA: [arunera.com](https://arunera.com)

ARUNERA · Travel & SouvenirsThis guide is part of ARUNERA’s Cambodia Travel & Souvenirs journal: practical ways to choose meaningful gifts, buy responsibly and bring home objects with a clearer connection to place.