Vientiane was Laos’ capital from 1560 to 1828. The city was completely destroyed in a disastrous war with Siam (Thailand), and the royal family moved the capital back to Luang Prabang. Vientiane lay in ruins until the French rebuilt it as the capital of the French Protectorate in 1899; it has remained the capital ever since, even though the royal family stayed in Luang Prabang from 1828 until the Communists threw them out in 1975.

Since creating this website, I’ve learned that Vientiane stirs up strong feelings.

Some tourists (particularly thrill-seekers) hate it, think it’s boring as hell, and they are angry that they wasted a single precious vacation day there. Some say it has the disadvantages of a loud city without enough culture to compensate.

Other tourists find Vientiane absolutely enchanting — even after 5 or more days there, not doing a great deal, totally chilling out, they don’t want to leave.

I think Vientiane is okay, but there are many better places in Laos to spend your time (including mellow places to chill out). If you will be in Laos for >3 months then absolutely go to Vientiane, otherwise I’d skip it or just spend one day there. After I first wrote that, the hate mail flowed briskly. So I kept asking people who like Vientiane WHY they like it, WHAT a tourist there should do for more than 2 days, and WHICH other places in Laos people should skip to make time for Vientiane. For months, the only answers I got back were “You’re an awful person, go away!”

But finally on 27 November 2023, an eloquent traveller named Elaine Allison on the Travelling in Laos Facebook site wrote the following, and agreed that I could reproduce it here. So, here is one person’s opinion on why Vientiane is wonderful and you should spend time there. I think this is very well written, and worth your time. My own opinion (which is different) follows below Elaine’s.

Elaine Allison on why she loves Vientiane:

I have been to Vientiane many times and find it endlessly fascinating. It's a working city so nothing like the fairy tale that is Luang Prabang, which is why I like it. So here are some ideas for you based on what I have enjoyed:

• First, just walk the waterfront, go past the market area and the bars, and you will find original Laos style homes that appear to be mid-century modern. Fascinating for lovers of architecture.

• The perfect library is worth a visit, another day for me. Nearby, is a Catholic Church, beautiful and rare in Laos but worth a visit.

• Attend the Laos National Museum, I spent a day there.

• There is another great little Musem/art gallery located. in a street off the main road near Patuxay. There are some really great art galleries located around the downtown, not necessarily on the tourist site but worth a visit. Vientiane Museum of Contemporary Arts is great.

• Also just a block off the main road is Carol Cassidy Laos Textiles, absolutely worth a visit to meet an amazing, American woman and see how she empowered her weavers who are working right in front of you.

• Further out there is Buddha Park, easily an entire day's visit.

• Also, another day trip is the Laos Wildlife Sanctuary.

• There are many different and very interesting restaurants; my favourite one features Laos cuisine on a site by the river full of American cars, motorcycles, and iconic American graffiti and art posters. It's a bit out of town but worth a visit especially with a group.

• Also, just outside of downtown is a restaurant located on a fishing lake where they catch the fish for you and cook it at your table.

• My new in-town favourite for western food is Once Upon A Time.

I could go on and on because Vientiane is one of my favourite cities, full of little discoveries off the beaten tourist track. Fabulous restaurants, better croissants than Paris, delicious pastries and the best coffee. It's a great walking city. And if you venture just a little way out of the main tourist area you will find many treasures. I have never been bored in Vientiane. But I like to really explore any place that I visit. It's not a Disneyfied tourist town geared to tourists but the working hub of Laos. It's worth every minute that I have spent there. I look forward to my return.

My opinion about Vientiane

Vientiane is pleasant enough, but it doesn’t have Luang Prabang’s wonderful culture and energy— there’s a reason that Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Vientiane isn’t. And the scenery near Vientiane is not as good as what this stunningly beautiful country offers elsewhere. Life is all about choices — every day that you spend in or near Vientiane is one day less that you can spend on the Gibbon Experience, trekking around Luang Namtha, seeing the stunning karst formations in Nong Khiaw and Vang Vieng and the Thakhek Loop, or enjoying the waterfalls near Luang Prabang and all along the Bolaven Loop. I found all of those places much more fulfilling than Vientiane. The only city in Laos that I find really worth visiting as a destination in itself is Luang Prabang. The rest are logistics hubs, a base for getting into the surrounding countryside.

