//
Capital of Laos
Photo: Ondřej Žváček, CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise
This centre explores the Lao legacy of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the National Rehabilitation Centre's efforts to expand prosthetic, orthotic, and rehabilitation services across the country. There are exhibits, and visitors can watch short films on the subject. Exhibits are appropriate for all ages. An excellent gift shop offers fun, offbeat souvenirs that support a good cause. Free parking.
A quiet museum celebrating Laotian war hero and prime minister Kaysone Phomvihane. Exhibits on the history of Laos from ancient times to the present, but the main focus is on the life of Kaysone Phomvihane. The exhibits are presented in rough chronological order, but somewhat disjointedly without a sense of narrative, so they're hard to follow if you're not already familiar with the broad strokes. Interesting for history buffs, though.
Lao Revolutionary Museum ພິພິຕະພັນແຫ່ງຊາດ
Formerly the Lao Revolutionary Museum. There are 5 exhibition rooms. Impressive architecture of the new museum from the outside, along with artifacts of the country’s prehistoric, wartime, political, and ethnic identity.
Victory Gate
A local rendition of the Arc de Triomphe. Besides having elaborate Buddhist embellishment, it differs from the original in having four gates instead of two and being just a bit higher to spite the French. Reasonably impressive from afar, a surprisingly frank English sign inside the monument labels it a "monster of concrete" when seen up close. The concrete was donated by the US, although it was supposed to go towards a new airport instead: hence the nickname "the Vertical Runway". The monument itself aside, the palm tree-lined park around it complete with fountains is quite pleasant though lacking of shade during the daytime. You can climb up to the 7th story, stairs only, for a nice view of central Vientiane and three levels of souvenir shops with less than enthusiastic sales people sitting about. It features a musical fountain nearby that attracts visitors from around Laos and Asia, as well as a World Peace Gong presented by Indonesia. Roving cameramen will be happy to charge you for photos near these attractions.
The official residence of the President of Laos, completed in 1986 in a mostly beaux-arts architectural style, but with a traditional Lao roof, on the site of a former royal palace. The president does not live here, however, and it is only used to house government offices and for ceremonial purposes. Not open to the public, but may be viewed from outside the gates.
A beautiful semi-open-air museum of Lao textiles, clothing, weaving, and dyeing. Watch weavers at work, see samples of traditional Lao clothing, view the process of making indigo and samples of dyed thread, and taste color-changing butterfly-pea flower tea and fresh fruit from the courtyard (included in the ticket price). The gift shop has a lovely selection of silk, cotton, and mulberry paper products.
That Dam
The mythical abode of a seven-headed dragon that protects Vientiane. It was renovated in 1995, but still has an attractive patina of age, and is slowly being overgrown again by lush grass vegetation. Take care as there have been dog attacks at night.
Ho Phra Keo
A stunning, elegant, and majestic structure, King Setthathirat's former royal temple, which housed the magical Emerald Buddha (pha kaew) after it was taken from Lanna (Chiang Mai). The Siamese took it back in 1779, and is now housed in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew. Later the Thais returned in 1828 to raze the temple. The present structure is a 1942 reconstruction of dubious provenance. Today, the temple no longer operates and the interior has been turned into a small jumbled museum housing Buddha images. Look for the beautiful tall, lithe, long-armed Buddha in the hands-down "calling for rain" pose.
Wat Inpeng
The national symbol and most important religious monument of the country, That Luang is a three-layered gilded stupa. The current version dates from 1566, although it has been ransacked and renovated numerous times since then. Accessing the inner courtyard gives you a slightly closer view of the stupa, and lots of Buddha statues. Vientiane's most important festival, Bun That Luang, is held here in Nov on the night of the full moon. There are two temples beside That Luang: Wat That Luang Neua (north) and Wat That Luang Tai (south), which are being renovated.
Vat Chantha
Given their location, the temples most likely to be visited by tourists.
Disney-esque and gaudy in set-up, one would not think that it's a religious compound. Despite its small size, the temple is very active. Followers believe that lifting the small Buddha statue 3 times from its cushion means that your prayers or questions will be answered. The city pillar is being housed in a pagoda-like structure now being constructed separately on another block northwest across the street.
Sisaket Museum
With very contemplative ambience, probably the oldest standing temple in Vientiane and among the most atmospheric. Built in 1818 by Chao Anou in the Bangkok-style and hence left unsacked when much of Vientiane was razed in a Siamese raid in 1828. Within the cloister walls are hundreds of niches housing Buddha images large and small, made of wood, stone, silver and bronze. In the centre of the courtyard is a five-tier-roofed sim (ordination hall) housing yet more Buddha niches and beautiful, but fading murals of the Buddha's past lives.
