Known as "Le Petit Paris" by the early builders and residents of this hillside resort town, Dalat is still a luxury retreat for city dwellers and tourists tired out from trudging along sultry coastal Vietnam. In Dalat you can play golf on one of the finest courses in Indochina, visit beautiful temples, and enjoy the town's honeymoon atmosphere with delightfully hokey tourist sights.

At 1,500m (4,900 ft.), Dalat is mercifully cool year-round and there's no need for air-conditioning. The town is a unique blend of pastoral hillside Vietnam and European alpine resort. Alexander Yersin, the Swiss geologist who first traipsed across this pass, established the town in 1897 as a resort for French commanders weary of the Vietnamese tropics. In and around town are still scattered the relics of colonial mansions, as well as some serene pagodas in a lovely natural setting; you've escaped from big-city Vietnam for real. A few ethnic minorities, including the Lat and the Koho, live in and around the picturesque hills surrounding Dalat, and you can visit a number of rural villages on local tours.

Dalat is a top resort destination for Vietnamese couples getting married or honeymooning. If the lunar astrological signs are particularly good, it's not unusual to see 10 or so wedding parties in a single day. Many of the local scenic spots, like the Valley of Love and Lake of Sighs, pander to the giddy couples. There are also some picturesque temples and hillsides lined with the crumbling weekend homes of French colonials. Emperor Bao Dai, the last in Vietnam, had three large homes here, one of which is now the Sofitel Hotel; the other two can be visited on tours.

Bao Dai Summer Palace

Set atop the ridge overlooking Dalat, this residence is one of the more bizarre building you can visit. The building is best described as complete art deco, designed perhaps to be in Paris rather than Dalat...more

Lang Biang Mountain

Lang Bian Mountains is located in Lac Duong District, Lam Dong Province; 12km north of center Dalat. Lang Bian Mountains are an ideal place for mountain climbing, paragliding, trekking or studying flora and rare bird species...more

Minh Tam Flower Garden

From the town center, follow the road people once used to get to Prenn from Da Lat for three kilometers. You'll see it before you reach Thien Virong Co Sat Chinese Pagoda...more

Truc Lam Buddhist Temple

Truc Lam Buddhist Pagoda is located on Phuong Hoang Mountain, by Tuyen Lam Lake in Ward 3, Dalat City, Lam Dong Province. Truc Lam Buddhist Pagoda is located amidst beautiful natural scenery. This is the biggest pagoda in Dalat City...more

Ngoan Muc Pass

Known to the French as Bellevue Pass, Ngoan Muc Pass (altitude 980m) is about 5km towards Phan Rang and Thap Cham from Dan Nhim Lake and 64km west of Phan Rang...more

Valley of Love

About 5 km from Dalat's centre to the North, the Valley of Love is ringed by hilly slopes covered with pines. Under King Bao Dai, the valley was called Hoa Binh (Peace). In 1972, Da Thien Lake was crated in the valley and thanks to this enhancement, has attracted countless visitors and, of course, lovers...more

Dam Ri Waterfall

To get there, follow National Road No. 20 from Da Lat. The waterfall is 18 kilometers west of Bao Loc Town. This majestic waterfall, 90 meters tall, is an important waterfall in Da Lat and Lam Dong, especially on tours departing from Ho Chi Minh City, provinces in the Mekong Delta and Binh Thuan Province...more

Xuan Huong Lake

In 1919, French civil engineer Labbe had a small lake dug in a small valley where there is a spring and a dam built from Thuy Ta to former Huong Dao (Scout) House, a meeting place of the local scouts before 1975. In 1923, the lake was expanded with a second dam below and was named strong hurricane broke both dams...more