Phnom Penh Shopping Malls: AEON 1, AEON 2, AEON 3 and More

Prepared by the NovAsia Editorial Team

Phnom Penh does not have a single shopping centre that is the obvious best choice for everyone. The city's three AEON malls sit in different parts of the capital and serve rather different day-to-day purposes: AEON 1 is the easiest option for many central neighbourhoods and Tonle Bassac, AEON 2 is a major northern destination for Sen Sok, while AEON 3 is the largest of the three and serves the rapidly developing south. If all you need is groceries or dinner, crossing the city simply to visit the biggest mall rarely makes sense.

The names AEON 1, AEON 2 and AEON 3 are convenient local shorthand. Their official names are AEON MALL Phnom Penh, AEON MALL Sen Sok City and AEON MALL Mean Chey. In 2026, these are the three Phnom Penh shopping centres listed by AEON MALL in Cambodia. The company has also issued a separate warning that reports presenting an AEON Mall 4 as a confirmed project do not constitute an official announcement.

For a visitor, a mall is hardly an essential Phnom Penh attraction. Yet on a very hot afternoon or during a downpour, it can be the simplest place to combine a supermarket, restaurants, practical shopping, a cinema, children's activities and a few air-conditioned hours under one roof. For anyone staying in the city longer, malls matter even more as part of everyday geography. A good shopping centre close to home can save far more time than a supposedly better one on the other side of Phnom Penh.

The three AEON malls on the city map

The most important difference between the three AEON centres is location rather than the tenant list. Phnom Penh is spread out, congestion changes by the hour, and a north-south journey can take considerably longer than a map suggests. It is therefore more useful to choose a shopping centre by neighbourhood and purpose than by the number of shops.

AEON MALL's current property information gives gross leasable areas of about 81,000 square metres for the first centre, 85,000 square metres for Sen Sok City and 98,000 square metres for Mean Chey. That does not make the third centre automatically better. A larger building is useful when you want more choice in one place, but it also means more walking and a less spontaneous trip if you are starting in the centre of town.

There is a historical difference as well. The first AEON opened in June 2014 and became one of the most visible symbols of Phnom Penh's move towards large modern shopping centres. The second followed in May 2018 in Sen Sok, at a time when substantial new urban development was spreading northwards. The third began operating in December 2022, with its grand opening held on 7 April 2023 on the southern growth corridor along Hun Sen Boulevard.

AEON 1: the easiest choice for central Phnom Penh

AEON MALL Phnom Penh stands on Sothearos Boulevard in Tonle Bassac, within relatively easy reach of BKK1, the embassy district, Koh Pich and much of central Phnom Penh. That geography remains its greatest advantage. If you are staying or living in Chamkarmon, BKK, Tonle Bassac or close to Riverside, the first AEON is often more practical than the two larger centres farther north and south.

It opened in 2014 as Cambodia's first AEON MALL and later underwent an expansion and refurbishment, with the extension project completed in the 2023 financial year. Older reviews that describe AEON 1 as a much smaller centre essentially unchanged since its opening therefore no longer give the full picture.

For routine visits, the important point is not absolute floor area but the combination of supermarket, shops, restaurants, services and entertainment in a comparatively central location. It works well when the aim is to deal with several tasks in one trip: buy groceries, look for clothes or household items, have a meal and perhaps see a film.

The surrounding neighbourhood is another practical advantage. The mall sits within an established urban area, so a visit can be combined with other errands in Tonle Bassac, BKK or Koh Pich instead of becoming a dedicated journey to the edge of the city. For many travellers this convenience is worth more than an additional floor of shops elsewhere.

Its smaller scale relative to AEON 2 and AEON 3 does have a trade-off. If you want a broad entertainment programme, large family areas or a mall visit that is itself the main event of the day, the other two centres may offer more. AEON 1 is best understood as a central all-round shopping centre rather than Phnom Penh's ultimate retail destination.

AEON 2: the northern hub in Sen Sok

AEON MALL Sen Sok City opened in May 2018. AEON MALL lists gross leasable area of about 85,000 square metres, and the centre launched with roughly 200 specialist retailers. It is on Street 1003 in Sen Sok, well north of the first AEON and closer to the newer residential districts, broad arterial roads and large-scale development that characterise this part of Phnom Penh.