Xieng Khuan
An outdoor collection of huge concrete sculptures of Buddhist and Hindu deities, and real and religious beasts. The reclining Buddha is especially impressive. The Park was built in 1958 by the mystic Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat. In 1978 he fled to Thailand, following the communist take-over and went on to create a larger version of the Park (Sala Keoku or Sala Kaew Ku) across the river in Nong Khai, Thailand. There are two travel options. Hire a taxi/tuk tuk from Vientiane, say 100,000 kip. The second, take a public bus. Bus #14 travels from the Khua Din (central Vientiane) station, past the Friendship Bridge, all the way to the Buddha Park for 6,000 kip, one-way. For your return there are always tuk tuks at the Park waiting for customers, or take the bus back. The last bus back to Vientiane departs from the park at 16:45. Entrance 15,000 kip (10,000 kip for Laos citizens).
Here, typical houses of various ethnic groups are on display, though only from the outside unless you happen to meet some kind of custodian who will unlock some of them and show the inside. There also are some statues of dinosaurs and a rather dismal looking small "zoo". Most times the only activity seems to be the kiosks where they sell soft drinks and crisps/chips, but there are said to be occasional cultural shows. Tour operators often take their guests here before or after a visit to the Buddha Park. Not worth a trip.
Here you can enjoy traditional Lao massage in private cabins. Friendly owner & staff. If you choose full body massage you'll get your feet washed before starting. If you wish to take a shower after your (oil) massage, you're welcome to do so. Spa services include body scrub, bathtub... Good value for money (example: full body massage for 60K Kip [around US$7], full body scrub starting at 80K Kip [around US$10]). Wifi available.
Centre Culturel et de Cooperation Linguistique
Has a French library and a small theatre that shows plays and films.
Muay Lao (kickboxing)
The national sport of Lao PDR. Similar to muay Thai, but is not a tourist trap unlike many gyms in Thailand.
Learn about Lao cooking and culture. Cook Lao-style in the garden on a quiet stretch of the Mekong River.
Chao Anouvong National Stadium
This massage shop is particularly delightful. The massage parlor does not really have a name, and the most prominent sign merely says "now open". Your masseur or masseuse will be grateful for a tip. The staff will be happy if you have the decency to take a shower before you go. They won't say anything to your face, but smelly foreigners make their job less than pleasant.
Once a month, local monks gather for chats with tourists.
A local favourite. There are floating restaurants along the lakeshore; their specialty is fish fresh from the lake. Cruises among the lake's islands can be booked here, which makes for a relaxing couple of hours. Just enquire at your guest house/hotel or at any travel agency (where they will then try to sell their tours).
Vientiane ByCycle offers awesome guided bicycle tours through and around Vientiane. They take you off the beaten track to places where you usually would not go ordinarily. Along villages, temples, school yards, bank of Mekong River, crematoria, markets and local businesses. They have excellent quality mountain bikes.
Explore the region with a good quality bicycle. Rent by the day or longer. This shop also sells and repairs bicycles.
Dozens of unpretentious restaurants and beer gardens (those upstream from the main beach promenade are generally cheaper). All are pleasant places for a beer and a snack or a complete meal while the sun goes down over the river. One of these is one-time famous John's Restaurant, but since the owner married an Australian and left town there is nothing to distinguish it from the other places left and right. All serve inexpensive (but not really cheap for Laos) Lao, Thai, and some Western food. Among the best is the grilled fish, served by many of them. Take care when you're in for boiled eggs: what you get here are incubated duck eggs. When you open them you're in for a surprise (but at least the little bird does not chirp). The Lao love them and they are hugely popular. Some of the restaurants along the river has Lao-style reed mats on the ground with low rattan "tables" (kantoke). Diners sit cross-legged on the mat around the table. They are much nicer than the rickety metal tables and plastic chairs that are the standard of all but the better restaurants in Laos. The riverside open-air restaurants have been known to use two menus, a cheaper one for locals and an expensive one for foreigners.
Has some of the best cheap meals in the city despite being only about a block long. Starts setting up at sundown. There's a wide range of street snacks available, including pho made with hand pulled noodles, little lettuce-wrapped snacks with peanut filling (miang), all types of grilled skewered meats, grilled sticky rice, local beverages made from coconut, chai tea, cornm grass jelly and more. Particularly worth trying are the small rice pancakes, two hemispheres of rice-based batter fried in a tin, filled with minced pork and beansprouts and put together. About the size of a flattened tennis ball, absolutely delicious.
For an authentic Lao dining experience there is this noodle soup shop. This restaurant offers the best Lao white thick slimy rice noodles with some pieces of chicken, fried pork, quail's eggs, etc., and the usual vegetable servings: spring onions, cilantro, mung bean sprouts (unlimited serve-yourself quantities). There is also "kanom ku" (Chinese doughnuts) on the side, served ready for pick on every table. Excellent value as it's all for 10,000 kip plus 1,000 kip per kanom ku consumed, on the honour system. Most importantly, the noodle soup tastes great, the broth is delicious.
