BATTAMBANG
Battambang Street Art: Murals and a Walking Tour
Many people come to Battambang to see the colonial architecture lining the streets around the central market, but as you wander around the city, you’ll also come across lots of colourful street art.
Hidden in corners, down alleyways and sometimes covering the entire side of a building, the murals give you another reason to wander around Battambang’s historic city centre.
Much of the street art comes from the S’Art Festival, a biennial urban art festival organised by Phare Ponleu Selpak, a local NGO supporting the arts, probably best known for its circus. Other murals have been painted by local artists, with some businesses choosing to decorate their walls with artwork.
Held every two years, the festival brings together local and international artists to create murals throughout the city, alongside a variety of other events. If you’re visiting during the festival, you can stop and talk to the artists and watch as they create their work.
Some of our favourite street art in Battambang
Outside Jaan Bai, you’ll find a collection of murals by local Battambang artists, including Long Kosal and Khchao Touch, as well as a portrait of famous Cambodian singer Ros Serey Sothea, who was born in Battambang.
Opposite Kinyei and K’trey K’trok cafes, you’ll find ‘Tigers’ by famous Cambodian street artist FONKi. Look for the little homage to Kill Bill in the boarded up window by another artist. There are quite a few murals in this little corner, so it is always popular with tourists coming to take photos of the cute cafes and the artwork.
When driving down Road 1.5, we are always drawn to ‘Grandma and Me’ by Chilean artist Huan Espejo, which covers the side of a tall shophouse. Another favourite is ‘Mekong River’ by Heart 13, two streets over on Road 2.5.
When walking down Road 2.5, we probably wouldn’t even notice some of the little alleyways if it wasn’t for the colourful artwork drawing our attention. Once you stop to look, you realise there’s plenty going on down these alleyways too.
A street art walking tour of Battambang
To spend a couple of hours looking at the murals, we recommend starting at Kinyei or K’Trey K’Trok. Enjoy a coffee while looking at FONKI’s ‘Tigers’ and the paintings across at Jaan Bai before walking south down Road 1.5. Along here you’ll walk past ‘Immerse and Tick’ by Dom Laporte of Canada’s Drift Mural Co, and further down, one of our favourites, ‘Grandma and Me’.
If you walk to the end of Road 1.5 (it’s only three blocks), turn right and take the first left, which will take you to the entrance to Wat Damrei Sor and Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University. Stop by the pagoda on your right, to check some of the Battambang scenes painted on its external walls.
If you continue through the pagoda, it will bring you to the art garden on the median strip of the next road. Here you can wander around the murals created for the 2025 S’Art Festival competition. From here, head back through the pagoda and turn left on Street 125 before taking a right down Road 2.5.
Depending on what time it is, you might choose to stop for mi kola or bai sach chrouk (rice and pork) on the corner of Pir Thnu St and Road 2.5 at the restaurant with the ‘Battambang Driver’ mural, painted by artist Jecks Bkk. Or a little further down this street is the Fringe, a cute little restaurant with great salads and sharing plates.
Along Road 2.5, you’ll find the largest cluster of murals, including ‘Mekong River’ by Heart 13, which covers the side of a building. Make sure you look down the alleyways too, as there’s plenty more artwork tucked away. Road 2.5 ends at Phsar Nat, Battambang’s central market, so you can stop and have a look around before finishing your walk.
If you’d prefer to do the walk in the evening, just reverse the route and stop at Miss Wong for a cocktail and Jaan Bai for dinner.
All of the S’Art Festival murals have a small plaque showcasing the artist, so you can find out a little more about who created each piece as you wander around.
Of course, there are plenty of other murals around Battambang, and the S’Art Festival has produced a map showing where to find them, including many beyond our suggested walking route. You can also see a list of all of the murals from 2019, 2023 and 2025 on the S’Art Mural site.
Just remember that the streets are always changing, and so is the artwork. Some murals, like the one that used to be on the Chinese School building wall, have been painted over.
Exploring Battambang’s street art by bicycle
If you want to see more of the murals around town, we recommend hiring a bicycle. Battambang is a great city to cycle around. The streets are relatively quiet in the centre and it’s all flat. Soksabike rents good quality mountain bikes for 20,000៛ ($5) for a full day, and they also have children’s bikes and child seats. If you want a town bike, head to Vanmak. Both are conveniently located on Road 1.5, just down from Kinyei.
The street art is such a part of Battambang now that we sometimes forget to notice it. While updating a few photos for this blog, it was lovely to stop in the streets and admire it again.
We last stopped at the murals in October 2026.
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