Old street maps of Luang Prabang can give fascinating insights into how the town has changed over time. But street maps from colonial times appear to be very hard to find. To date I have found only three small maps dating from 1887, 1891and 1912. As I find any others I will add to this collection.

Auguste Pavie Map 1887

Auguste Pavie (1847 - 1925) was a French explorer and civil servant who spent ​two decades exploring Cambodia and Laos and was instrumental in displacing the Siamese and making Laos a French colony. He was appointed the first French Vice-Consul to Luang Prabang in 1886 and was present in the town when it was sacked by Chinese "Haw" rebels in 1887. He later published a seven volume account of the three exploration missions that he conducted. 
Key :
Luang Prabang, 1887. Scale 1:10,000. Shaded areas indicate the main inhabited parts.
1. Vat Pak Khan 2. Vat Xieng Thong (See notes) 3. Vat Kedi  (See notes) 4. Vat Si Moun Huen (Sibounheuang) 5. Vat That Noi 6. Vat Sop 7. Vat Sene 8. Vat Phra Ea (See notes) 9. Vat Chomsi 10 Vat Mai 11. Temporary French Houses 12. Vat Visoun (See notes) 13. Vat Aham (See notes) 14. Siamese camp 15. Vat ____ 16. Vat ____ 17. The King's Palace 18. Pak Khan Quarter 19. Xieng Mene indicating at the western end between the two hills the location chosen for building the French consulate.
 This map is taken from Volume 6, Pg32, of the the Pavie Missions. Dated 1887 it is the only map we have showing the town layout prior to the destruction wrought by the Chinese "Haw" rebels. Things of note include;
  1. The key is confused in places. Vat Xieng Thong is located at #3 not #2.
  2. Vat #2 is actually Vat Nong.
  3. Vat Kedi #3 is probably a reference to Vat Khilli but Vat Khilli is not marked on the map.
  4. Vat That Noi (#6) is marked near Vat Sene. This monastery no longer exists.
  5. "Vat Pra Ea" (#8) is presumably  Vat Pa Khe (Now Vat Siphoutthatabat") but seems to be on the wrong side of the road.
  6. The royal palace is marked as being in what is now Ban Xieng Mouane, north-east of it current location
  7. "Temporary French Houses" (#11) near to a river crossing across the Nam Khan. See Pavie's photo here.
  8. Vat Visoun should be #13 and Vat Aham should be #12
  9. The map indicates the large Siamese encampment (#14) during this period when Luang Prabang was a vassal of Siam.
  10. Unidentified Vat (#15) is possibly Vat That Neung. This monastery no longer exists, replaced by French colonial PTT buildings.  
  11. Unidentified Vat (#16) is possibly Vat Phon Xay.
  12. North-east of Vat That Neung (#15) is an intriguing unidentified building clearly demarcated by the square of roads surrounding it.

James McCarthy Map 1891

(1853–1919). This map is an inset to a "Map of Siam and its Dependencies" published by the Siamese government in 1900. It relies on work carried  out by the Irish Surveyor and cartographer James McCarthy who was employed by the Siamese government to map out the border regions of Siam. Between 1881 and 1893 McCarthy travelled extensively through the mountainous jungles of Northern Siam and what is today Laos, taking meticulous triangulations as he went. His travels are documented in his book from 1900 "Surveying and Exploring in Siam" [White Lotus Press, 1994].

McCarthy  visited Luang Prabang twice, first in June 1885 and then from  April to October 1891. This second stay was four years after Chinese "Haw" rebels had sacked the town and he remarks on the many changes since his earlier visit. The details of the above map most likely date from this 1891 visit.

Items of interest on this map include;
  1. The "Chief's Palace" is in Ban Vat Nong rather than where the Royal Palace was built in 1904.
  2. "Wat Pra Bang " is Vat Visoun, at that time housing the Prabang Buddha.
  3.  The French Consulate was newly built across the Mekong river where the car ferry now operates. See Pavie map above. McCarthy describes it as "a large wooden building, painted in red and blue, and a bamboo fence enclosing a large area, in which were several houses."
  4. The map shows the residence of the Siamese Commissioner behind Vat Visoun ("W. Pra Bang"). Compare with Pavie map above. McCarthy describes this area of town as "The Siamese Quarter"
  5. The Post Office standing on the river bank (Mail would have been sent by boat) was a part of the Siamese postal system
  6. Note the black line around the east and southern side of the town indicating the line of the old city wall

Henri Parmentier Map 1912

Dated 1912 this map was drawn by Henri Parmentier (1870 - 1949), who studied archaeology and architecture in Indochina, becoming the head of archaeology for the École française d'Extrême-Orient. 
Drawn about 20 years  after the McCarthy map there are many interesting changes;
  1. Many more roads and alleyways are now marked out - but note the perimeter road following the banks of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers around the peninsular is still not built. That would not come until the 1930's.
  2. The Royal Palace as we see it today is clearly marked ("Palais"). It was built between 1904 to 1909.
  3. The Siamese Commissioners have now gone but instead we see the French Résident-Supérieur's house ("Re's Sup.") located where the Avani Hotel now stands. See photo here.
  4. Further down the road we can see the "Commissariat". This is a precursor to the "Maison de France" which was built in the 1920's and is still standing as the old offices of the Luang Prabang Provincial Government.
  5. In the centre of the of the map we can see the hospital grounds ("Ambulance"). In the 1920's a much more substantial hospital building would be built here, now the Amantaka Hotel.
  6. Along the peninsular Parmentier shows Vat That Noi and Vat Nak. Both now gone.
  7. Parmentier mixes up Vat Meun Na and Vat Meun Sang. The latter temple used to be near Vat Aham but is now gone.
  8. The map shows the original location of Vat Phan Luang. In the 1950's  road building would force Vat Pan Luang to move to its current location some 100m closer to the Nam Khan river.  Meanwhile Vat Phong Ai and Vat Luc May no longer exist, possibly lost to the road building.
  9. At the bottom part of the map he marks a ruin ("Ruine"). This is possibly an old stupa which today is hidden inside the police headquarters in Ban Thatbosot.
  10. The line of the city wall is still marked but certainly by this time it would have been in considerable disrepair.

Louis Finot Map, 1917

Louis Finot (1864-1935) was a French archaeologist who became the first director of the Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) and spent several decades conducting research in Indochina. In 1917 he published "Recherches sur la littérature laotienne" in the Bulletin of EFEO in which can be found this quite detailed map of Luang Prabang town. The title says that it is based on a map prepared by the Public Works Department, showing significant cartographical progress compared with Parmentier's hand drawn map five years earlier. Finot has made his own additions of the city walls and other points of archaeological interest. 
There are many fascinating details to be found in this map.
  1. The first of the school buildings in Ban Vat Nong is now shown.
  2. A "Chinese Pagoda" is shown on the main street about where the Chinese Association building now stands
  3. Within the royal palace the Ho Sanam is marked. This large wooden building was removed in the 1960's to make way for the Ho Prabang
  4. The police station opposite Vat Mai is marked. After serving as the town library for many years it is now a Chinese "crystals" shop.
  5. The famous French colonial club "Cercle Privé" is located across from the Post Office. Now a Chinese restaurant.
  6. A monument to Joseph Vacle who was the French Commissioner to Luang Prabang twice between 1895 and 1899 was located where the Nang Tholanee fountain now stands.
  7. The Prison is indicated towards Vat That Luang. The French colonial government would later build a much grander walled prison in Ban Vat Manorom, which these days is renovated as the Sofitel Hotel.
  8. The site of the the current Sofitel Hotel is marked as being the old location of Vat Mahavan, already gone at the time of this map.
  9. Beyond the city walls on the "Huei Rop" river is the Abattoir. The French colonial era abattoir building still stands here.
  10. A "Glaeciere" or icehouse for storing ice is marked in the south of the city. One marvels that ice was transported successfully to Luang Prabang.
  11. A distillery is marked near the Huei Mao stream in Ban Vat Meunna
  12. As well as showing the position of the city wall Finot also marks the city gates as well as the line of an "Old Palissade. This was presumably a wooden fortification facing the Nam Khan river.
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