This is where comparing malls without looking at a map becomes particularly unhelpful. For someone living in Sen Sok, or in parts of Toul Kork, AEON 2 can be an ordinary weekly destination. For a visitor based in Tonle Bassac, the same trip may mean crossing a substantial part of the city. During busy periods, the number of kilometres shown on a map says little about actual travel time.

Sen Sok City is well suited to longer visits. Its scale, parking, broad mix of shops, restaurants and entertainment make it an easy choice for a family afternoon. In that sense it can function as a destination in its own right rather than merely somewhere to stop between other errands.

If you want to compare clothing, sports goods, children's activities, electronics and food in one location, AEON 2 may be more useful than a compact central mall. But size stops being an advantage when you need one specific item. The journey and the distance walked inside the building can take longer than the purchase itself.

AEON 2 also illustrates how major malls become informal landmarks in Phnom Penh. For newcomers, saying that a property is 'near AEON 2' can be more immediately meaningful than naming an administrative sangkat. The shopping centre has become part of the everyday mental map of northern Phnom Penh, helping people describe housing, schools, shops and services around Sen Sok.

AEON 3: the largest option in the south

AEON MALL Mean Chey is currently the largest of Phnom Penh's three AEON centres by gross leasable area. It stands along Hun Sen Boulevard in the south of the capital. AEON MALL lists a site of about 174,000 square metres and gross leasable area of around 98,000 square metres, while the opening materials referred to approximately 250 specialist shops.

The centre began partial operations on 15 December 2022 and held its official grand opening on 7 April 2023. AEON described the concept as combining retail, education and entertainment. The offer extends beyond conventional shopping, with a large supermarket, cinema, sports and family spaces, restaurants and other leisure areas.

The obvious advantage is scale. If you want to maximise choice in a single complex and avoid travelling between several locations, Mean Chey is the strongest of the three. Families in particular can combine shopping, meals and children's entertainment without leaving the site.

Location, however, matters more than size. From BKK1 or Riverside, travelling south can take time, especially when the roads are busy. A visitor staying centrally should not choose AEON 3 automatically just because it is the largest. It makes much more sense for residents of southern Phnom Penh, Mean Chey, Chak Angre and the new neighbourhoods developing along Hun Sen Boulevard.

There is also a useful urban dimension to a visit. AEON 3 was built not in the historic core but in one of Phnom Penh's major southern expansion zones. The journey reveals a different scale of city: wider roads, new residential projects, larger land plots and infrastructure intended to support further growth. For someone trying to understand how Phnom Penh is changing, that context can be as interesting as the shopping itself.

Other shopping centres in Phnom Penh

The three AEON malls dominate conversations about large shopping centres, but they are far from the whole retail landscape. Phnom Penh has several distinct formats: major regional malls, compact inner-city centres and neighbourhood lifestyle complexes where food and services matter more than the sheer volume of retail.

Chip Mong 271 Mega Mall is one of the more substantial alternatives to AEON in southern Phnom Penh. It is on Street 271 in the Chak Angre Leu area and held its soft opening on 12 September 2022. The complex combines retail, a supermarket, restaurants, cinema and entertainment. It has continued to operate as a significant retail venue in the south, including hosting the national MadeInCambodia retail initiative in February 2026. For residents of southern districts, it can be a more convenient alternative to AEON 3 when the desired shop or restaurant is located there.

Chip Mong Noro Mall serves a completely different urban setting. Located on Norodom Boulevard in BKK1, it is a compact city-centre mall that opened in 2019 with a supermarket, cinema, shops and restaurants. Its purpose is not to compete with AEON 3 on floor area. Its value is that it sits inside a dense central neighbourhood where a meal, a film or a practical purchase may require only a short journey.

The Olympia Mall, on Monireth Boulevard in 7 Makara, forms part of the wider Olympia City development. The centre presents itself as a family-oriented urban mall with fashion, restaurants, cinema and entertainment. Its central location is the real advantage: if you are near Olympic Stadium, Orussey or 7 Makara, there is little practical reason to travel all the way to Sen Sok merely for a standard mix of shops and restaurants.