A small group of stalls offering local food patronized by office workers. The ambiance is similar to the morning and night street food markets in Luang Prabang and the vendors seemingly have not been adulterated by touristy mindset. At 09:30, flies hover rarely and the food is steaming hot, having just been lifted out of the cooking fire.
Decent Indian food. Their toilet is not the cleanest in the country, perhaps because the patrons of some of the restaurants on the river bank are directed here for certain needs when they are not sent down to the reeds at the water's edge. Nazim has opened another branch in Pang Kham Rd, opposite the offices of Lao Airlines. There are at least 4 other Indian restaurants in the city centre, and all quite similar.
They typically serve rice noodle soups ("feu", a close cousin to Vietnamese phở and Chinese 粉 fan2), often also fried rice and other rice or noodle-based dishes.
Serves delicious Philly cheesesteaks, kebabs and quesadillas. Baguettes are freshly baked each day, and sandwiches are given generous amounts of mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Middle Eastern options are accompanied by homemade tahini or tzatziki sauce. Also possible is a traditional family-style Thai feast. The quality of the food is rivalled only by the friendliness of the chef.
Stay Hungry Burger's claim is true as you really do stay hungry after eating there: their burgers are the smallest in the city.
Good Indian food at good prices if you don't mind listening to American pop music.
Cheap Thai food (14,000 kip) and cheap beer (9,000 kip, for the cheap one, 10,000 kip for Lao beer) Nice quiet garden, nice people. (Thai Spoken).
Croissants and pastries, simple lunches and excellent baguettes. Tasty, not just something to chew. Their coffee is among the best in Vientiane, on a par with that at JoMa.
Offers a wide range of reasonably priced Asian and European dishes. The owners are Lao, but speak fluent English, French and German. Daily specials and home roasted coffee beans, the basis for one of the best coffees in town. Busy at lunchtime, discounts after 14:00.
Tintin Bar
Restaurant & beer bar, owned by a friendly Belgian citizen who speaks a good English and so does the staff. Their signature meal, which is the Belgium national one, is mussels & fries, with different flavors to choose from, starting at 95,000 kip (US$11). Some finger food such as mini cheese burgers (35,000 kip). Famous for its beers too, including trappist ones, with around 100 different crafted bottled beers to choose from, plus a dozen on tap. As Belgium is also famous for its comic books, the place is decorated accordingly, with statues & paintings of Tintin and alikes... cosy atmosphere.
Japanese restaurant with a Japanese owner and chef, Takashi, who is friendly and speaks an excellent English. Very large selection (sushi, sashimi, miso soup, gyoza, tempura, teriyaki, soba, udon, ramen, curry, taiyaki) and drinks (Asashi beers, sake, potato schochu, rice shochu, shochu sour [which can be confused with fruit juice — watch out if you don't drink alcohol]). Japanese TV on to feel even more like home for Japanese people.
Two different companies, on boats moored opposite Wat Chan and one 300 m upriver. Not very impressive, neither the boat trip (1 hour, departure around 19:00, 1 km upstream then 2 downstream and back, only when the water level is high enough) nor the food. Very relaxing. This Lao maritime experience will cost you only slightly more than the same meal in one of the beer gardens on the riverbank.
Nice interior with comfortable seating arrangements and relaxed atmosphere. Asian/European fusion cuisine. Friendly but unfocused staff and reasonable prices. Manager named Khamfanh speaks good English and can help with orders or information about Laos. Free book exchange. Free Wi-Fi.
Meat offered at two levels of quality: Lao beef at around US$4-5; New Zealand lamb and beef at about US$8 and above. To be tried on a cool evening, the fondue bourguignon at US$26 for two, a surprise in a place whose name means "sticky rice". Excellent cheese fondue at US$28 for two. Not something for the hottest months of the year, but nice around year's end when temperatures drop.
With the ongoing construction of the flood management levee and river park in Vientiane, this restaurant offers the most optimal dining views of the Mekong. Thai-owned, it features an extensive menu of what is best termed Thai-Lao fusion. Not incredibly exciting food, but good, although portions are on the small side. Also, the staff will invariably mess up your order. Keep a close eye on the bill, as well, as items tend to make it on there that you didn't order.
Thai food. A favourite among expats living nearby. Packed at lunch, the restaurant is known for its excellent Penang curry.
Upscale restaurant in a historic colonial building serving authentic Lao food with a good selection of vegetarian dishes. Traditional Lao music and dance performances in the evening.
A very pleasant spot to eat excellent Lao food. A large place, an extensive menu, competent and friendly service. Background music not too loud.
Part of a chain that also has restaurants in Thailand and Indonesia. Good Lao, Thai, Chinese, and Western food. Reasonable prices and good, attentive service. Very popular at lunchtime with office workers and students.
