Vientiane (Lao: ວຽງຈັນ, Vieng Chan) is the capital of Laos, with stunning temples, vibrant night markets, beautiful French-Indochinese architecture, lively street food stalls, and traditional craft markets.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Not too long ago, Vientiane was often described as sleepy and charming. However, the combination of exploding population — Vientiane has over doubled in size since 2000, reaching some 750,000 people in the 2020 census — and the frenetic Chinese-led investment boom and bust has led to considerable growing pains, with strip malls, traffic jams and abandoned construction sites throughout the city, and the French colonial villas of the old town now stand cheek to jowl with various concrete monstrosities, tied together with spiderwebs of power cables. Nevertheless, the city has retained some charms, like plenty of gold-encrusted temples, a remarkably cosmopolitan dining scene and a pleasant river…
Getting around Vientiane is generally easy, as the traffic is far less murderous than in larger Southeast Asian cities like Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City. Street signs are rather lacking, although in the centre more and more signs are appearing. Where there are signs displaying street names they are bilingual in Lao and French. The Lao word "thanon" on these signs is translated to "road", "rue", "avenue" or "boulevard", in many cases without any apparent logic. When talking about directions or streets with "r" in them, Laotians pronounce "r" as "l" ("plied lice" rather than "fried rice").
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 COPE Visitor Centre (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) (Khou Vieng Rd, 300 m east of Water Park/JoMa Cafe, opposite Green Park Hotel). 09:00-18:00. 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.
1 Champakham Massage & Spa, Rue Francois Ngin (in the center of Vientiane, next to Fuji restaurant), ☏ +856-20-99-11-11-82, cpkspa@gmail.com. 09:00-22:00. 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. (updated Mar 2018) French Cultural Centre (Centre Culturel et de Cooperation Linguistique), Lane Xang Rd.
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. 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.
Vientiane has a few bars and clubs, but there's no shortage of places for a quiet Beerlao. In particular, the Mekong shoreline has long been the epicentre of low-key nightlife, although a massive construction project to build a flood management levee system and a riverside park has seen most of the bamboo-and-thatch beer gardens here disappear. CCC Bar (Supanvong Rd, Ban Haai Sok). 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. Champa. Vietnamese-owned "super" club.
Vientiane is a fairly safe city in terms of crime. However, bag snatching from guests sitting in front of cafes is becoming more common. Bags in the baskets of (rented) bicycles or mopeds, even when moving along, are also far from safe. Do not leave a bag in an accessible position. If your bag is snatched, immediately start shouting: the perpetrators rely on tourists reacting by silently trying to chase them without alerting the numerous police boxes. Probably a bigger hazard than crime is the missing sewer covers on pavements. Additionally, there are many loose pavement stones that will tip if stepped on.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
Top-rated tours and tickets from €11 — book ahead for the popular ones.
Tours and tickets provided by Viator (a Tripadvisor company). Some links earn Stayonomy a commission.
In Jul, Vientiane typically sees ~31°C daytime highs and 26 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-07-27. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy