What make you remember when referring to Da Lat? The land of thousands of flowers, beautiful valleys or majestic waterfalls? Da Lat is not only well-known for pine forests, flower gardens or romantic sceneries and cool weather all year round, it is also extremely famous for its unique architectural works. Here are the top must-visit architectures in Da Lat for every tourist. Check them out right now!
Pedagogical College – One of the most famous architectural works in Da Lat
- Address: 29 Yersin, Ward 10, Da Lat City
- Opening hours: 11h30 – 13h and from 16h30 (Monday to Saturday); Sunday: full-time
The college has been recognized as a national historic relic and is also a perfect destination for architecture enthusiasts and photographers. The current name of this college is Grand Lycée Yersin, designed by a French architect in 1927 with a bent 4-storey building. It has been recognized by the World Architects Association as one of the 100 unique architectural works. The highlight of this school is the super high bell tower that visitors can see even when being very far away.
You only have to pay for parking fee from 5,000 to 20,000VND then enter the college and take photos at any corner without the limit of time.
St. Nicholas Cathedral, Da Lat (Rooster Church)
- Address: 15 Tran Phu, Ward 3, Da Lat City.
This beautiful cathedral lies in the city center and is a nice place to visit. The name of it is a bit odd – Rooster Church because of the big rooster that is on top of the roof. St. Nicholas Cathedral is the biggest church in Da Lat built in French style architecture from 1931 to 1942. It is decided to 3 compartments inside with a 47 high bell tower. The roof of this architecture is fitted with French-style glass panels that reflect light making the space even more perfect.
Tourists cannot get in at the time of services except for the case you want to attend a service. The service time is from 5h15 and 17h15 (Monday to Saturday) and 5h15, 7h, 8h30, 16h, 18h on Sunday.
Which are must-visit attractions when traveling Da Lat for the first time?
Domaine de Marie Church – On top of architectural works in Da Lat
- Address: 1 Ngo Quyen, Ward 6, Da Lat
- Service time: 5:45 – 16:30 on Sunday; from 17:00 on Monday to Saturday
Domaine de Marie is more than a church. It was built in 1930, is a cluster of architecture including the chapel and two monasteries for Roman Catholic nuns of the Mission of Charity with a total area of 12 hectares. This place has raised a lot of orphans and underprivileged children and teach them a craft to earn a living.
The entrance gate to this church is a bit small. So, if you cannot find it, you can ask the locals there for help. You can enter the church for free. Seeing the architecture of Domaine de Marie will make you feel a true look into the past of Da Lat. The church itself is beautiful and surrounded by delightful gardens and other nice buildings. This is well worth the visit.
Truc lam Zen Monastery
- Address: Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ward 3, Da Lat, near Tuyen Lam Lake
- Opening hours: 05:00 to 21:00 daily
- Entrance fee: free
- Cable car ticket price: from 50,000VND/one-way ticket to 70,000VND/round-way ticket
Truc Lam Zen Monastery is a monastery of Truc Lam Yen Tu. It is the largest monastery in Vietnam located on Phuong Hoang Mountain. This is a beautiful architecture and designed by two Vietnamese architects Vu Xuan Hung and Duc Loc. The project was started in 1993 and completed only 1 year later. Truc Lam Zen Monastery consists of two main areas: the outer area including the bell tower, Tinh Lam lake, the drum tower, etc. and the inner area.
Since the monastery is a sanctuary place, so, visitors coming here should note the followings:
- Do not trade in the Zen area
- Dressed, short skirts are not allowed
- When you come to the Main Hall, you have to leave your shoes outside and not allowed to use camera to film or take photos
- You are not allowed to visit the inner areas
- Free parking lot for motorbikes
Above are the first 4 out of 8 most unique architectural works in Da Lat. Find out more about the rest here.
