Haw Phra Kaew is a former temple in Vientiane, that now houses the Museum of Lao Art. There is also a small shop. Photography is forbidden inside the museum, but you can take pictures outside. Around the museum there are many very beautiful Buddha statues.

The original Wat Phra Kaew was built in 1565 by King Sethathirat. The temple that you can see now, is the Vientiane-style concrete version that was built in the 1940s. It is located on the Setthathirath Road, just south east of Wat Si Saket.

In the past, the temple has housed the a emerald Buddha for some time, that was taken here from Chiang Mai by King Sethathirat. In that time, Chiang Mai was the capital of Lanna. When Vientiane was conquered by Siam (now Thailand) in 1778, the image was taken to Thonburi. It is now in the Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.

On the Interactive map of Vientiane you can see the location of this museum and other sights.