|
Dalat, nestled amongst the green, rolling hills of central-southern Vietnam was originally opened up thanks to the French physician Dr Alexandre Yersin, who promoted the town's charms and recommended the mountain air to French colonials. The city's temperatures hover between 15ºC to 25ºC, offering a cool respite from the baking plains below and the Mekong delta to the south. It for this and the beautiful greenery so reminiscent of Europe that the city has become known as the "City if Eternal Spring".
Dalat is also the honeymoon capital of Vietnam, with thousands of couples travelling to city each year. This is not surprising as the entire area has a romantic flavour, especially the graceful architecture of the older hotels, the Sofitel Dalat Palace and the Novotel, both colonial classics exuding character and charm. The city boasts the full range of hotels for all travellers, from humble guest house to the super-luxury Dalat Palace. Dalat's other claim to fame is that the city was the site of Vietnam's first golf course, built by emperor Bao Dai in the 1930s. Dalat Palace Golf Club has since been redesigned and restored, and features Asia's only bent-grass tees and fairways. The course earns consistently high marks from golf magazines and expert reviewers, and is justifiably popular with tourists and Vietnam's expatriate community. Other attractions in this delightful city include the central market - a colourful floral display - and walks along Dalat's many pathways through scenes of incredible natural beauty. Horseback riding is available along with boating on the lake, or perhaps just a peaceful cup of coffee in one of Dalat's many sidewalk cafes, the perfect position from which to watch the world go by. To explore Dalat further, and for details of special deals currently on offer for ElephantGuide.com users, simply select your channel of choice at left and let The Elephant guide you.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
