Originally built at the very beginning of the twentieth century as the Royal Palace, this French Beaux Arts building now provides a snapshot of the days of the monarchy, though the monarchy no longer exists, since the communist revolution in 1975. 

The museum contains many treasures from the Khmer empire through to the Lane Xang Kingdom but it is most famous for the golden Prabang (also spelled Phra Bang). This 83cm tall Buddha statue was given to the Lao kingdom in the fourteenth century to help spread the teachings of Theravada Buddhism. Some controversy surrounds the statue as it is claimed that the statue was cast in the 1st century BC, yet scholars dispute this. It is also held to be the original statue while historians have attempted to demonstrate that it is only a copy, lacking some of the features of the original. A separate shrine has recently been built in the grounds of the museum to house this most revered of Lao holy relics.