If your time is short and you’re doing a quick trip to Laos by plane, I would fly into Luang Prabang, not Vientiane.

But if you are spending more than 3 months in Laos (enough time to see everything), or you need to spend 1-2 days in Vientiane for other reasons (e.g. waiting for a flight), then here’s what I recommend seeing:

The best way to see Vientiane is to rent a bicycle. Distances are a little long for walking but perfect for cycling, and the terrain is pretty flat. Motorbiking in Vientiane carries a few crime risks: Here more than in other Lao cities, foreigners sometimes get stopped by the police for small bribes (usually 100,000 kip). And much more seriously, there have been reports of rental companies stealing their customers’ bikes (easy to do, since they have spare keys to the bike and the lock), and then charging the customer a $1,000 fine for loss of the bike. To avoid that risk, rent from well-known, reputable companies and consider bringing your own lock (a regular small padlock) from home.

Book any organised or guided tours locally, after you arrive. The prices on TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide etc. are wildly inflated. You will have no trouble finding experienced, English speaking guides in Vientiane for under $100 per day (prices on the web are often closer to $500). But I don’t think you need a guide at all — just rent a bicycle, bring a guidebook and do it all yourself.

Many people prefer Laos to Vietnam because the Lao people are generally much more relaxed, and less likely to overcharge or otherwise hustle you. But if you’ll get scammed in Laos at all, it will probably be in Vientiane. Even when you’re getting scammed, though, Laos is still cheap. So be on your guard a little, but only a little.

If you go to only one place in Vientiane, visit the COPE Center, a charity providing prosthetic limbs and other essential support for people who need but cannot afford it — particularly for the thousands of Lao maimed by unexploded US cluster bombs. Luang Prabang has an excellent UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) museum, but COPE also provides solutions for the victims: https://copelaos.org/

The MAG Centre documents the story of UXO all over Laos and the killing and maining that continue to happen. It is similar to the UXO museum in Luang Prabang.

Wat Si Saket and Wai Si Muang are the nicest and most historically significant temples in Vientiane, lovingly rebuilt after being destroyed in the 1828 war. Read about the history of both places on Google before you go. And the giant stupa at Pha That Luang (supposedly containing a piece of Buddha's breastbone) is worth a stop.

The Patuxai Monument (which looks like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris) and the presidential palace are both worth a quick look.

The National Museum recently moved to a new location out on the edge of town. So if you go, be sure you go to the right address: KM 5, Avenue Kaysone Phomvihane. I haven’t seen it since it moved here, but most reviews say it is not very interesting.

I’m told the traditional sauna at Wat Sokpalaung is a good place to spend an hour (I haven’t been there myself yet)

If you have a 2nd day to kill, and you want to see more Buddha statues than you can count, go to the Buddha Park at Wat Xieng Khuan on the Mekong river some distance east of town. It’s easy to reach — for 18,000 kip, the 14 bus goes from the Central Bus Station (making frequent stops en route), or get a group together and share a tuk-tuk. If you’ve never travelled in Buddhist countries before, then this may be worth using a precious vacation day. But if you’ve been in Thailand, there are better ways to use that spare day.

Vientiane also has a day market, a night market, many excellent restaurants and other attractions which also exist in Luang Prabang. If time is short, I would see all of those things in Luang Prabang and skip Vientiane.

During the dry season, the best place to eat dinner in Vientiane is on the Mekong by Chou Anouvong Park – food vendors set up in the long stretch of sandy riverbank that is underwater during monsoon. Wear close-toed shoes and long socks, because the sand flies’ bite (while harmless) will itch a lot for several days afterward.

Near Vientiane is the Phou Khao Khouay National Bio-Diversity Conservation Area. As far as I know, the wildlife were hunted to extinction during Covid and there is no longer any reason to go here. But I don’t know that for certain — if you find otherwise, please tell me!