The site of Dalat, at 1475 meters elevation, was discovered by Doctor Alexandre Yersin. Because of its pleasant temperate climate, and the beauty of its surroundings of lakes, waterfalls, and pine forests, it became popular with the French after 1912 as a cool retreat from the heat of the plains. Dalat became known as "Le Petit Paris". The city was implicitly considered to be a neutral zone and was spared fighting and destruction during the war. You can still see there a small Eiffel tower, villas modeled after regional French architecture, and a school as well as a train station which look like they are from a French little town of the first half of the century. Because of the cooler climate, school kids still wear "chandails", French style sweaters. Because of its charms, the town draws a large number of Vietnamese tourists and honeymooners for which a number of very "kitch" attractions have been created. But overall, they contribute to create a delightful intemporally dated atmosphere.
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