High quality Western-style food at reasonable prices. They have won a national award for their grasshopper/cricket tacos. Also offer a wide selection of vegetarian options. There's happy hour on Wednesday and Friday nights, with half price cocktails. Open for breakfast and lunch on weekends only. Free Wi-Fi. Hangout for expats and NGO volunteers.
Huge selection of excellent pizzas for around 45,000 kip. The mocha shakes are particularly tasty. Also has a wide variety of fresh baked breads, pastries and cakes.
Popular with expats and tourists. It is one of the best French restaurants in Vientiane. Very good pizzas and excellent tender steaks for around US$5).
Excellent wood-fired Italian style pizza and homemade pastas priced from US$4. Good selection of Belgian beers.
Japanese restaurant. Well located. Incredibility large offer of Japanese food (sushi, sashimi, miso soup, gyoza, tempura, teriyaki, soba, udon, ramen, oden, curry, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, tempura ice-cream) and drinks (green tea, cream soda, sake, Asashi beers, plum wine, shōchū ...) Every item on the menu comes written in English, along with its picture (& price). Many item pictures can as well be seen, with a colored A4 page for each, on the walls. All of this making it so easy to know what's on offer, and order with confidence. Owned & managed by a friendly Japanese citizen and his Lao wife, who live in the premises with their teenage kids. Quiet, clean, air conditioned.
Crêperie - Lao French Bistrot. Owned by a friendly French citizen who speaks great English. Staff can as well communicate in English. Mix of Western (mainly French) food with Asian (mainly Lao). Galettes (French buckwheat pancakes) are their signature food and are gluten free (starting at 45,000 kip; they also have pizza, salads, soups. Different desserts such as crepes indeed. Drinks: French wine (for 30,000 kip), beer, tea, coffee. In addition, "Menu of the day" offers everyday a different meal that's not on the main menu, coming along a salad and as well a dessert or coffee; 45,000 kip. Every item on the menu can be ordered any time during the opening hours. 2 rooms including one with terrace. Relax atmosphere with jazz music in the background.
French restaurant owned and managed by an experienced French cook, who used to be the Western French cook at Novotel. Speaks English, and so does his staff. Features traditional food and chef specials, such as andouillettes, rognons blancs (mutton testicles) and tripes à la mode de Caen. There's a 3-course "Menu of the day" in addition to the main menu, for 45,000-65,000 kip. Drinks include French wine. This is a good value.
Classical range of Russian/ex-Soviet dishes, staples and specialties alike, served amid amusingly mixed ambience with various Soviet paraphernalia lining the walls. A rare chance to taste authentic Russian soft drinks like kvass, kefir and mors, or Russian alcohol. Run and staffed by Russian expats.
Traditional Yugoslav and Mediterranean homemade dishes, prepared by Montenegrin chef.
Excellent Italian food. Romantic setting in a beautifully maintained colonial home. Offers a lunchtime buffet Monday-Friday. Tasty Neapolitan-style pizzas. Has an extensive wine list, and pasta mains are priced from US$8.
經典老地方
Chinese vegetarian. The owner is Taiwanese, so this place seemed promising, as vegetarian cuisine is very popular in Taiwan, and done to an extraordinary standard. Unfortunately, that level of quality did not follow this owner into Laos. The food is lacklustre, and the management of the restaurant appears to suffer from neglect, possibly because the owner is rarely in Laos.
帝豪酒店
Spicy Hunan food from China. Hunanese-owned and operated (the Hunan Chamber of Commerce is on the 4th floor). Staff speak Chinese and Lao, and the menu is same, but every dish has its own photo. Order anything containing chilies, and you can't go wrong.
福滿樓
This has two locations. The one on the road to the airport is the best by far. It is the most established of the better Chinese restaurants in the city, and the Chinese diplomats posted to Laos often dine here. Food selection is multi-regional, but the Sichuan dishes are well done.
Lackadaisical Cantonese dishes (US$2-9) and a small selection of dim sum (US$1 per plate). There have been reports of them padding the bill. Check the bill carefully before paying, which is something you should do everywhere: in a country where they use a calculator to subtract 7 from 10 it comes as no surprise that their counting of beers consumed is not always accurate, although to be fair the mistakes are not always to the disadvantage of the customer.
久玖酒家
An unheralded gem, this restaurant offers fantastic southwestern Chinese cuisine. The chef hails from Qujing 曲靖 in Yunnan Province. The food is best described as Yunnan-Sichuan fusion. Helps if you know Chinese, but the staff can speak Lao as well. Menu contains plenty of photographs, so if all else fails, just point.
成都食府
The owner/manager claims the chef is from Chengdu, but the heavily Manchurian-influenced food from the kitchen clearly puts the lie to that claim.
A Malaysian-Indian restaurant. Numerous vegetarian options for 6,000-50,000 kip. Friendly staff and excellent service. Dish quality is extremely variable even for several exact-same dishes ordered on the same day. A bit of a pot-luck option.
