Boutique hotels
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The Apsara Rive Droite
- Style
- Chic gîte retreat
- Setting
- The right bank
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3 Nagas
- Style
- Classic colonial boutique
- Setting
- Heritage heartland
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Amantaka
- Style
- Contemporary colonial
- Setting
- Under Mount Phousi
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Hôtel de la Paix Luang Prabang
- Style
- Pared down colonial
- Setting
- Quiet residential quarter
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La Résidence Phou Vao
- Style
- Heavenly hideaway
- Setting
- Valley with voluptuous views
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Satri House
- Style
- Right royal residence
- Setting
- An amble from the old town
Luang Prabang Eating, drinking and dancing
Restaurants
(+856 (0)71 254694)
Couleur Café
Nestled near the Mekong River, this French-Laotian café, serving restaurant-worthy cuisine, is meteorically popular with the small expatriate crowd here thanks to innovative yet affordable Lao and European flavours.
48/5 Ban Wat Nong Road
(+856 (0)71 252482)
L'Elephant
Long considered the finest table in town thanks to its sophisticated French cuisine and traditional Lao recipes. French influences include Mekong favourites like frogs legs and snails.
Ban Wat Nong
(+856 (0)20 7770484)
Tamarind
Home to the most authentic Lao food in town. Try the Pun Pa Lao banquet, which includes a whole Mekong catfish to share at just 75,000 kip a person. It's open 11am–6pm except Sundays, later for the Friday night fish feast.
Ban Wat Nong (directly opposite Wat Nong Temple)
(+856 (0)71 254670)
The Apsara
A hip and chic restaurant fronting the Nam Khan River, the decor here is Hong Kong-Laos-London thanks to patron Ivan Scholte’s international wanderings. Superb food, including goat tagine with prunes and panin fish for two stuffed with lemongrass.
Kingkitsarath Road
(+856 (0)71 212726)
View Khaem Khong
Cheap but cheerful, this is one of the most popular places on the Mekong riverside and draws a sizeable local crowd, attesting to the authenticity of the Lao dishes. A suitable stop for a sunset Beer Lao.
5/49 Khaem Khong Road
Bars
Hive
Buzz over to Hive to rediscover your roots and release the old skool backpacker hidden within. A real hive, it offers plenty of nooks and crannies to escape the crowds, an extensive garden and music that hits the spot. Happy hours run from 5pm-9pm and there are regular events.
Phousy Road
Utopia
Straddling the shores of the Nam Khan River, this is a little Utopia for an early evening drink. Mr and Mrs Smith take note, we are not recommending it as a restaurant, but for a horizontal sundowner it’s hard to beat.
Off Phousy Road
Cafés
(+855 (0)71 252292)
Joma
Housed in a grand old colonial building, this is the café you wish you had back home (or at the very least, the prices you wish you had). Sandwiches, salads, wraps and fruity shakes make up the menu, as well as divine (devilish?) cakes.
Chao Fa Ngum Road
(+856 (0)71 252482)
Le Café Ban Wat Sene
A good place for people-watching on the main drag, this is a sophisticated French-style café-bistro. Part of l’Elephant family, it's a top spot for musing over fine Franco-Lao dishes or a teasing selection of pastries and coffees.
Sakkarine Road
