The beginning of an ideal walking tour of Luang Prabang (LPQ) is the former Royal Palace on Th. Sisavangvong. Directly across the street is the hill called Phou Si, although you might want to save Phou Si for the evening when the sun sets.

The Royal Palace is worth a visit just to see the Key to Knoxville, Tennessee, among the more random items in the Palace.

The Royal Palace (lower center) was built along the Mekong River to allow the royal family to greet visitors coming by boat. Despite having only 16,000 residents even at present, Luang Prabang was the capital of the first Lao kingdom called Lan Xang, established here in 1353. The Luang Prabang monarchy was finally abolished in 1975 by the communists, who locked the royal family in a cave where they perished. The royals supposedly "offered" the palace to the commies, who converted it into a museum.

The Palace, built in 1904, presents an interesting blend of traditional Lao and French Beaux Arts, like so much of Luang Prabang. On one hand, the steps are Italian marble, yet there are also interesting mosaics of Lao life and a series of paintings telling a folk story. The treasured 2' 9" tall tall Pha Bang Buddha, which is said to date from the first century (but likely doesn't), also resides in the Palace. The Buddha was twice stolen by the Siamese, but it was restored to Luang Prabang in 1867 by Rama IV, possibly with the help of the Prussian consulate in Siam (or maybe not)

Note: A fellow from Minnesota writes:

The cars in the Royal garage are all gifts of US Presidents to the King. One was specially built and one of a kind. Another has only 630 actual miles. The cars are in the garages seen just to the right of the Palace. The 1st door houses a 1970 Mark III, gift of President Nixon. The 2nd door holds the '58 Continental Limo given by President Eisenhower. Also in the garages are a '58 Edsel, a Mercedes and a Johnson powered runabout. These car haven't moved or been seen for 26 years. If you hear of someone going back, tell them to take pictures.

Here is a royal palace ticket showing one of the autos. If you do have pictures, please send them to me. Thanks.

To the Northeast of Phou Si is a temple complex called Wat PHA Phutthabaht. The wat includes a sim (central hall, shown below) and a pavilion (at left). The original building was constructed in 1395. The sim is in Vientiane style. Interestingly, the four columns are all of equal height.

Inside the sim is typically a variety of religious artifacts, but most prominent is an altar which holds a Bhudda whose size might range from a few feet tall to almost as tall as the sim itself.