A reasonably-priced vegan Vietnamese restaurant with an assortment of delicious vegetable, noodle, and mock meat dishes. Staff nice, place clean, they speak some English.
Buffet plates, excellent spring rolls and noodle soups available.
Khua Din Restaurant
Offers a lunch buffet serving Laotian vegan food.
The second of two gay bars in downtown Vientiane, next to Silapa Restaurant and diagonally across from Vat Inpeng. Friendly atmosphere and staff with good dance beats. Mixed drinks average around 30,000 kip, with happy hour from 19:00-21:00. Second floor has a pool table.
Vietnamese-owned "super" club. Place to go for loud techno music.
A very classy and cosy bar, owned and run by Japanese-speaking Lao owner. Great drinks. Approximately 50,000 kip per cocktail.
Everything is supposed to close down before midnight, before the start of the unofficial curfew, although clubs generally stay open until 01:00-01:30. The most notable exception is this extremely popular spot which is open until 04:00 weekends. It's an after-hours club popular with working girls among others.
One of two gay bars in central Vientiane. Friendly staff, cheap drinks and occasional cabaret shows around 23:00.
A classy and expensive bar. The sign out front states "no shorts, no flip-flops allowed".
The name means "thank you very much". Popular with tourists, expats and Lao hi-so types. OK food, mid-range prices, large selection of Western, Thai and classic Lao dishes. Great place to drink beer in the centre of town.
Happening all nights of the week. Crowd changes from beginning, midweek, to weekend. Bowling alley and karaoke next door, same owner. Diverse crowd and music.
Movies shown M-W at 20:00. Thursdays are Salsa nights and most Fridays a DJ is spinning. Possibly plays the most eclectic music in Vientiane.
Once this was one of only a few bars in town, and was packed every evening, especially between 23:00-02:00 after other bars around town are closed. Perhaps quieter now that there is more competition. Has a pool table and shows sports, but the background music often drowns the TV commentary. Drinkers from Bor Pen Nyang often come here when it closes, then move on again to the Don Chan Palace nightclub once Samlo closes.
Different cover bands play throughout the night. Maybe the only country-western bar in Laos. A sit and listen to live band place, not a dance club.
Nice drinking hole and sports bar by the river, good spot for viewing sunsets.
Excellent live blues music nightly from 21:45
Clean, nice rooms, great value. Nice baths with great water pressure, a real shower, clean linens. Rooms can be small, but have a fridge and cable TV. There is Wi-Fi, but the signal can be weak in areas.
Basic and uninspiring but cheap hostel above an Indian restaurant. A little rundown but cleanish and comfortable beds. No air-con, just fan rooms.
Hostel offering dorms and private rooms. Free western breakfast included (07:00-10:00). Clean. No bed bugs (something important to check when booking a room in Vientiane). Very efficiently air conditioned rooms. Dorm beds come with big lockers. Free Wifi & even computer to use in the lobby. Extra services available such as motorbikes rental, transportation tickets. Very good location right by night market, the river front & most restaurants... and yet quiet.
A simple room with fan and shared bath. Friendly staff. Clean, but has ventilation issues in some rooms (especially on the top floor where there is a smoking section). Watch your head on the stairs, watch your step, and sometimes you have to be patient with the staff. Free Wi-Fi, but only between 09:00-23:00.
Partner to Mixay Guesthouse and just one block away. Nice guesthouse with many generally small rooms, all with a padlockable draw and good Wi-Fi with either fan or air-con. Friendly and helpful staff, you can add breakfast for USD$2. Cheap food menu, many items for 15,000 kip plus 5,000 kip for rice. 2 rooms on each floor are without windows to the outside.
The "Relax and Dream away" Guesthouse isn't very dreamy, but does have a padded ceiling above the stairs (good for tall people) and a modest library.
Has lockers to keep your belongings. Close to the centre. Good Internet, but no Wi-Fi throughout. Mainly in the restaurant downstairs. Friendly stuff, shared toilets. Laundry for 9,000 kip/kg. Warning: bedbugs (May 2013).
Nice, atmospheric. Family suite upstairs is huge, clean, very comfortable, and an excellent value.
Clean rooms with air-con and TV. Very helpful staff can let you know where to find more local stuff in addition to normal tourist things.
Formerly aYa Guest House
Clean dorm rooms, moderately fast 24-hour Wi-Fi, small balcony, fan and air-con, lamp, locker/cabinet, towel, and water refill for 40,000 kip. Two common rooms, one with TV. Discounted travel fares for guests. Friendly staff.
Very clean, rooms with air-con, fan, en suite bath. Helpful and friendly staff. Free drinking water in room, bicycle hires 10,000 kip. 12 hr free Wi-Fi with captive portal. The original, older Youth Inn is closed. Avoid the 4th floor in cool season.
