Da Lat

A resort town in the highlands

Da Lat was laid out by French planners as a retreat for the French living in the colony and for wealthy Vietnamese, and the blueprint ran to sanatoriums, golf courses and parks. The Dalat Palace Heritage Hotel opened in 1922, and with its wide views and lofty rooms it still feels like the place colonial officials once brought their families. Drop in for afternoon tea. Dalat Palace Golf Club dates from 1933 and is among the oldest courses in Vietnam. On a walk through town you'll keep coming across Indochine-era villas showing their age. Plenty of hotels and houses follow French styles from around 1900 with local details worked in, and churches, art deco hotels and other colonial-era buildings are scattered around town as well.

Xuan Huong Lake and the morning market

Xuan Huong Lake (Hồ Xuân Hương) is the town's centrepiece, and Da Lat Market (Chợ Đà Lạt), several floors high, sits in the middle of town. From Da Lat, crops that do best at altitude, such as artichokes, avocados and asparagus, are shipped all over Vietnam. On the lower level, fruit and vegetables in every colour are piled high, and on the pavement around the edges people sell flowers, phở and dried goods. Tucked away on the upper floor, mì Quảng is ladled out from morning to night: turmeric-yellow rice noodles with pork, a dish from central Vietnam. The market is best seen early, so walk a lap of the lake first and head in afterwards. The shops around it are full of Da Lat specialities to take home, from preserved fruit and candied ginger to coffee and artichoke tea.

Bánh căn in the morning, bánh mì xíu mại at night

Rather than dishes born here, much of Da Lat's food came with people who moved in from other regions and was adjusted to the highland weather and produce. Most of those newcomers were from central Vietnam, so central dishes lead, though some, like phở, follow the Hanoi style. • Bánh căn — bite-size rice cakes that grew out of Huế's steamed bánh bèo. Da Lat is cooler, so here they're grilled over a charcoal brazier and topped with a quail or duck egg. In the morning, look for them around the Hoa Binh area. • Bánh mì xíu mại — where Ho Chi Minh City's version comes stuffed with cold cuts, this one is a bowl of hot meatball broth with a grilled baguette alongside. Add shredded papaya and herbs, then soak the bread. • Phở — Hanoi-style phở, served the Da Lat way with a plate of herbs and the European lettuce the French brought in during colonial times.

From the station to Trai Mat

Da Lat Railway Station (Ga Đà Lạt), a colonial-era building, no longer connects to Vietnam's north–south line. Instead, take the train out to Trai Mat (Trại Mát), watching the view from the window, and get off to visit Linh Phuoc Pagoda (Chùa Linh Phước), covered top to bottom in mosaic. It's busy with people taking photos, so if you'd like a quiet temple, keep Linh Son Pagoda (Chùa Linh Sơn) in town in mind too. Built on a small hill in 1940, its corridors and courtyard are open to those who come to pray. Also in town is the Crazy House (Biệt thự Hằng Nga). Architect Đặng Việt Nga began building it in February 1990, and it doubles as a guesthouse with 11 rooms.

Coffee on the slopes of Langbiang

The French put the K'Ho, a minority people native to the area, to work looking after their coffee trees. That made the K'Ho, in effect, Vietnam's first coffee growers by the start of the 20th century. Then, sometime in the 1940s, a K'Ho farmer named Brai Co Lieng took Arabica seeds from those French trees and planted them on his family's land. Today, on the slopes of Langbiang Mountain (Núi Langbiang), K'Ho Coffee is run as a cooperative by around 50 K'Ho families. Its garden cafe sits among the coffee trees, and it has offered tours showing how it grows and processes Arabica descended from seeds that reached Da Lat a hundred years ago. For a taste of old Da Lat, head to Cafe Tung (Cà phê Tùng) in town, where a seat in the faded interior takes you back a few decades.

Forests and lakes beyond town

Truc Lam Zen Monastery (Thiền viện Trúc Lâm), up on Phuong Hoang Hill (Đồi Phượng Hoàng), follows the Zen line begun by Trần Nhân Tông, a Tran dynasty king who left the throne to become a monk. Past the flower gardens and halls, find a pine to sit under and Tuyen Lam Lake (Hồ Tuyền Lâm), 350 hectares of water, spreads out below you. For something more active, go canyoning at Datanla waterfall (Thác Datanla), which combines abseiling, climbing, swimming and sliding, or walk up to the summit of Langbiang Mountain. With more days, Bidoup Nui Ba National Park (Vườn quốc gia Bidoup Núi Bà) covers 70,000 hectares, enough for several days of camping and trekking or looking for rare birds.

A 3-night, 4-day itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive at Lien Khuong Airport → check in → walk around Xuan Huong Lake → bánh mì xíu mại for dinner Day 2 — Da Lat Market and mì Quảng early → train from Da Lat Station to Trai Mat → Linh Phuoc Pagoda → Crazy House Day 3 — Coffee farm on the slopes of Langbiang → Truc Lam Zen Monastery and Tuyen Lam Lake → afternoon tea at the Dalat Palace Heritage Hotel Day 4 — Bánh căn breakfast around Hoa Binh → Datanla waterfall or Langbiang Mountain → airport

What to eat

• Bánh căn (charcoal-grilled rice cakes with quail egg)
• Bánh mì xíu mại (bread dipped in meatball broth)
• Mì Quảng (turmeric noodles upstairs at Da Lat Market)
• Arabica coffee (farms on the slopes of Langbiang)

Handy tips

• Da Lat's railway is cut off from the north–south line, so there's no direct train. You'll arrive on a flight from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, or by bus from Nha Trang. Lien Khuong Airport closed on 4 March 2026 for runway repairs and reopened on 19 August, and routes to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang have been running again since that day.
• The airport is about 28 km from town. Buses 1, 2 and 3 run to Da Lat Market, Da Lat Bus Station and Xuan Huong Lake in about an hour for VND 50,000 per person; a taxi or ride-hail takes 30–40 minutes and costs VND 250,000–350,000 per car (reference fares).
• It feels like spring all year, but it gets chilly after sunset. Even if you're pairing Da Lat with a beach town, pack a separate long-sleeved layer.