If you get very lucky you might chance upon a rare cargo boat running to Luang Prabang, three to five days upriver. It would be an amazing trip, but you’ll need patience to arrange it.

Air
Departures from Vientiane are perfectly straightforward. The Domestic Terminal is in the older, white building east of the impressive International Terminal. There is an (often unmanned) information counter in the arrivals hall, and food can be found upstairs in the International Terminal.

Bus
There is a city bus system, but it’s oriented more towards the distant suburbs than the central Chanthabuli district. Most buses leave from Talat Sao bus station; to the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge costs US$0.40.

Car & motorcycle
Small motorbikes are a popular means of getting around Vientiane and can be hired from several places. The cheapest are from outside the Douang Deuane Hotel (Th Nokeo Khumman) where 110cc bikes cost US$5.50 a day, but we can tell you from experience that they’re notoriously unreliable (we took back four in one day!). Much better Japanese bikes are available from PVO (214444; Th Fa Ngum; per day US$7). They also hire the best 250cc bikes, usually Honda Bajas, for US$20 a day, less for longer hire. Recommended.

Taxi
Car taxis of varying shapes, sizes and vintages can often be found stationed in front of the larger hotels or at the airport. Some of these (usually the newer models) are fitted with air-con and meters and wear a ‘Taxi Meter’ sign. The meters, however, are ornamental only – you’ll still have to negotiate the fare, which will be higher than in a naturally cooled jumbo. To call a taxi, try Lavi Taxi Company (350000).

Bicycle
Cycling is a cheap, easy and recommended way of getting around mostly flat Vientiane. Loads of guesthouses and several shops hire out bikes for between US$0.50 and US$2 a day; you won’t need a map to find them.

History
The great Laotian epic, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, claims that Prince Thattaradtha founded the city when he left the legendary Lao kingdom of Muong Inthapatha Maha Nakhone because he was denied the throne in favor of his younger brother. Thattaradtha founded a city called Maha Thani Si Phan Phao on the western banks of the Mekong River; this city was told to have later become today’s Udon Thani, Thailand. One day, a seven-headed Naga told Thattaradtha to start a new city on the eastern bank of the river opposite Maha Thani Si Phan Phao. The prince called this city Chanthabuly Si Sattanakhanahud; which was told to be the predecessor of modern Vientiane.
Contrary to the Phra Lak Phra Lam, most historians believe Vientiane was an early Khmer settlement centered around a Hindu temple, which the Pha That Luang would later replace. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the time when the Lao and Thai people are believed to have entered Southeast Asia from Southern China, the few remaining Khmers in the area were killed, removed, or assimilated into the Lao civilization, which would soon overtake the area.

In 1354, when Fa Ngum founded the kingdom of Lan Xang, Vientiane became an important administrative city, even though it was not made the capital. King Setthathirath officially established it as the capital of Lan Xang in 1560. When Lan Xang fell apart in 1707, it became an independent kingdom. In 1779, it was conquered by the Siamese general Phraya Chakri and made a vassal of Siam.

When King Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it was obliterated by Siamese armies in 1827. It eventually passed to French rule in 1893. It became the capital of the French protectorate of Laos in 1899.
Source: www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/northern-laos/vientiane-province ,
countrystudies.us/laos/45.htm