Complete Vientiane in a Day

At approximately 8 am, your guide and driver for the day await you at your hotel. Our first stop will be the Wat Sisaket, the oldest monastery in Vientiane, built in 1818.

Continue to nearby Ho Phra Keo, the former Royal temple, now a Museum of Buddhist art and sculpture. The building housed the Emerald Buddha until it was taken to Bangkok following a skirmish with the Lao in 1778.

A short stop at the nearby Wat Simeuang will show that there are different styles of temples available in Vientiane, each with its characteristics.

After a delicious local lunch at a local restaurant in the capital, we drive further to the That Luang with its golden stupa in the characteristic banana flower shape. This is the most revered shrine in Laos and of course, cannot be missed. Its central structure is 45 meters tall and echoes the curving lines of an elongated lotus bud, the original stupa, said to contain a relic of the Lord Buddha.

This victory gate, also known as Anousavali, was constructed in 1958 and is better known as the Patuxai Gate; its architecture is inspired by the “Arc de Triumph” in Paris and incorporates typical Lao motifs including the Kinnaree, the mythical bird-woman. Energetic visitors can climb the top of the monument and enjoy a panoramic view of Laotian capital.