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190 miles (or 310 kilometers) and a 6 hour drive north of Saigon you’ll locate the beautiful mountain community of Dalat, earlier the home of the Lat Montagnards (known today as “minority people”) tribe after whom the place was named. A French physician, Alexander Yersin, was probably the first Westerner to settle in the region for 1898 and the city, at 1475 meters, was first started in 1912 as a comfortable resort for the French colonials, hoping to get away from the stifling temperature as well as the humidity of Saigon and do a bit of hunting. Here they found tigers, gaurs (wild oxen) and elephants indigenous to the territory. The original French mountain retreat offered an enjoyable and a moderate climate, stunning panorama of hills, waterfalls, lakes as well as evergreen forests.
Dalat is renowned through-out Vietnam and other countries for its flowers, juicy strawberries and aromatic coffee. These days it is a favorite with ex-expatriates as well as foreign travelers for its golf courses and as a retreat for aspiring authors and artists, as well as a popular and relaxing get-away for Vietnamese families and holidaymakers.
Dalat’s French inspired buildings, including an mini-Eiffel-Tower radio station, gives Dalat its label of ‘Petite Paris’.
Dalat has nearly 3000 villas scattered through-out the scenic mountains around the city.. A lot of of them are replicas of early 20th century French architecture with some displaying details of the added popular art deco styling. The neighborhood in the vicinity of Tran Hung Dao, the street that runs down the ridge-line and provides panoramic vistas, is frequently called “the French Quarter”. A number of these splendid colonial summer homes have deteriorated do to poor maintenance, a faded as well as eerie memorial to colonial history. Further down this street as it merges with Tran Phu Blvd, there a number of renovated villas that display the elegance of French Colonial times.
Included are the Five Star Sofitel Dalat Palace Hotel and the Novotel, its counterpart across the street each of which has an art deco facade. The Dalat Palace, constructed in 1922, is part of a 12 acre park (5 hectares), and at first called the Langbian Palace, has been refurbished to its original beauty. This hotel boasts chandeliers in the 43 guest rooms, the bathrooms feature brass fittings and claw-foot tubs, and reproductions of European masters throughout the broad hallways. Le Rabelais Restaurant, featuring French cuisine, has a superb view of Xuan Huong Lake. Beyond the Sofitel gate is one of the first villas constructed for Dalat’s original French Governor-General. Among the hotels historic feature is the golf course club house, built by the Bao Dai in the 1930s.
Erected in 1932 as an annex to the Dalat Palace Hotel – The Novotel boasts vintage casement glass windows, tall ceilings, light fixtures of the period and a classic cage-style elevator of decorative wrought-iron. In between the 2 landmarks is the Cafe de la Poste, an original French-style department store, transformed into a 1950s French bistro on the ground level with a Vietnamese restaurant above. You can’t go wrong enjoying breakfast, lunch, or dinner – at your leisure.
On the other side of the Novotel is the magnificent European-inspired Dalat Cathedral boasting its 47-meter-tall bell tower and 70 French-crafted windows of stained-glass. This present-day church was built between 1931 and 1942 and is nick-named Hha Tho Con Ga because of the bronze rooster (con ga) weather-vane on top of the belfry.
Close-by is the Dalat Railway Station , a reminder of the small rail stations in French towns in the early 20th century. A cog railway was built from Dalat to Thap Cham in 1928, and it was in service until 1964 when it was closed. Even though regular rail service no longer exists, a three mile (5 KM) excursion for travelers is available pulled by an “ancient” Russian-built steam locomotive.
Dalat can get a bit chilly in the winter, giving it a French Alp atmosphere that highlights the neighboring pine forests, historic French architecture and wandering lanes. The winter clothing of the locals includes the occasional long woolen trench coat and Russian bear-fur hat.
Whether you travel to Vietnam in the cooler months or the sweltering heat of the summer, be sure to include Dalat on your itinerary.
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