French Village (including Medieval Fair) Zone @ Sun World Bà Nà Hills in Da Nang [Vietnam]

Aside from the iconic Golden Bridge at Bana Hills, the other signature view would come from the French Village which you would arrive as part of the larger compound that also included the Fantasy Park and Spiritual Zones. 

Due to time constraint, I didn't have the luxury to explore the moon kingdom area that had humongous statues and impressive castles! 

That pointy building reminded me of a witch hat! 

I am scratching my head about this; has this something to do with the science fiction novel 20,000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne? 

Golden soldier (roman i guess) statues lining the square dotted with parasols, providing much needed seats for visitors who were just exhausted exploring Ba Na Hills! 

The pointy building gave me a headache; it seemed that it was an iconic structure for a country, maybe a granary in the middle age of Europe?

Golden globe that's quite similar to the Universal Studios globe, albeit non-revolving and not as large. However, it captivates visitors with its gold shimmers, especially those from Asia! 

A closer photograph of the shining global.

Given the cool temperature at the hills (standing at about 1,400 meters), flowers thrived and I believe the above were tulips! I should have taken a sniff! 

For someone who has never been to Europe, I must admit this French Village did give some serious "real" vibes! And unlike most theme parks, there were people staying in those classical buildings since they contained hotel rooms managed by Mercure!

There's even a Catholic church! The Saint Denis Church that was also known as Ba Na Hills Church, French Village’s Church. Pity we didn't manage to check the inside although I was under the impression it was only a facade with nothing inside. 

Just having the beautiful architecture wasn't sufficient; there were also performances to hype the crowds, like a crooning singer in front of the church! 

And also Westerners masquerading as characters from the medieval era in Europe! As usual, many visitors were egging to have their photographs taken with them.

Bouquets of flowers (tulips it seemed) that I assumed were free but I saw the money held by one of the visitors. Hm... shall confirm in May 2025! 

My aim was to find a place for lunch as we were famished! There were a few restaurants along this stretch and we eventually went with Brasserie Restaurant for their handmade pizza and pasta! 

Vibrant festive flags do bring an atmosphere of celebration to the area, which encompassed about 30 buildings, and collectively known as Little Paris.

Real food and they were for sale! The thick skewers of meat (choose from pork, beef, chicken and even ostrich) cost 130,000 dong (about $7.00).

Don't you find the eyes of these head vases eerie!? 

I bet they would frighten visitors at night! 

Sample price list for your reference.

Let's see if there is any change when I revisit in May!

Flowers romanticized the environment too and I can just imagine my mom dragging me to help her take photographs with the flowers in less than two months' time! 

Standard signage.

Moving forward to the medieval fair! I presume there will be some old school amusement rides like carousels. Let's proceed to check out!

Flags made a difference and if you look closer, they were military emblems of wolf, dragon, lion and deer used by Europeans! 

Accompanying gardens.

As expected, the carousel, and also game booths! I would advise foreigners not to play the games; not because they are chargeable or you would be scammed. It's fine if you win a small prize but if you are 'lucky' to secure the star prize; good luck in hauling it back to your home country!

Wow pass lane - according to the website, the wow pass offered "limitless two-way cable car tickets, free access to the privileged, queue-less path so you can spend more time having fun."

The clock tower.

More construction underway! Do you know that there were quite a few cable lines at Sun World Ba Na Hills?! Five cable car lines and two furnicable networks! 

Swing du Fantasie; free for visitors, does this ride look familiar to those who have been to the old Genting Highlands theme park?

What the heck is this structure?

It looked like a cooking device.

Guess this would be the end of the Medieval Fair. According to the map on the brochure, this should be the entrance to the beer plaza! I am so going to indulge in its craft beer soon!

The bustle caught our attention and there were performances in front of the beer plaza signage! The atmosphere was electrifying and I bet many will feel that they were indeed in Europe!

Hidden lanes and alleys that I didn't have time to explore further! Honestly, I was so rushed for time that I told Alex that we should stay at Ba Na Hills next round! And for our May trip, I have paid for two nights at Mercure!

An incredible water fountain; known as the Helios Waterfall, it was designed by a famous sculpture studio from Italy that was established in 1860! 

Remarkable it sure was and dotted the waterfall were twenty gods from the Greek mythology; including Helios, god of the sun (apt since this theme park is under sun world), Apollo, Bacchus, Venus and Athena.

View from the top of Helios Waterfall.

Given my love for fried chicken, this would definitely be on my to-eat list! Only problem setting me back was that there's no review on Google Maps! 

Romantic rose garden with large, blooming, sweet-smelling roses! And i read that Rosa Fried Chicken was supposed to have rose sauces for their fried chicken! How interesting! 

There's a Starbucks! If the weather were to be cool in May 2025, I guarantee you that I would have a cup of hot chocolate! Given the fame and affordability of Vietnamese coffee, I wonder about the success of Starbucks in Vietnam.

Back to the main square!

Returning back to the Alpine Coaster entrance, where we were supposed to meet up with our guide and tour mates for the day trip. 

The smell of grilled food was too alluring!

Since the rest of our tour mates had yet to arrive, I took the opportunity to check out the immediately surroundings, including the solar castle.

Noel Plaza which appeared to have backdrops used for theatre performances. Maybe one related to the Golden Bridge.

Kavkaz Baku - the restaurant housed in a barn that was covered with stunning red and pink flowers! Kavkaz is actually a Russian term whereas Baku might refer to the the capital and commercial hub of Azerbaijan. According to Sun World's website, the restaurant's food was prepared by Caucasian chefs from Russia.

A beautiful entrance; not sure if this led to one of the cable lines.

French Village amazed with its sheer number of statues and I thought it was a pity that there's no information on the statues; were they based on real statues from around the world or just sculpted purely for the sake of visual impact?

Even for the latter, I think Sun World Ba Na Hills did a fantastic job to convert this hilltop into a tourist destination visited by millions of visitors. For those looking out for deep culture / history, however, you are better off exploring Hoi An. 

=====

Location Map

Sun World Ba Na Hills, 

Da Nang, Vietnam

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam