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Ho Phra Keo, commonly known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is the former royal temple of the Lao monarchy. It has since been turned into a museum and is no longer used as a place of worship.

King Setthathirat built it in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha (indeed, the name Ho Phra Keo means Image of the Jewel Buddha) which he brought with him to Laos after his father, King Phothisarat died, and Setthathirat moved the capital from Lanna (in present day Chiangmai) to Vientiane.

The Emerald Buddha is actually made of jade. The original Emerald Buddha is no longer in this temple. It was taken by General Chakri (the future King Rama I) of Siam when he ransacked Vientiane in 1779 (cross reference Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok). During that invasion, Ho Phra Keo was damaged, but was rebuilt by the Siamese - only to be destroyed by them again during the next Siamese invasion, of 1828.

Ho Phra Keo was rebuilt between 1936 and 1942 in a Bangkok-rococo style, under the supervision of Prince Souvanna Phouma, a Paris-educated engineer and future prime minister of independent Laos. On its veranda are some of the most exquisite examples of Buddhist sculptures in Laos.