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Vientiane
Capital of Laos

Vientiane

Vientiane is the capital and largest city of Laos.

Plan a trip to Vientiane→From Luang Phabang

Comprising the 5 urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture, the city is located on the banks of the Mekong, close to the border with Thailand. Vientiane was the administrative capital during French rule. The city had a population of 840,000 as of the 2023 census. Pha That Luang, an icon of Buddhism, is located in Vientiane. Other Buddhist temples can be found there, such as Haw Phra Kaew, which formerly housed the Emerald Buddha.

See

Worth seeing

Vientiane is best viewed as a comfortable transit point for other places in Laos, or as a recuperative stop on the way out. It's a pleasant enough place, but generally, there is little reason to spend more than a couple of days here.

  1. 01
    COPE Visitor Centre
  2. 02
    Kaysone Phomvihane Museum

    A quiet museum celebrating Laotian war hero and prime minister Kaysone Phomvihane.

  3. 03
    Lao National Museum
  4. 04
    Patuxai

    A local rendition of the Arc de Triomphe.

  5. 05
    President Souphanouvong Memorial

    Kaysone Phomvihane Rd, Ban Phonsa-art,.

  6. 06
    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.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Champakham Massage & Spa

    Rue Francois Ngin (in the center of Vientiane, next to Fuji restaurant), cpkspa@gmail.com.

  2. 02
    Lao National Stadium
  3. 03
    Patuxay Park

    Tour via Vientiane ByCycle, Ban Sithan Neua (Tours start in front of Spirit House Cafe),.

  4. 04
    Hire a bicycle from Lao Bike

    Explore the region with a good quality bicycle.

Eat

Where to eat

Along the river (from opposite the BCEL Bank along the Mekong for approximately 2 km upriver). 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.

  1. 01
    Taj Mahal Restaurant
  2. 02
    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.

  3. 03
    Chokdee Café Restaurant & Belgian Beer Bar
  4. 04
    Dai Japanese

    Setthatirath road, izakayadai@hotmail.com.

  5. 05
    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.

How locals move

Getting around Vientiane the local way

  • Get inAlternatively, you can also take any regular Thai train or bus to Nong Khai, then a tuk-tuk across the Friendship Bridge to Laos.
  • Get inTransport by songthaew to designated bus terminal is invariably included in the price.
  • Get inIt may happen that instead of going to the bus terminal the songthaew will stop at the roadside near the bus terminal and you will wait there until the bus departures and comes to pick you up.
  • Get inAccording to the songthaew driver it's because the bus station is too crowded and it's more comfortable to wait at the roadside.
  • Get inThere are a couple of direct international cheap, comfortable, hassle-free, and popular -so book ahead or arrive early- buses to/from Talat Sao bus station (the timetable changes often): Nong Khai, 4 per day between 7:30 and 18:00 (55 baht) Khon Kaen, 2 per day (185 baht); leaving Khon Kaen Bus Terminal (Prab-argat) at 07:45 (usually delayed till 08:00) and 15:15; the trip takes around 4 hrs Udon Thani, 5 per day between 8:00 and 17:30 (80 baht) From Udon Thani airport, a 200-baht minibus ride can be purchased in the airport.
  • Get inAvoid the tuk-tuk/songthaew drivers insisting it is late, slow, or gone and wanting 50,000 kip to drive you to the border before dumping you there at the mercy of their Thai equivalents on the other side.
  • Get inThe bus arrives to Southern Terminal where you have to bargain hard with tuk-tuks.
  • Get inHowever, between the border and Pakse (Southern Laos) you will be crammed into a minibus or open van, sit on other people's laps, etc., as the vehicle does the rounds of every guesthouse in the region.

From Wikivoyage: Vientiane, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.