Coordinates: 11 56 N 108 25 E
Population: 122,400 (2000 est.)
People have long been singing the praises of The City of Light, but for those lacking the ways or means to easily reach the famously beautiful stretch of the Seine, I’d like to pose an alternative: Little Paris. Better known as Da Lat (or Dalat), this city in Vietnam’s south-central Highlands took shape in the early twentieth century and remains one of the most Gallic-appearing urban areas in the country. Surrounded by evergreen forests and dotted with French mansions and hilltop villas, Da Lat boasts cable cars and a red and white Eiffel Tower replica too. Its temperate climate, scenic central lake, along with nearby waterfalls helped to protect it from the devastation wreaked by the Vietnam war, and continue to make it a favorite destination for vacationers and honeymooners today.
Ben Keene is the editor of Oxford Atlas of the World. Check out some of his previous places of the week.
Comments
Christopher Rose said :
Jun 27, 2007
I spent quite a lot of time in Da Lat during my stay in Vietnam in the sixties and seventies. A complete change from Saigon and no American presence. A curfew every evening at eight o’clock and sometimes very dodgy driving to get there. One needed friends for the evenings and walking anywhere outside town was scary.
Regards
Alan Moote said :
Nov 25, 2007
I spent a year (1970) at Firebase Colgan, B/2/17, overlooking Dalat. Dalat was a beautiful place and I feel very fortunate to have been stationed there. We were able to go into the town during the day and go to the shops and restaurants. Some of my friends and I would visit the children at the Catholic orpanage. I think it was called Le Domaigne Ste Marie or something close to that.
Lyn Hartman said :
Jan 30, 2009
I was in Dalat 11/69-11/70 with Provisional Artillery Group (FB Colgan B2/17 HQ also). Lovely city, home to the presidential summer palace and VNMA.
Floyd Parks said :
Apr 21, 2009
Lyn, I was also at Prov Arty Gp in 1970. Matter of fact, I took your job when you left. Tholen, Zabrowski, Webber were still there.
Do you remember any of the other names of our co-workers? Austin & Sample worked downstairs in the Communications section.
Lyn, do you remember the name of the French restaurant that the officers (me too) liked so much.
Dalat is a beautiful city setting.