I couldn’t believe there was an area in Phnom Penh built to look like Paris, a fake Paris in Phnom Penh! When I was researching things to do in Phnom Penh for our trip, I stumbled across a few photos and references for a neighborhood or area called the Elysee. I know there are Paris replicas in China, but we did not know Phnom Penh had one as well.
Finding the Elysee Phnom Penh
We have been to Paris 6 times, so a fake Paris area was interesting to us. There are a number of these locations around the world, where neighborhoods are built to look like famous locations. Cambodia has long history with France, they colonized and developed the country. Maybe that’s why they built this, or perhaps all things French are chic these days.
Would we be wowed by it? Would it be meh or totally uninspiring?
The developers of the Elysee (the ACIC Group) dreamed big. They envisioned a slice of Paris built on Diamond Island in the heart of Phnom Penh. The plans included replicas of Haussmann-style apartments, fashionable boutiques, and at its center, a proud replica of the Arc de Triomphe.
The development is divided into three sections: 245 shops and apartments, 2 hotels, and 1 commercial building inspired by the French Arc de Triomphe. In reality, it’s the size of two city blocks with the fake Arc de Triomphe in the middle of each block.
We jumped in a Grab out the front of our hotel, The Ohana Palace. The trip to the Elysee was just 3 kilometers away, but Phnom Penh traffic meant it took us 15 minutes to get there as we ducked and weaved through cars, motorbikes and Tuk Tuks. The Grab car dropped us off in the shadow of the fake Arc de Triomphe.
Our first impression was that the area looked abandoned, except for two coffee shops and half a dozen people in view. In Paris, the arch stands as the centerpiece of eight converging avenues. This one presided over nearly empty streets.
Walking down the Champs Elysees Phnom Penh
We headed down the Promenade Des Champs Elysees in Phnom Penh. The lack of people made it resemble a movie set rather than a busy promenade in Paris.
You find yourself on a small narrow street with towering French-inspired buildings on each side. The buildings look to be 4 or 5 stories high based on the Haussmann buildings in Paris with the same cream-colored facades.
As we made our way along the street, it was hard not to notice a lack of people, shops and activity in this development. There was a chemist, a medical centre and a small convenience store.
We thought once we got onto the riverside of the complex that there would be maybe more opened but no, the frontage to the river had even less. Just a full two blocks with no shops opened, just signs saying, shops and apartments for rent.
As we strolled along the riverfront boardwalk, taking in boats going up the river on one side and the occasional look at the French-inspired buildings on the other, we have to say we enjoyed the lack of people.
As we made our way back to where we started , we chatted about the merits of the place and the fact that it does look a little like Paris. The tropical heat reminded us that we were still very much in Cambodia.
Maybe you could go to the top of the fake arc for the view. No, not even that was possible because the arc was actually an office building in disguise.
Will the Élysée ever fill up, or remain a quirky architectural experiment? In a few years’ time it could become popular as more people move in, or not. Only time will tell. But for now it’s pretty empty. But we are glad we made the effort to come check it out for ourselves
Thank you for reading!
We hope you found this article helpful and informative. If you enjoyed this post on the Cambodian fake Paris, be sure to explore more content in the Cambodia section of our website.
For additional resources, tips, and updates, visit our Home Page. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest insights and news!
Who Wrote This Article?