Exchange Square sits close to Wat Phnom and Phnom Penh's central business district. It is a more compact retail offer integrated with an office complex, with a supermarket, restaurants and cafes, shops, a cinema and everyday services. For travellers staying around Riverside or Daun Penh, this is precisely the kind of convenience that can outweigh the larger selection in an outlying mall.

TK Avenue in Toul Kork is another neighbourhood-oriented centre. It describes itself as a lifestyle mall with food, shopping, entertainment, a children's area and landscaped spaces. For a Toul Kork resident, that format can be more useful than a mega-mall: the everyday services are closer and a quick visit does not need to consume half a day.

This is the more useful way to think about Phnom Penh's shopping centres. A mall is not necessarily a destination. It may simply be an air-conditioned point between home, work, school and dinner. A generic ranking of the 'best malls' therefore tells you very little unless it also answers two questions: where are you starting from, and what do you actually need to do?

Choosing a mall for the job

If this is your first visit to Phnom Penh and you want to see one large modern shopping centre without making a dedicated trip to the outskirts, AEON 1 is the most straightforward starting point. It is substantial enough to show the city's mainstream mall format while remaining convenient for many central tourist and residential districts.

If you are based in the north or want a longer family outing, AEON 2 becomes the more natural choice. For Sen Sok residents it is part of ordinary neighbourhood life rather than a tourist stop. Travelling there from the centre makes sense when you have a particular shop, activity or reason to see the area.

If the priority is the widest range in one complex, AEON 3 is the obvious candidate. It is also useful for anyone staying in, living in or exploring the southern part of Phnom Penh. Driving there from the centre for an ordinary supermarket run or dinner, however, is rarely an efficient use of time.

For short practical errands, smaller centres are often better. Exchange Square works well near Wat Phnom and the business district, Noro Mall in BKK1, Olympia around 7 Makara and TK Avenue in Toul Kork. Chip Mong 271 Mega Mall is a stronger southern option, particularly when its tenant mix matches what you are looking for.

Phnom Penh makes the point especially clearly: choosing a shopping centre is a routing problem, not a league table. A distance that looks trivial on a map can become a slow journey after one congested junction. The most useful mall is often not the biggest one, but the one that fits naturally into the rest of your day.

Mall or market? They serve different purposes

Modern malls have not replaced Phnom Penh's traditional markets. Central Market, Tuol Tom Poung Market, better known in English as Russian Market, Orussey Market and scores of neighbourhood markets still play their own roles. Treating markets and malls as old and new versions of the same thing misses much of the way the city actually shops.

A mall is easier when you want air conditioning, a predictable retail environment, international brands, a supermarket, cinema, children's facilities and several hours in one building. That consistency can be particularly useful during the hottest part of the day or in heavy rain.

A traditional market offers something else: fresh produce, clothes and household goods, crafts, street food, direct contact with everyday city life and often a much wider spread of prices. Travellers who want to understand Phnom Penh benefit from seeing both formats rather than deciding which is the 'better' way to shop.

There are also categories where a mall is especially convenient for a new resident. AEON supermarkets make it relatively easy to assemble a first supply of groceries and household basics, while larger centres can simplify the search for pharmacies, electronics, children's products and familiar international brands. Yet for fresh food, low-cost household items or a more local shopping experience, people still routinely use markets and independent neighbourhood shops.

The most accurate picture of Phnom Penh is therefore a layered retail system. Modern shopping centres, traditional markets, stand-alone supermarkets and small ground-floor shops in shophouses operate side by side. Each solves a different problem, and most residents use several of them rather than choosing one format exclusively.

What to check before you go

One practical feature is common to Phnom Penh's larger malls: travel time varies more than the malls' published schedules. If you are heading from the centre to AEON 2 or AEON 3, check the live route shortly before leaving. Evening congestion, rain and roadworks can all change the journey materially.

At the time of review on 12 August 2026, published information for the three AEON centres showed general hours of 09:00-22:00 daily. Individual restaurants, cinemas, banks, services and retailers may operate different schedules. The Olympia Mall and Exchange Square publish closing times of 21:00 on their official sites. If one specific tenant is the reason for your visit, check that tenant rather than relying only on the building's opening hours.

