"Lane Xuang's capital" Luang Prabang by mke1963

Luang Phabang is the spiritual and cultural capital of Laos, although the inhabitants of Vientiane and Pakse may well dispute this.
However, it is Luang Phabang that is the UNESCO World Heritage City, and this old lady of the Mekong attracts the foreign visitors more than other Lao cities.
Lying at the confouence of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers, the city (City? It is really a large town) rests on a long narrow ridge between the two big rivers. It's narrow streets and alleys are being carefully renovated using traditional building materials, and most buildings more than 50 years old have either been restored or are being restored.
While there are more than thirty Buddhist temples and several museums and monuments, Luang Phabang is an "ambience" destination where you can relax just walking, doing a bit of shopping, talking to the local people, and walking around the hills, parks and fields. It has the style, class and atmosphere that so many small Chinese heritage towns (Suzhou and Lijiang spring to mind) would like to have, but have absolutely no idea how to do it.

With increasing direct flights to cities like Bankok, Chiang Mai and Jinghong, as well as Vientiane, tourism in Luang Phabang is set to grow exponentially, and with it the prices of everything in town.

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A week in Luang Phabang doesn't seem long enough, but as with many truly great locations (Firenze, Nanjing, Madeira, Lisbon, Antananarivo, Kandy, etc), the longer you stay, the less you seem to know the place.

• Pros:Elegance, tranquility, charm
• Cons:Getting busier
• In a nutshell:Just beautiful