Vientiane

Ban Lao Beer Garden

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).

Black Stupa

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.

Book Cafe

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.

Buddha Park

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).

COPE Visitor Centre

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.

Closed · opens 9 am·Free

Champakham Massage & Spa

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.

Closed · opens 9 am

Chokdee Café Restaurant & Belgian Beer Bar

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.

Closed · opens 10 am

Dai Japanese restaurant

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.

Mon-Sat 11:00-14:00 & 17:00-22:30; Sun 17:00-22:30

Highland Bar

Nice drinking hole and sports bar by the river, good spot for viewing sunsets.

Hire a bicycle from Lao Bike

Explore the region with a good quality bicycle. Rent by the day or longer. This shop also sells and repairs bicycles.

US$2-6 per day

Home Ideal

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.

Hophakaew Museum

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.

10,000 kip

Kaysone Phomvihane Museum

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.

Tue-Sun 08:00-12:00, 13:00-16:00·5,000 kip

Khop Chai Deu

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.

Khua Din Market

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.

Kong View Bar and Restaurant

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.

Kualao

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.

11:00-14:00 and 18:00-22:00 daily·Expensive by Lao standards with main dishes from US$6-12 and set meals at US$15

Lao National Museum

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.

30,000 Kip for foreigners, 5,000 Kip for Lao nationals

Lao Textile Museum

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.

09:00-16:00 daily·30,000 kip

Marina

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.

Moon the Night Restaurant

A very pleasant spot to eat excellent Lao food. A large place, an extensive menu, competent and friendly service. Background music not too loud.

A meal of 6 to 8 dishes for 4 people costs US$15-20 including drinks

Morning Market

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%.

Closed · opens 9 am

National Ethnic Cultural Park

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.

Osaka

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.

Closed · opens 8 am

Papillon

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.

Closed · opens 11:30 am

Patuxai

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.

Closed · opens 8 am·3,000 kip (to climb)

Pha That Luang

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.

Daily 08:00-17:00·10,000 kip

Presidential Palace

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.

Privet

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.

11:00-21:00, closed on Mondays

Samlo Pub

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.