1 destination · 10 things to do

Laos

Luang Prabang is the slow, gilded heart of Laos: a UNESCO-listed peninsula between the Mekong and the Nam Khan where saffron-robed monks walk the streets at dawn, French colonial villas share lanes with carved temples, and the evening street market glows under red canopies. This guide books it properly. It covers Kuang Si Falls with its turquoise pools and bear rescue centre, the Pak Ou Caves by slow boat up the Mekong, a Mekong sunset cruise, a cooking class and an evening food tour, and it explains the morning alms-giving ceremony so you can watch with respect. It pairs them with the free and cheap classics, Mount Phousi at sunset, the Royal Palace Museum, Wat Xieng Thong and the night market. Then it matches you to a hotel, from the Rosewood retreat and a restored royal mansion to a heritage boutique in the old town and a garden budget stay, because here your base decides whether you wake to the alms round or to birdsong.