Things to do in Vientiane

Landmark · That Luang, northeast Vientiane

The gilded national stupa, on the flag and on the money — Laos's most important religious monument and its central symbol.

Local tip: Come at the end of the afternoon when the gold catches the low sun, and walk the surrounding temple compounds, which almost everyone skips.

Culture · Near the National Rehabilitation Centre, Khouvieng Road

A small, unflinching museum about unexploded ordnance and the prosthetics programme that treats its survivors.

Local tip: Free, an hour, and the most important thing in Vientiane. Go in your first fortnight — it explains more about the country than any temple will.

Food · Chanthabouly

The city's big working morning market — produce, fish, herbs, textiles and the food stalls the neighbourhood actually eats at.

Local tip: Go before 9am. It is a fraction of supermarket prices, and the khao piak sen noodle stalls at the edges are the best cheap breakfast in town.

Nature · Along the Mekong, central Vientiane

A long riverside promenade with an evening night market, outdoor aerobics classes and Thailand visible on the far bank.

Local tip: The free open-air aerobics sessions at dusk are a genuine Vientiane institution and nobody minds you joining in badly.

Neighborhood · Central Vientiane, around the fountain

The colonial-era core of shuttered villas, bakeries and small bars around the Nam Phou fountain — where most of the city's expatriate social life happens.

Local tip: Everything worth walking to in Vientiane is within fifteen minutes of here, which is the whole argument for paying central rents.

Culture · Sisattanak, south of the centre

A forest temple in a wooded compound offering traditional herbal steam saunas and open meditation sessions.

Local tip: The herbal sauna runs most afternoons for a couple of dollars, with tea and a massage afterwards. Locals go weekly; almost no visitor ever finds it.