Laravel is a popular open-source web application framework written in PHP. It is designed to make the development process easier and more efficient by providing a clean and elegant syntax. Laravel follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which helps separate the application logic from the user interface, making it easier to manage and scale applications. One of the key features of Laravel is its built-in tools for tasks such as routing, authentication, and caching. It also includes an expressive ORM called Eloquent, which simplifies database interactions. With a strong community and extensive documentation, Laravel is a preferred choice for many developers building modern web applications.