Vientiane

The capital and largest city of Laos, Vientiane sits on a bend of the Mekong River facing northeastern Thailand and has a lower-key, more walkable character than most Southeast Asian capitals. The Pha That Luang, a gilded stupa considered the national symbol of Laos, was originally built in the third century BCE and substantially reconstructed in the sixteenth century and again after French archaeological restoration. The Patuxai monument, a concrete victory arch built in the 1960s with American-donated cement originally intended for a new airport runway, offers views over the city's boulevard.