I walked across the Old French Bridge in Luang Prabang in Laos after dining on a meal at Khua Kao, which is an open-air restaurant that is located on the western bank of the Nam Khan River adjacent to the southwestern entrance to the structure.
Old French Bridge Luang Prabang Laos
The photograph of this view of the Old French Bridge was taken from near our table at Khua Kao.
The southwestern entrance to the Old French Bridge is literally just outside of Khua Kao. The purpose of the post in the center of the entrance with the signs on each side of the bridge is to keep heavy motor vehicle traffic off of the bridge, as it is only open to pedestrians, bicycles, motor scooters, and motorbikes.
I crossed the street — which in and of itself was no easy task with the busy traffic of motor scooters and motorbikes — and started walking on the rusty narrow metal walkway on the southern side of the bridge.
Almost immediately, I was treated to scenic views of the winding Nam Khan River, which is a tributary of the Mekong River.
The bridge was built approximately 100 years ago by the colonial government of France as part of its investment in the infrastructure of Laos to attempt to improve the flow of trade between the largely inaccessible interior of the country and the more developed French colony in neighboring Vietnam.
Just before I reached the other side of the bridge, I felt a wavering of the walkway — as though nothing was supporting the thin metal that “replaced” the rotting wooden planks over the years. That was the only time I felt a split second of nervousness about the integrity of the structure, which was supposedly poorly built and constructed cheaply.
I crossed the street and ventured out onto the walkway on the northern side of Old French Bridge. One cannot mistake the rumbling clunkety-clunk sound of motor scooters and motorbikes that use the continuous wooden planks — which are supported underneath by wooden boards — to cross the bridge.
Laotian characters adorn the northern side of the bridge. I believe that at least part of the words were ຫຼວງພະບາງ, which is Laotian for Luang Prabang.
The views were nice on the northern side of the bridge…
…but not as nice as the views on the southern side of the bridge.
Final Boarding Call
The Old French Bridge is located on the southwestern end of Phetsarat Road. Definitely plan on visiting — and crossing — this bridge if you find yourself in Luang Prabang in Laos.
Old French Bridge
Nam Khan River
1 Old Bridge, Ban Muang Nga
Luang Prabang 6000
Laos
No toll or admission is charged to cross the Old French Bridge, which is open 24 hours per day and never closes.
All photographs ©2026 by Brian Cohen.
