Vientiane is a tourist paradise
If you are a first time visitor to Vientiane, there may be some things you need to know, where to eat Lao food, where to see the city's important sights and where to have a party as you would have in your country.
I have questions for myself when I visit another country for the first time. Sourcing out traditional food, paying a visit to landmarks and buying unique gifts for friends and family are my top priorities.
Foreign tourists to Laos who think like me would ask themselves where to relax by dancing Lamvong Lao or buy souvenirs or visit important historical sites in the country.
Vientiane does not have world heritage sites like Luang Prabang and Champassak provinces have in the north and south, but Vientiane has a hidden tourism value with much to offer visitors. Even if your time in Laos is short, you can see many well known city landmarks.
A few minutes' walk from your hotel can take you to famous tourist sites in the city. These are located in central Vientiane and each tourist site is linked together. If you stay at the Donchan Palace hotel a fairly short walk takes you to the night market and Chao Anouvong Park. You can see views of the night market, if you are at the Donchan Palace hotel or nearby hotels and guesthouses. The night market runs from 5pm to 10 pm every evening.
If you would like to visit the Hor Phakeo Museum, the oldest temple Vat Sisaket or the Vientiane City Pillar Shrine, you can walk for a short distance from the hotel to the museum which is close to President's Office. The Hor Phakeo Museum is across from Vat Sisaket temple, which is the oldest temple in Vientiane. It remains a valuable legacy of the country available for local and foreign tourists to visit and see the beauty of Lao culture over hundreds of years. Sisaket temple was built in 1818 but has been renovated since.
If you would like to know more about the background of Vientiane city, you should visit Vientiane City Pillar Shrine. Inside the shrine, you would see city pillar stones and wooden supports.
It takes five minutes to walk from Hor Phakeo Museum to the shrine. The shrine is across from Simeuang temple, one of the more famous temples for visitors. Local and foreign tourists are very interested in visiting this temple especially on the eighth and fifteenth days of the Buddhist calendar.
When you are in Vientiane and you only want to visit temples, you need to do a tour from Vat Inpaeng temple down to Vat Simeuang. There are more than 10 temples on Setthathirath Road. They are old temples but none older than Sisaket temple.
I told you at the beginning that some of the most popular and well known city landmarks are in central Vientiane and most likely within walking distance from your hotel if you're up for a bit of a hike. These include the Patouxay Monument, That Luang stupa and the ancient city walls.
If you don't visit That Luang, Hor Phakeo Museum, Chao Anouvong Park and the National Museum, well, it means you've missed out on some of the places that make Vientiane so special. There are no excuses to skip them when the city centre is so compact.
After flying in, you'll head from Wattay International Airport towards the centre of town on Souphanouvong Avenue, which leads in to Setthathirath Road. Keep an eye out as you approach the fourth set of traffic lights, and you'll see several old temples scattered on either side of the narrow tree-lined street.
Further along, Vat Sisaket sits at the corner of Setthathirath Road and Lane Xang Avenue. Change your angle slightly and the Patouxay Monument will come into view. Many visitors say it resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Certainly, the similarities and their beauty are undeniable.
Behind the monument, you can catch a glimpse of the Grand Stupa, or That Luang. While you can still visit for a closer look, keep in mind the grounds around it are being developed to provide better tourism facilities.
If you're not too tired from shopping or bogged down by a stomach full of Lao food, the best cultural experience you can have is to go for a dance at any one of a number of nightclubs and hotels around the city. Some of the best spots for visitors are Marina, Daokham and Mark 2 on Souphanouvong Avenue, Echo and Mina at Km 3 on Thadeua Road, and Inpaeng on Kamphaenmeuang Road. Have a dance and a drink at any of these clubs and you're bound to wind up meeting some friendly locals, leaving you with a lasting, positive impression of Laos' fascinating capital, Vientiane. Please remember that night clubs open earl y at 7pm and close at 11pm.