Clean, modest and relatively new hotel in a quiet area. It's family-run. Can book bus to Luang Prabang, and train tickets to Bangkok. They are extremely kind and helpful.
Very nice. All rooms have Wi-Fi, courtesy of the HBRM Spirit House next door.
Mid-size boutique hotel with the warmth of Laotian hospitality. Laundry service, free Wi-Fi, airport transfer and it also accepts credit card with secure facilities.
Has rooms with air-con, TV, and minibar. There have been reports of guests being presented with larger than agreed bills at check-out.
A modern, comfortable hotel in the city centre. There are specials and promotions when reserving a room through their website.
Ask for a room with a view of the river. Has rooms and corridors filled with countless statues with fierce faces, which generates a spooky feeling for some. Rooms are equally spooky with creaking floorboards, so check out the room before you check-in. Wi-Fi is free and there are also two free computers in the lobby. Restaurant has well-prepared Szechuan food, about US$3 per dish. The hotel also runs the Inter Stone House in the same building round the corner. About the same or a slightly higher price range. Western and Thai/Lao food. Their specialty is the sizzling steak on a stone platter. Offers little for vegetarians. Note: the hotel location is not marked on the map, though it is given in the map legend (H6) - it is where the Inter Restaurant is marked (Restaurant 8).
An old, French colonial-style house in a small garden set back from the main road next to a temple. A quiet place to relax, yet right in the centre. Breakfast, wi-fi, garden. Prices US$35-45 for double, incl. breakfast (prices shown on website are considerably cheaper than what they actually charge).
A majestic old hotel from decades ago, built 1960. It is one of the oldest hotels in Vientiane. Boasted the first elevator in the country. The charm of past glory, see the bathroom fittings. Hunter S. Thompson wrote dispatches from here after scrambling out of Saigon as it fell. They claim that English, French, Japanese, Thai, Russian, Vietnamese and Lao are spoken. The restaurant has traditional Lao music and dance performances every evening from about 19:00, which you watch while eating your dinner of (recommended) Lao food. Get there early to secure a table with a good view of the stage
Decent hotel in a slightly out of the way location. Free Wi-Fi in rooms plus computers for guest use in lobby. Small but pleasant garden that is mostly occupied by a clean swimming pool. Quiet environment, also not much noise between rooms. On-site restaurant is reasonable but by no means the best. Breakfast options are limited but make reasonable start to the day. Friendly staff. Air-ticket and tour booking service. Most expensive rooms have large balconies overlooking swimming pool. Good business hotel or for tourists who don't mind being a little out of the way.
Great central location near the fountain. Clean rooms with air-con and private bath. A simple breakfast is included and is different every day, served in a nice garden setting. Wi-Fi. Their laundry service is good for neither your clothes nor your budget.
Mixok Guest House and Mixok Inn are next to each other in city centre. All rooms are equipped with cable TV, private bath with hot shower, free Wi-Fi in the room and free breakfast. Can also help you to book transfer to airport or bus station, as well as bus and train tickets.
Renovated, very clean hotel with quiet spacious rooms. Rate includes cable TV, free bottled water, free Internet cafe, and Wi-Fi, breakfast (eggs, toast and coffee). French-run French restaurant on the premises. You can book a bus to Nong Kai, Udon Thani, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang at the desk. Airport pick up available upon request. Receptionists speak English, and all staff are kind and helpful.
Large rooms that face the river, with en suite baths and air-con are US$20. Friendly staff and nice location on the river.
Clean with air-con, private bath, free Wi-Fi.
Soupanphone Guesthouse
Clean guesthouse. Free Wi-Fi, TV, air-con, warm water. Possibility of breakfast, but not included as standard. Nice large rooms with en-suite bath.
Very clean, rooms with wooden floors, air-con, hot water. Helpful and friendly staff. Free Wi-Fi, but only reaches first floor rooms and lobby.
Villa Nongduang or Thong Bay Guesthouse
Comfortable two-building hotel in a quiet area. Has garden with seating area and hammocks. Rooms are traditional Lao-style and unique, although a bit dark. Rooms have fan and air-con. Breakfast not included. Wi-Fi costs US$1.50 a day. Good value.
The property offers 116 units of studio, one and two bedroom apartments. Facilities include business centre, tennis court, lap pool and a gymnasium.
Owned and operated by the Chanthapanya family, the hotel offers the charm of a family guest house while providing the comfort of a hotel. All rooms have air-con, Wi-Fi, personal safe, cable TV, 24-hr hot water. Wi-Fi access points are on floors 2 and 4, and reception is best there. Has swimming pool and small gym. Beware unpleasant smells from air-con in some top floor rooms, and ask for a room with a view rather than a view of the neighbour's wall. They lock up early, check with reception.
