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Battambang Museum
Two elegant - though as yet nameless - avenues, with parkland down the middle, grace the city centre. One goes by the Centre Culturel Français (one block north of NH5), while the other stretches west from the worthwhile Battambang Museum . Highlights include fine Angkorian lintels and statuary from all over Battambang Province, including Phnom Banan and Sneng. Signs are in Khmer, English and French.
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colonial buildings
Much of Battambang's special charm lies in its early-20th-century French architecture. Some of the finest colonial buildings are along the waterfront, especially along the two blocks of St 1 south of Psar Nat, itself an architectural monument, albeit a modernist one. The four-faced clock tower is worth a look. There are also some old French shop houses along St 3, eg just east of the train station.
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Governor's Residence
The two-storey Governor's Residence, with its balconies and wooden shutters, is another handsome legacy of very early 1900s. The interior is closed but it should be possible to stroll the grounds. Except for the neo-Khmer laterite gate, the intersection out front looks much as it did in the 1930s - check out the French-only distance marker, the neat lawns and the New Iron Bridge, now reserved for pedestrians and motorbikes.
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old train station
In the area around the old train station - where the time is always 8.02, according to the clock - and along the tracks just south of there, you can explore a treasure trove of crumbling, French-era repair sheds, warehouses and rolling stock, evocative of times long gone. Check out the wagons' constructor's plates: some read '1930 Köln' (Cologne, Germany).
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temples
Battambang's many temples, which survived the Khmer Rouge period relatively unscathed thanks to a local commander who ignored orders, include Wat Phiphétaram, a long block north of Psar Nat, built in 1888; Wat Damrey Sar, west of the Battambang Museum; and Wat Kandal on the East Bank, once famed for its library. A number of the monks at all three wats speak English and are glad for a chance to practise; they're often around in the late afternoon.
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