~News courtesy of Vientiane Times~
If you are a first time visitor to Vientiane, there may be some things you need to know, where to eat Lao food, where to see the city's important sights and where to have a party as you would have in your country.
I have questions for myself when I visit another country for the first time. Sourcing out traditional food, paying a visit to landmarks and buying unique gifts for friends and family are my top priorities.
Foreign tourists to Laos who think like me would ask themselves where to relax by dancing Lamvong Lao or buy souvenirs or visit important historical sites in the country.
Vientiane does not have world heritage sites like Luang Prabang and Champassak provinces have in the north and south, but Vientiane has a hidden tourism value with much to offer visitors. Even if your time in Laos is short, you can see many well known city landmarks.
A few minutes' walk from your hotel can take you to famous tourist sites in the city. These are located in central Vientiane and each tourist site is linked together. If you stay at the Donchan Palace hotel a fairly short walk takes you to the night market and Chao Anouvong Park. You can see views of the night market, if you are at the Donchan Palace hotel or nearby hotels and guesthouses. The night market runs from 5pm to 10 pm every evening.
If you would like to visit the Hor Phakeo Museum, the oldest temple Vat Sisaket or the Vientiane City Pillar Shrine, you can walk for a short distance from the hotel to the museum which is close to President's Office. The Hor Phakeo Museum is across from Vat Sisaket temple, which is the oldest temple in Vientiane. It remains a valuable legacy of the country available for local and foreign tourists to visit and see the beauty of Lao culture over hundreds of years. Sisaket temple was built in 1818 but has been renovated since.
If you would like to know more about the background of Vientiane city, you should visit Vientiane City Pillar Shrine. Inside the shrine, you would see city pillar stones and wooden supports.
It takes five minutes to walk from Hor Phakeo Museum to the shrine. The shrine is across from Simeuang temple, one of the more famous temples for visitors. Local and foreign tourists are very interested in visiting this temple especially on the eighth and fifteenth days of the Buddhist calendar.
When you are in Vientiane and you only want to visit temples, you need to do a tour from Vat Inpaeng temple down to Vat Simeuang. There are more than 10 temples on Setthathirath Road. They are old temples but none older than Sisaket temple.
I told you at the beginning that some of the most popular and well known city landmarks are in central Vientiane and most likely within walking distance from your hotel if you're up for a bit of a hike. These include the Patouxay Monument, That Luang stupa and the ancient city walls.
If you don't visit That Luang, Hor Phakeo Museum, Chao Anouvong Park and the National Museum, well, it means you've missed out on some of the places that make Vientiane so special. There are no excuses to skip them when the city centre is so compact.
After flying in, you'll head from Wattay International Airport towards the centre of town on Souphanouvong Avenue, which leads in to Setthathirath Road. Keep an eye out as you approach the fourth set of traffic lights, and you'll see several old temples scattered on either side of the narrow tree-lined street.
Further along, Vat Sisaket sits at the corner of Setthathirath Road and Lane Xang Avenue. Change your angle slightly and the Patouxay Monument will come into view. Many visitors say it resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Certainly, the similarities and their beauty are undeniable.
Behind the monument, you can catch a glimpse of the Grand Stupa, or That Luang. While you can still visit for a closer look, keep in mind the grounds around it are being developed to provide better tourism facilities.
If you're not too tired from shopping or bogged down by a stomach full of Lao food, the best cultural experience you can have is to go for a dance at any one of a number of nightclubs and hotels around the city. Some of the best spots for visitors are Marina, Daokham and Mark 2 on Souphanouvong Avenue, Echo and Mina at Km 3 on Thadeua Road, and Inpaeng on Kamphaenmeuang Road. Have a dance and a drink at any of these clubs and you're bound to wind up meeting some friendly locals, leaving you with a lasting, positive impression of Laos' fascinating capital, Vientiane. Please remember that night clubs open earl y at 7pm and close at 11pm.
~News courtesy of Vientiane Times~