This hotel was completed in 2004, almost complying with the municipality's by-laws which at the time limited buildings in Vientiane to 7 storeys (Don Chan has 14). The place to be if you are looking for panoramic views, although this comes at a cost--this monstrosity has singlehandedly ruined the Vientiane skyline. It has a swimming pool overlooking the Mekong and a popular open-air beer garden overlooking the Mekong which gets crowded late in the evening. Rooms are showing their age, and often smell of stale cigarettes. Slightly far from the centre, but hotel provides shuttle service to city centre. Careful when shopping for jewellery in the shops in the lobby.
A hotel built in Lao style, several buildings in a garden setting. Nice pool. It is somewhat away from the centre, but ideal to get away from the bustle. Guest complaints about lost or stolen items have been verified by local authorities. Be careful with your belongings at this hotel. Shuttle bus to the city centre every hour until 22:00.
The former Novotel in new premises. Friendly staff with surprisingly good English, a peaceful courtyard with spotless pool, fitness centre, and steam bath. Family friendly. Sunday brunch (11:00-15:00) at 130,000 kip including use of pool and fitness centre. Saturday and Sunday poolside BBQ (15:00-18:00). Despite the prices, Wi-Fi costs extra (starting from 20,000 kip per hour).
Named by Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine as one of the best boutique hotels in the world. Salana is the old Xaysana Hotel revamped. With 41 rooms, Salana has an excellent location in the centre of the city near the river and Chao Anou Park. The hotel is well-known to business travellers and tourists, and has received many positive reviews. Has a restaurant/cafe offering a good selection of Western dishes. Known for employing Lao chefs from famous hotels in Laos, is in a very good location. Good selection of beers & beverages available.
Built circa 1932, the luxurious hotel has been restored to its former charm. Re-opened in 1999, the French colonial architecture, its period furniture, and its landscaped gardens with a free-form pool, complemented by modern facilities, are some of the features of this historical landmark in the heart of Vientiane. If you see a London taxicab cruising the streets, it is theirs. It's used to ferry guests around. Has an excellent restaurant, "La Belle Epoque", and an open-air pavement café.
A duty-free, state-owned liquor store. Limited selection but the cheapest prices in town for popular brand name liquor by the bottle. This place is pretty good in terms of product authenticity but nothing is 100% guaranteed.
Foreign exchange counters at various locations. This bank charges no commission, gives better conversion rates and has longer opening hours than most local banks.
A privately owned bank that operates a currency exchange until about 20:30 on weekdays, and for shorter hours on weekends.
Allows withdrawals of up to 2,000,000 kip per transaction with a 40,000-kip transaction fee. Supports both Visa and Maestro. There are 2 branches in Vientiane. The first is at the main ANZV office mid-way down Lane Xang. There are now also various ANZV ATMs, for example on the corner of Fa Ngum Rd and Rue Chao Anou and at various minimarts, like the City minimart and at some M Point marts.
Withdrawals are limited to 2,000,000 kip (Dec 2024) per transaction; however, you may make up to ten of these in one day. MasterCard and Maestro are accepted; Visa also. BCEL charges a fee of 30,000 kip (Dec 2024) per transaction.
Possible to withdraw up to 1,000,000 kip per transaction with a 30,000 kip transaction fee. Supports both Visa and Maestro.
Possible to withdraw at least up to 1,500,000 kip per transaction with no transaction fee.
The place to go if you want to buy a decent Western style bicycle or spare parts for one.
Offers a good selection of English and French language books and magazines.
A small bookstore selling new and used books in English, German, and French, with a selection of nonfiction about Laos and Southeast Asia. Also buys used books if you have some to get rid of. Beware, if you buy a book wrapped in plastic it's likely to be a low-quality pirated version.
Vientiane boasts one of the best DVD shops in Southeast Asia, with 10,000 titles of quality European, Asian and US movies. Seng Lao has dozens of books displaying DVD covers: you browse the books, and list your choices on a piece of paper they provide, at 10,000 kip each. The nearby and better-marked Seng Dao DVD shop has inferior service and choice. Mind the possible consequences of importing large amounts of illegally copied DVDs into your country.
Lao Women's Union
Silk and cotton weavings in both traditional and modern designs. A local magazine says "phone before visiting, as there is no permanent staff."
The Beauty of Lao Silk
Traditional Lao silk weavings, hand-woven fabrics, textiles and clothing using natural dyes.
Naturally dyed textiles (mainly cotton) from the south (Savannakhet).
Founded 1990 by an American woman (Carol Cassidy), who now employs some 40 artisans, this firm offers modern cotton weavings using traditional motifs and. Some of their work has been exhibited in international museums, with this reflected in the price. They are not particularly welcoming to visitors, including a locked front door, a bell that needs to be rung to request entry and very prominent "No photography" signs.
They weave handmade textiles of the shop's own design on the premises, and you are welcome to watch. Beautiful wall hangings, not the cheapest in town, but well worth the price. Also on sale are shirts and skirts, scarves, cushion covers and anything made of fabric.
