Best Things to do in Luang Prabang, Laos Travel and Top Attractions Guide

Here is a list of 10 things to do in Luang Prabang, Laos including all of the best travel and top attractions in the city:

1) Explore the countryside
2) Ride a bicycle around the city
3) Wander the streets
4) Enjoy riverside dining
5) Visit a Buddhist Temple
6) Climb up Phou Si hill for the best views of Luang Prabang
7) Eat local Lao cuisine
8) Visit Luang Prabang night market
9) Join in a Buddhist Alms ceremony
10) Take a Lao cooking class

We have made it to Luang Prabang and this city has quickly become one of my favorites here in Southeast Asia. This is the cultural hub of Laos and we're going to show you a few of the things you can do around town.

When you're visiting Luang Prabang, it is really easy to stick to the city center. There is so much to do and see there but if you have the time come outside and explore the outskirts of the city. Right now we're going across a bamboo bridge and we're going to see what is on the other side. Lead the way.

Because this is a very small city it is really easy to find yourself in the countryside. That's exactly what we've been doing just wandering down rural areas and we even found a dog to join us for the walk.

Now we are up bright and early for a biking tour around the city. We picked up these bikes for 20,000 Kip, which is $2.50 USD and we have them for the day, so we're going to be cycling around. Let's see what we find.

Luang Prabang is very pedestrian friendly. In fact, there are so many different little back-alleys and lanes to explore that it is just a great idea to wander about without any sense of direction.

There are some fantastic views in this city so one of our recommendations is to enjoy a meal by the river, which is what we're doing tonight.

Another thing you'll want to do when you're in Luang Prabang is to visit all of the temples around the city. This morning we're visiting Wat Xieng Thong and it is one of the main temples in Luang Prabang. It is also known as the Golden City Temple and it really has some impressive glass mosaics. You'll want to wander around and take some photos.

It is 20,000 Kip to enter which is $2.50 USD and like most places it is good to come early because it starts to get busy during the middle of the day.

Now it is time for us to get a little bit of exercise. We're going to climb up 328 steps up Mount Phou si which is more like a hill for the best views of Luang Prabang.

Admission to reach the top of this mountain is 20,000 Kip which is again is $2.50 USD. It is kind of cool going up because you go up one way and then you come down the other side of the mountain so you get to see different views along the way.

How could we have a list of things to do in a city without focusing on the local cuisine. We're here at our favorite restaurant Tamarind. We've been here so often it's literally our home away from home and we're going to show you a few of our favorite dishes.

This is the dipping platter. This over here is a coriander pickle. Next we have an eggplant dip. A tomato dip. We have paste made from buffalo skin. We have some seaweed chips and then some vegetables that we can use with the sauce. Let's dig in. That all goes together, of course, with our sticky rice.

I'm going to unveil our steamed fish, which comes wrapped in banana leaf. It is called Mok Pa.

And when the sun goes down it is time to go shopping. We're at the tourist night market and we're picking up souvenirs.

If there is one thing that Luang Prabang is known for is for its Almsgiving which happens every morning at six AM.

This is where monks collect alms of rice from kneeling locals and tourists.

If you love to eat like we do then you can't leave Luang Prabang without taking a cooking class. Today we're at the Phou si market and we're picking up ingredients before we start preparing our food.

Not much sugar in Lao cooking like in Thai food. When you taste Thai food you taste milky and creamy and sweet things because they add lots of coconut milk and lots of sugar. That is why their food tastes like that. Laos food is different. Lao food tastes lots of herbs and lots of texture. This is Lao food.

I'd like to point out that Sam and I are making the exact same dish. This is his sauce and this is mine. What are you missing? Just about everything.

Here we have our buffalo salad. We stir friend some buffalo meat and we also added beansprouts and there is banana flowers. We have string beans, hot chilies and mint leaves. We're going to be rolling this up in lettuce leaves. It is kind of like a little fresh roll:

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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).