Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

A Former School Turned Into Security Prison 21 By The Khmer Rouge, Where Around 15,000 People Were Held And Tortured Between 1975 And 1979 And Only A Handful Survived. Kept As A Museum Of The Genocide Since 1980. Graphic And Distressing; The Cells, Photographs And Testimony Are The Exhibition. It Is A Place Of Remembrance, Not A Tourist Attraction · Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh

Tuol Sleng was a high school in Phnom Penh until 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took over the city and turned it into Security Prison 21, known as S-21. Between 1975 and 1979 around 15,000 people were held here, questioned under torture and then taken to be killed, and only a handful survived. Among the prisoners were teachers, doctors, soldiers and ordinary families, as well as Khmer Rouge cadres accused of betrayal. Since 1980 the site has been a museum of the genocide. The classrooms still hold iron bed frames and small brick cells, and thousands of prisoner photographs fill the walls, taken by the guards themselves. Survivors sometimes sit at the site and share their accounts. This is a place of remembrance, not entertainment, and the content is graphic and distressing. A recommended age is 14 and over. Visitors are asked to stay quiet and respectful throughout. Most visitors need two to three hours and quiet time afterwards.

Street 113, Boeung Keng Kang, about 3 km south of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The museum is open daily, usually from early morning to late afternoon, with last entry before closing, so confirm current hours on the day. Some staff take a midday break and rooms can be CLOSED for conservation or on public holidays. The ticket gives access to the four main buildings, and nothing inside the compound is FREE. The street outside is FREE to walk but has little to see. Survivors may be present on some days, but their hours are not fixed, and there is no guarantee. Arrive at least two hours before closing.

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