Luang Prabang is akin to several cities that share the same soil.

It is most clearly a religious city, with more than thirty temples, which are home the city's hundreds of monks. The most beautiful of them is undoubtedly Vat Xieng Thong, the former royal temple, emblazoned with a colorful Tree of Life mosaic. To take in the highlights of Lao religious art, also visit Vat Visoun, which features a large oval stupa in the Burmese style, and Vat Mai, which supports a five-tiered roof, and Vat Xieng Mouane, Vat Nong, Vat Sene...

It is also a rustic city, with its houses on pillars, held together with wooden beams and walls of cob, covered by tiled roofs of wood or clay. These homes represent the city's exceptionally well-preserved traditional architecture. The life of every quarter, or village, is organized around the temple, and each possesses a unique and pleasant atmosphere.

It is clearly a colonial city, with its brick houses that tower, and still-standing public buildings, such as the Heritage House that has settled into the former customs building- just one example of the impressive civil architecture of Luang Prabang. The colonial artistry is interwoven with the traditional architecture, creating a very special Lao-Colonial style to which the city owes its classification on the World Heritage Site list.

This colonial period featured the presence of several distinct foreign communities, mainly those of Chinese and Vietnamese traders. The presence of these communities left an architectural footprint on the city, as many houses were built as compartments for which to store goods. The styles of these different communities mix harmoniously in the city's architecture.

Lastly, it is a green city, with its network of subterranean rivers and brooks, fields of watercress, and fishing ponds that offer both ecological and economic wealth. The banks of the Mekong are lined with boats of business, while the banks of the Nam Khan are more cultivated, with sky-scraping coconut palms casting shadows on vegetable gardens bound by hedges.

Luang Prabang has a particular indefinable charm, the fruit of this mixture.

It is these attributes that make the unique city that UNESCO and the Lao State want to restore, protect, and emphasize.

It is all these cities that we suggest you discover, by foot, by cycle, by tuk-tuk, or by boat.