Luang Prabang was my second stop in a trip that was bookended by Chiang Mai (currently on the T List) and Angkor (one of the most widely regarded WHS sites in the world), and even though it is smaller than the other two, I believe it deservedly belongs to the WHS List. Although some reviews liken the Lanna-style temples in Chiang Mai architecturally similar to those in Luang Prabang, I think there are subtle differences that differentiate the two. Nonetheless I don't think the temples are the main draw for Luang Prabang, unlike that in Chiang Mai, although you can very well cover most of it along Sisavangvong Road in half a day. In fact, forget most of what was written for the OUV of Luang Prabang - I think it is just quite hard to describe Luang Prabang, and the hodgepodge about French-colonial structures blended with the old temples don't really articulate properly the true juxtaposition of clashing things ongoing in LP that gives it its charm. In this vein I don't feel either Chiang Mai nor Angkor has that similar immaterial charm that I believe gives LP its OUV.

What to see

As mentioned, there's really not much to see in terms of architecture in Luang Prabang, instead, a lot of Luang Prabang is seeing things that are transient. Architecturally, the structures in Luang Prabang are not as impressive as the ones in Chiang Mai. Even though there is a French colonial vibe to it, I can't exactly pinpoint a specific interesting French-colonial building one should see, unlike in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. But temple-wise other than Wat Xiengthong (a must-visit), Wat Manoram and Wat That Luang (both at the edge of the inscribed site) are worth a detour if you have time.

The Old Royal Palace is nice but there isn't really much to see within the site. Pay for entrance if you'd just like to snap pictures of it and of Haw Pha Bang (the temple built on the Royal Palace grounds).

Most things to see and things happening will lie along Sisavangvong Road, including the daily night market (go at least once) and the morning market (which happens on a street adjacent to Sisavangvong Road), as well as the major sightseeing sites of Wat Xiengthong and the Old Royal Palace area. The viewpoint across Haw Pha Bang/main entrance to the Old Royal Palace Grounds is a good spot to observe the night market being set up and to take more pictures of the Old Royal Palace Grounds (especially of Haw Pha Bang). People use that path as a way up to Phousi Hills, but I skipped that.

Getting in

There are multiple ways by road (and even river boat!), but the easiest is probably by airplane (largely from Bangkok or Hanoi, or from/to Siem Reap as the Hanoi service sometimes extend to, or one of the Lao Airlines services elsewhere), and thankfully now also by train on the newish Laos-China Railway either from Kunming or Vientiane. Unfortunately it has become harder to visit Luang Prabang these days by air - while Nan noted that there were international services to China, this is now reduced to only Changsha (on Lao Airlines), and the direct service to Singapore has been suspended since the pandemic.

I took the plane from Chiang Mai via Bangkok (although it has to be noted a direct service operates from Chiang Mai on Lao Airlines), and exited to Siem Reap to visit the Angkor WHS site.

Getting around

Honestly the core bit of the inscribed site is walkable, but if you are like me and are staying a bit off the city centre (where it didn't seem too judicious to walk due to the sometimes-lack of street lamps), LOCA is the local ride-hailing app. Grab (the go-to Southeast Asian ride-hailing app) doesn't work here.

Other tips

I figured I add other tips here since Luang Prabang (and by extension, Laos) isn't really a major travel destination - and from what I observed is that the people who end up in Laos tend not to end up in Chiang Mai (people tend to do one or the other) or Angkor (Angkor attracts a different, more well-heeled crowd compared to LP), unless of course covering WHS (and the T List) is your thing. Having done all three in one go here are some of my suggestions:

I suggest one carry a bit of Laotian kip with you (however, as the currency can only be exchanged within the country, don't change too much), or Thai baht. You have to change money at a money-changer, and from memory they accept most major currencies, but also almost all ASEAN currencies too. Unlike in Cambodia I find US dollars not a great idea even though it can be technically accepted in lieu of kip - for example, the person selling tickets to the Old Royal Palace eyed my 20-dollar bill quite intensely and didn't want to accept my 4 one-dollar bills to the point I felt a bit weirded out by the interaction and got some kip exchanged nearby instead. If you use the LOCA ride-hailing app they do a thing called LOCA Pay which works seamlessly with the local Lao QR payment system, which helped me minimise the amount of Laotian kip I need to change/hard cash I carried on the trip.

If you are coming from Chiang Mai, be prepared for Luang Prabang to feel a lot more humid. That caught me off guard considering how cool and pleasant Chiang Mai's weather felt. However, the humidity was not as bad as Angkor.