VietNamNet Bridge - Tran Le Xuan palace, Queen Nam Phuong palace and Palaces 1, 2, 3 have  architectural and historic value. They are places for tourists to learn more about the golden age of Da Lat.

Tran Le Xuan palace

Located on a pine hill at No.2 Yet Kieu Street, Da Lat City, the palace is now the National Preservation Center 4. It is the place of wood-made documents of Nguyen Dynasty. Recently, it has been recognized as the World Document heritage and it is in the program Memory of the World.

The palace was built in 1958 and has an area of 13,000 m2, including three villas with romantic names: Bach Ngoc, Lam Ngoc and Hong Ngoc. It was designed by a Japanese architect and has a Japanese-style garden with plenty of beautiful flowers. After renovation and restoration in 2008, the palace became an interesting destination for tourists who want to learn more about culture and history.

Bach Ngoc villa (where Tran Le Xuan’s family and generals entertain) is the most magnificent, with the front toward Yet Kieu Street, a long staircase and heated pool. The interior of Bach Ngoc is modern with meeting rooms, business center, ballroom, dressing room, etc.

Lam Ngoc villa (for a weekend visit of Le Xuan’s family) has folding design with many rooms connected together.

All rooms are equipped with modern French fireplaces of the time. In the dining room is a refrigerator with a large capacity, expressing the wealth of the family.

At Lam Ngoc villa, there is an internal escape tunnel and bunker with a capacity of about 10 people with a lid made of steel. Tunnelling is not deep but wide, with many shelves and safe inside.

Leave Lam Ngoc, along a curved path going to Hong Ngoc. Villa has a smaller area and is separate, and the gift of Tran Le Xuan for his father. If Lam Ngoc and Bach Ngoc have the design of modern French architecture, Hong Ngoc is characterized by the classical school of gray stones and circular pillars.

On Tran Le Xuan palace campus, a garden was designed in Japanese style with grass, rocks, and beautiful flowers of Da Lat. Lotus lake is perfect balance and harmony with the villa and the surrounding pine forests.

During the day, visitors can admire the beauty of the palaces, the narrow winding streets, and the house hidden in the green of the pine trees. If you arrive at night, visitors will experience the feeling of monarchs, sipping hot tea in the cold weather of Da Lat, in beautiful luxury but equally romantic palaces, the night sky with moon, framing the more romantic scenes.

After repair and re-decoration, Tran Le Xuan palace has become a place for tourists since 2008. Besides its palaces, visitors can also see pieces of wood documents of Nguyen Dynasty and other documents such as Document about Vietnam since 1962, documents about the Central Highlands of Vietnam in the war (1954 – 1975), and book: “Da Lat – Lam Dong Past and Present”.

Queen Nam Phuong palace

Located on a hill of Lam Dong museum, Nguyen Huu Hao’s palace or Queen Nam Phuong’s palace (Nguyen Huu Hao’s daughter) is an ancient palace with French architectural style.

It was built in the 1930s by Mr. Nguyen Huu Hao’s, father of Queen Nam Phuong (King Bao Dai’s wife). Then, he presented it to his daughter. Why was it called this name? According to Dalat people, Queen Nam Phuong and her family used to come here to stay before Palace 3 was built. So, it was named “Queen Nam Phuong’s palace” or “Nguyen Huu Hao’s palace”.

The palace is not very big. It has two floors which are strong and beautiful. Its appearance was designed in a cube shape. The inside architecture was decorated originally with granite pressed on the fireplace. Its wooden doors had an arch shape and its windows were colorful, making the palace warm and luxurious.

Coming to this palace, visitors can see things which its ex-owner used, such as a set of silver-plated cups and teapots, silver-plated bowl used for washing hands, alcohol lamp, cigar box, etc. Besides, they can see photographs and documents of the Nguyen Huu Hao family, Queen Nam Phuong and her children. There are also some other things which were usually presented in every ancient palace in 1930s in Da Lat, such as oil lamp, worshiping cabinet, phonograph, ancient style tables and chairs, etc.

The palace not only has a beautiful ancient architecture and wonderful view, but also concerns some famous people of Vietnam. These make it an attractive place for visiting in Da Lat – Lam Dong.

The bed room of Queen Nam Phuong. Other rooms in the palace. The emergency tunnel. The view from the window of Queen Nam Phuong's room.

Photo: Kien Thuc

Bao Dai Palaces 1, 2 and 3

Palace I: This palace is a large one in Tran Quang Dieu Street, Ward 10, Da Lat City. It is 4km from the city center to the southeast. It is located on a 1,550-meter hill full of pine trees. It was formerly a villa of a French millionaire who was also an official Robert Clément Bourgery. He had been the boss of an electricity factory in Shanghai. The palace was built before the 1940s in the middle of the pine tree forest.

After that, in 1949, King Bao Dai bought it in August 1949 and renewed it. Since then, it has become a general headquarters and an office for his subordinate officers. Until 1956, Ngo Dinh Diem used it as a private palace for President. It was upgraded with a tunnel and more working rooms for his subordinate officers. The tunnel was also an emergency exit which opened a small heliport.

Palace 1 is one of the original architectural buildings of Dalat which expresses the new-classic style of Europe.

Palace 2: This palace was the summer palace, the residence and office of governor Decoux. It is located on a hill with the elevation of 1,539m, between Tran Hung Dao and Khoi Nghia Bac Son streets. It has an area of 26 ha. in which the palace is 10 ha and the campus is 16 ha.

The palace has 25 luxurious rooms. It was designed by architects A.T Kruzé, D. Veyssiere and A. Léonard and decorated by P.Foinet. It was built from 1933 to 1937. It architecture looked like  European style.

It was the first work covered with bright stones on the outside wall. Other parts are built with French metal instead of wood. Decoux used it as tunnels in order to protect him and his family. These tunnels were 1.5m wide and 1m high leading to the wine-cellar.

This palace is one of the beautiful buildings of Dalat. It has witnessed many milestones in the history of the country. After 1975, it became the Central guest house, and now it is the guest house of the People’s Committee of Lam Dong province.

Palace 3: This was the palace of King Bao Dai, the last king of Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam when the French helped him retake power in 1948 and establish the Royal Territory in 1950.

It was designed by architect Huynh Tan Phat and a French architect, and built from 1933 to 1938. It is located on a hill with pine trees and at the elevation of 1,539m above sea level. The first floor is used for Bao Dai’s office, library, relaxation room and a big dining room. The second floor includes bedrooms for king, Queen, princesses and princes. Besides Bao Dai’s bedroom, there is a moon-watching balcony where the king would come to enjoy the moon.

Wood was used for the main materials to build and decorate the palace.  Now it is a famous destination for foreign and domestic tourists.

VNN/Dalattour