Royal Palace

Luang Prabang’s national museum centers on the former Royal Palace, a Lao-meets-Beaux-Arts-style building constructed for King Sisavang Vong in the early 1900s. After the Communists took power in Laos in 1975, the palace was recast as a museum, and today, visitors can still explore the building and its grounds, which take up a sizable section of Thanon Sisavangvong (the city’s main drag). Look forward to murals depicting Lao life, gilt touches on the walls and ceilings, and a solid gold Prabang Buddha statue, and don’t miss the royal car collection in the garage out back—the American vehicles from the 1950s and ’60s will transport you back in time.