Evoking traditional Lao and French beaux-arts styles, the former Royal Palace was built in 1904 and was home to King Sisavang Vong (r 1905–59), whose statue stands outside. Within are tasteful, decidedly sober residential quarters, with some rooms preserved much as they were when the king was captured in 1975.
Separate outbuildings display the Floating Buddha collection of meditation photographs and the five-piece Royal Palace Car Collection .
No single treasure in Laos is more historically resonant than the Pha Bang , an 83cm-tall gold-alloy buddha. To find it, walk east along the palace's exterior south terrace and peep in between the bars at the eastern end. In the southeast corner of the palace gardens, Wat Ho Pha Bang was built to house the Pha Bang buddha.
Footwear cannot be worn inside the museum, no photography is permitted and you must leave bags in a locker room to the left-hand side of the main entrance.
