The Garden City
Da Lat is a French hill station that Vietnam made entirely its own. Walk from the last emperor's summer villa, through the downtown market and around the manufactured lake at its heart, out to the flower gardens that gave the City of Flowers its name.
4.49|210 minutes|10.5 km|6 Stops
Start
Bao Dai Summer Palace: the Third Palace
1
Bao Dai Summer Palace: the Third Palace
The pine-set summer villa of the last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, and the colonial choice the town inherited.
2
Da Lat Market: the town's own downtown
A modernist concrete market designed and built by Vietnamese hands at the end of the nineteen fifties, still the busy center of the city.
3
Cau Ong Dao: the dam-bridge that makes the lake
The stone dam at the southern end of the lake, the piece of colonial engineering that shaped the whole town.
4
Xuan Huong Lake: the crescent at the heart
The artificial crescent lake at the center of Da Lat, and the sensory heart of the walk.
5
Lam Vien Square: flowers built as architecture
A twenty-first-century civic square with two glass buildings shaped like an artichoke bud and a wild sunflower, the living present of the garden city.
6
Da Lat Flower Gardens: what the garden became
Terraced beds of roses, orchids, and hydrangeas on the far shore, the closing stop and the emotional payoff of the City of Flowers.
Best Time to Visit
Morning is the best time to start, when mist sits on the lake and the light is soft before the afternoon heat and showers. Da Lat stays cool all year, so any season works, but the dry months from November through March are the most reliable. If you want the hills washed yellow with wild sunflowers, come toward the end of the rainy season, around October and November.
Pro Tips
- •Start early. The lake wears its best light and mist in the morning, and the long uphill and downhill legs are easier before the afternoon heat and showers arrive.
- •The two long legs, villa to market and square to gardens, are the walk's spread-out transects. If the altitude or the hills are tiring you, a short taxi or motorbike-taxi ride between them is easy to find and keeps the walk enjoyable.
- •Bring small cash. The palace and the flower gardens each charge a small entry ticket, and the market runs on cash.
- •Pack a light jacket and something waterproof. Da Lat stays cool all year and rain can arrive without much warning, then clear just as fast.
- •Save the market for when you are hungry. Its produce and food stalls are best when you can graze, and the surrounding streets come alive after dark.
- •Wear real walking shoes. Pavements are uneven and the town is genuinely hilly.
Safety & Precautions
- Da Lat sits at altitude and is steeply hilly, so pace yourself on the climbs and stay hydrated. The thin, cool air tires people faster than they expect.
- Weather turns quickly. Bright sun can give way to a cold shower within the hour, and the evenings drop cooler after dark, so carry a layer.
- Pavements, steps, and lakeside paths are often uneven and can be slick after rain. Watch your footing, especially on the market staircases and along the dam-bridge road.
- The palace and any churches or pagodas you pass are places of respect. Dress modestly, keep your voice down indoors, and follow posted photo rules.
Gallery
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