Large AEON centres are naturally busier at weekends and around major holidays. If the objective is simply to buy one item without crowds, morning or daytime visits are generally easier than the evening peak. If the mall is part of a family outing, the busier evening atmosphere may not be a problem, but it is sensible to allow more time for the return journey.

For visitors without a car, a taxi or tuk-tuk is usually the simplest option. In the app, select the mall's full official name rather than entering only 'AEON'. Phnom Penh has three different AEON MALL locations, and choosing the wrong one can send you to the opposite side of the city. Use AEON MALL Phnom Penh for AEON 1, AEON MALL Sen Sok City for AEON 2 and AEON MALL Mean Chey for AEON 3.

Before travelling across town for a particular brand, check the mall directory or the retailer's current page. Tenant mixes change: restaurants open, shops relocate and units temporarily close for refurbishment. In smaller centres, the arrival or departure of one major tenant can noticeably change the value of a visit.

Which shopping centre should you choose?

For most travellers and residents in central Phnom Penh, AEON 1 remains the most versatile choice: it is large enough for a broad range of needs without requiring a journey far north or south. AEON 2 is the more logical option for Sen Sok and a longer family visit, while AEON 3 suits southern Phnom Penh and situations where the widest possible choice in a single complex is the priority.

The other centres are not second-rate versions of AEON. They solve more local problems. Exchange Square is convenient near Wat Phnom, Noro Mall in BKK1, Olympia in 7 Makara, TK Avenue in Toul Kork and Chip Mong 271 Mega Mall in the south. In a city where traffic conditions can change quickly, proximity to your normal route often matters more than the size of the building.

If you want one glimpse of contemporary Phnom Penh, one AEON and one compact city-centre mall are enough. To understand the capital's retail life more fully, add a traditional market. The combination tells the real story: not a city where malls have replaced markets, but one where old and new ways of shopping continue to coexist.

Sources

1. AEON MALL Cambodia — official pages for AEON MALL Phnom Penh, AEON MALL Sen Sok City and AEON MALL Mean Chey, together with the company's Cambodia shopping-centre portfolio. Reviewed 12 August 2026.
2. AEON MALL Co., Ltd. — ASEAN Mall Information; official opening dates, gross leasable areas and parking data for the three Cambodia malls. Reviewed 12 August 2026.
3. AEON MALL Cambodia — notice dismissing reports of a confirmed new AEON MALL project referred to as 'AEON MALL 4'. Reviewed 12 August 2026.
4. Chip Mong Group / Chip Mong Land — information on Chip Mong 271 Mega Mall and its soft opening on 12 September 2022; current activity additionally cross-checked against Agence Kampuchea Presse coverage of the MadeInCambodia campaign in February 2026.
5. The Olympia Mall — official About Us information, address, centre format and published opening hours. Reviewed 12 August 2026.
6. Exchange Square Shopping Mall — official About, Directory and Contact pages covering the address, services and opening hours. Reviewed 12 August 2026.
7. TK Avenue Mall — official About Us and contact information covering the centre format and its Toul Kork location. Reviewed 12 August 2026.
8. Phnom Penh Post — 'Official launch of Chip Mong Noro', 23 December 2019; opening date and core format of the centre.
9. Google Business Profiles — published opening hours for AEON MALL Phnom Penh, AEON MALL Sen Sok City and AEON MALL Mean Chey. Reviewed 12 August 2026.

Frequently asked

Which AEON mall in Phnom Penh is the largest?

According to AEON MALL's current property data, AEON MALL Mean Chey is the largest of the three, with gross leasable area of about 98,000 square metres.

Which AEON is most convenient from BKK1 and Tonle Bassac?

AEON MALL Phnom Penh on Sothearos Boulevard, commonly called AEON 1, is usually the most convenient. Actual journey time still depends on traffic.

Is there an AEON Mall 4 in Phnom Penh?

As of August 2026, AEON MALL's official Cambodia portfolio lists three shopping centres in Phnom Penh, and the company has separately warned that reports of a confirmed AEON Mall 4 are not an official announcement.

What time do AEON 1, AEON 2 and AEON 3 close?

At the time of review on 12 August 2026, published information for the three centres showed general opening hours of 09:00-22:00, although individual shops, restaurants, cinemas and services may keep different hours.