- Banh can at the night market: tiny rice pancakes with quail egg.
- Kem bo (avocado ice cream): the Da Lat dessert.
- Lau ga la e (chicken hotpot with lime leaves): the highland hotpot.
Da Lat City Guide
Da Lat, the highland city of pines and villas. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Da Lat sits at 1,500 metres on the Langbiang Plateau: pine forests, French villas and flower gardens in air that never gets hot. The French built it as their summer capital; Vietnamese honeymooners inherited it as the city of eternal spring.
Xuan Huong Lake anchors the centre; the art-deco railway station, the flower gardens and the Hang Nga Crazy House fill the days. The night market grills banh can and avocado ice cream. Beyond town, waterfalls (Datanla, Elephant) and coffee plantations dot the plateau.
What to do in Da Lat
The city
- 1
Xuan Huong Lake The crescent lake at the centre: walk it at dawn. - 2
Hang Nga Crazy House The surreal concrete guesthouse: part hotel, part art. - 3
Da Lat Railway Station The 1938 art-deco station; the short tourist train to Trai Mat. - 4
Da Lat Flower Gardens The hillside gardens above the lake.
Around Da Lat
- 1
Datanla Waterfall The closest falls: alpine coaster down, falls at the bottom. - 2
Langbiang Mountain The 2,167-metre peak: jeep rides and views over the plateau. - 3
Truc Lam Zen Monastery and Tuyen Lam Lake The monastery above the pine-ringed lake, by cable car. - 4
Da Lat Night Market Grilled snacks, avocado ice cream and strawberry shopping.
Da Lat Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Da Lat. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Luxury
Dalat Palace Heritage Hotel
The 1922 grand hotel overlooking Xuan Huong Lake.
View on Booking.com
Where to eat
Getting there and around
Lien Khuong Airport (DLI) is 30 km south, 45 minutes by shuttle. Sleeper buses connect Ho Chi Minh City (7-8 hours) and Nha Trang (4 hours). The city is compact; rent a motorbike for the waterfalls.