The sales outlet of a not-for-profit organisation that operates in about five hundred villages in Northern Laos, seeking to create income-generating opportunities. Naturally-dyed, handmade Lao silk products.
Sells oils, shampoos, soaps, etc., made by Les Artisans Lao as well as honey and some nice handicrafts. Les Artisans Lao is a social venture allowing disadvantaged, uneducated and often marginalised people to receive apprenticeships.
A Chinese-owned shop, offering good foreign exchange rates. Large one-stop shop for assorted products from stationery to housewares, clothing to luggage. Prices are fixed and reasonable.
Talat Sao
A large collection of indoor stalls selling, well, pretty much anything. There are two floors: the first floor sells mostly textiles, electronics (watch out as nearly all of them are counterfeit), and watches. The second floor has clothing, gold and jewellery. Depending on the product, you should negotiate. Discounts can vary from 10% to 33%.
Has 3 floors and is the first public building in Vientiane with indoor parking. On weekends folks from the countryside come and marvel at the escalators (which one Lao magazine referred to in English as "electricity ladders"), and at the bravery of those who venture onto them. The mall boasts a few cafés and a Thai-style food court. The front side of the market has space for parking. The toilets are not far from the entrance and can be used for a very small fee. Many vendors are Thais so they expect you to pay in baht, despite the signs urging you to pay in kip, and they also expect you to be typical dumb tourists who'll pay any price and still think it's a bargain. Souvenir tee-shirts, three for 200 baht. Brand-name products are often fake.
Local market. Mostly sells clothes and fabric, especially traditional Lao clothes, but there's an array of food and other products too. The entrances can be hard to spot, but when you go in it's huge.
Maybe the shop with the most extensive range of merchandise in the town, and somewhat cheaper than the shops in the centre.
At least five locations in Vientiane. Much like a 7-Eleven. Stop by around 18:00 and there will be a Thai food cart right in front. Has the best pad Thai in town. You can choose from pad Thai, fried baby mussels, fried rice, and mixed seafood platter. 15,000 kip per plate.
An almost a full-grown supermarket. This place will surprise you with the amount of Western stock it carries, but it is expensive, and the owners must make a nice profit on the exchange rate that they apply so it' advisable to pay in kip. A second shop with the same name (the owners are related, the shops are not) is on Samsenthai Rd at the corner of Chantha Kumman Rd. Excellent, European-style bread is usually available (on Setthathirat), though the delivery schedule is a bit erratic.
Outside in front is a small café where they serve some of the best coffee specialties in town (Lao Mountain Coffee), shakes, fruit juices, waffles, doughnuts. Good for people watching on the edge of the Chinese quarter.
By train
Vientiane has two separate train stations, which are 15 km apart and not connected by train. Neither is anywhere near the urban core. If leaving by train, be sure your ride is going to the right one!
By bus
Bus tickets can be bought from various travel agents in Vientiane. Transport by songthaew to designated bus terminal is invariably included in the price.
By boat
Vientiane may be on the mighty Mekong, but it lives more in fear than in love with the river. There are no bridges across it in Vientiane, and there are no docks.
By taxi
Vientiane has a small fleet of genuine taxis retired from Bangkok, usually found lurking at the Friendship Bridge, the airport or in front of large hotels.
By tuk-tuk or jumbo
Tuk-tuks and their bigger cousins, jumbos, are ubiquitous in Vientiane. If chartering a tuk-tuk/jumbo, make sure of the fare in advance.
By bus
Old Japanese buses and white minibuses connect the centre to the suburban districts, but they are not equipped with air-con and have no signage in English, although route numbers are usually posted…
By bike
Bicycles are perhaps the best way to get around the city. Most guesthouses and hotels can arrange bike rental for around 10,000 kip per day.
On foot
The city centre can be quite comfortably covered on foot, at least in the cool season. Pha That Luang, however, is 4 km away from the centre and thus a bit of a hike.
By car
In Laos there are many car rental companies. If you are looking for a Western level of service, try Europcar (Asia Vehicle Rental), on Samsenthai Rd, 5 minutes from Namphu Fountain.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Vientiane · International · VTE
Loading places around the airport…
Articles and travel topics about Vientiane and Laos.
Travel tipsComplete Laos travel budget covering Lao Kip currency dynamics, train fares on the Laos-China Railway, hotel price tiers, food costs, and daily breakdowns.
6 min read
Nature & adventureGuide to the top natural destinations in Laos covering Kuang Si Falls, the limestone peaks of Vang Vieng, Nong Khiaw gorges, and Si Phan Don.
7 min read
Culture & historyExplore Luang Prabang with this comprehensive travel guide covering morning alms etiquette, historic Buddhist temples, sunset cruises, and daily costs.
6 min read
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.