Ever since Doi Moi, when Vietnam opened its market in 1986, Da Lat has become one of the most visited cities in Vietnam. In 2023 alone, the city marked 6.7 million visitors, a 11.62% increase compared to the previous year, despite the aftermath of the long-winded pandemic.
Certain cues would pop up if one mentions the magic keyword “Da Lat”: the city of flowers, “little Paris” or the pine trees city. However, one thing rarely mentioned about Da Lat is its rich history of indigenous life, historical artifacts and anthropological remnants.
For those curious to look beyond the French villas and honeymoon cafés, below are four historical sites that reveal the Da Lat’s layered past.
Da Lat Research Institute of Biology
Originally built as a monastery, Da Lat Research Institute of Biology, or the Highland Biological Institute, has been open to the public after 1975. Together with the Phat Diem stone monastery, Da Lat Research Institute is considered Vietnam’s biggest stone architecture in the 20th century.
The institute has six animal archivals in addition to taxidermy exhibitions of the highland’s animals, with countless bones, horns and models of the gaur, white-cheeked gibbon, dhole, marbled cat, ground hornbill, leopard, elephant…
Hidden behind an unassuming gate, this peculiar institute feels more like a riddle than a stop for visitors. Quiet, cryptic, and somehow mysterious.
- Address: 116 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, District 7, Da Lat, Lam Dong
- Opening hours: 7:30–11:30 and 13:30–17:00 every weekday
Lam Dong Museum
Located near Xuan Huong Lake, this government-run museum houses key artifacts from Da Lat history, including wartime records and archaeological traces of indigenous life and ancient civilizations.
The “history of Da Lat” sector gives a nostalgic look into Da Lat now and then. The archive reveals the primitive life of indigenous people in 1893, when Alexander Yersin, a French doctor and his expedition team discovered the city. Elephant rides, tilt houses and freshwater wells were evident in this era.
The locals’ resistance against the American war is also carefully documented. Rare artifacts include handwritten letters and typewritten texts of local people, highlighted as a part of the strategic uprisings on the Langbiang plateau.
On top of the hill where the main exhibition site is located sits the former house of Empress Nam Phuong, a typical French architecture surrounded by tall pine trees. Inside, visitors get to explore architectural features of the last imperial dynasty in Vietnam, which took great influences from its French colony.
- Address: 04 Hung Vuong, District 10, Da Lat, Lam Dong
- Opening hours: 7:15–11:30 and 13:30–17:00 every day
Da Lat Youth Prison
Da Lat Youth Prison is an underrated location amongst the historical sites in Vietnam. Mentions of political prisons are often attributed to more popular stops like Con Dao Prison in Con Dao, Hoa Lo Prison in Ho Chi Minh city, or Phu Quoc Prison in Kien Giang. Little does one know that this city of flowers is home to the first and only youth prison, constructed during the war in Vietnam.
The prison used to bear the old name of “Da Lat children’s education center” - one created by the American - Thieu regime. The prison, under this cover title, served to tear apart the germ of revolution from children revolutionaries, who, during wartime, were an important part of Vietnam’s intelligence network.
In this place, “wars after wars took place consecutively between political children and American puppet troops”, according to the War Remnants Museum. This former “education center” embodied the defining features of an imperialist prison, detaining over 600 political youth prisoners aged 12 to 17, gathered from prisons across southern Vietnam at the time.
- Address: 9A Ho Xuan Huong, District 9, Da Lat, Lam Dong
- Opening hours: 7:15–11:30 and 13:30–17:00 every day
Madame De Da Lat
Madame De Da Lat, formerly known as the Tran Le Xuan Palace, also serves as Vietnam’s National Archives Center IV. Madame Nhu, or Tran Le Xuan, the owner of the palace, was a pioneering figure in revolutionizing the look of the Ao Dai.
In 1958, the same year the palace was built, Madame Nhu made a bold public appearance wearing a form-fitting version of Ao Dai with a wide, open neckline. This daring take quickly set a new standard for Saigoneese women in the 1950s–70s, marking a shift towards modern Vietnamese femininity.
Beginning construction in 1958, the palace fell into disrepair afterwards due to a lack of maintenance, until 2024 when a complete reconstruction was undertaken.
The present Madame De Da Lat takes on an elegant look, hosting a weekly Madame Show every Saturday, which recreates the becoming of Da Lat over 130 years within 60 minutes.
- Address: 02 Yet Kieu, District 5, Da Lat, Lam Dong
- Opening hours: 9:00 – 21:00 every weekday
Da Lat, Beyond the pine trees
Some of these places, preserved in their raw form, may appear unappealing to some who crave modern aesthetics. But there is one thing one must do if they decide to pay a visit: read. Reading carefully about the past and the characteristics of this land makes you redefine what Da Lat is made of.
More than just a pleasant climate and scenic landscape, Da Lat is also a land of history, ethnic diversity, and quiet resilience.