About 700 meters from the French-built stone church in downtown Sa Pa, Fansipan Terrace Cafe & Homestay is much loved by foreign tourists thanks to its mountain vista.
It has a balcony overlooking high mountain rages surrounded by thick fog.
Sitting on the café's balcony, guests can admire a passing train ride which starts from a railway station in Sa Pa with a European classical look and runs to the cable car station on the Fansipan Mountain, crossing the Muong Hoa Valley.
It serves smoothies, fruit juices, Vietnamese-style coffee, Italian coffee, hot chocolate and sweet desserts ranging from VND20,000-55,000 ($0.84-2.32).
Northern Vietnam has been going through weeks of scorching heat. Hanoi was sizzling under 41.3 degrees Celsius on May 17, the highest temperature ever recorded in the city in May.
Many northern provinces recorded temperatures of over 39 degrees on the same day.
At an altitude of around 1,600 meters above sea level, Tus De Liab Cafe Sapa is surrounded by high mountain ranges and there is a concrete path built on the mountainside leading to the café.
The shop is simply designed, including a wooden house and outdoor seating with umbrellas, small wooden tables and a wood-burning fireplace.
The biggest highlight of the menu is that it only has one type of coffee, cappuccino with cinnamon and star anise listed as Coffee 1,600 that is only sold together with a croissant. The tyranny of choice is no more.
A coffee and croissant costs VND300,000 (US$12).
Around 1.5 kilometers from downtown Sa Pa, The Haven Sapa Campsite is tucked over Vong Canh Hill with its year-round chilly atmosphere and foggy landscape, making it ideal to escape the burning heat.
It has a balcony that has an aerial view of Muong Hoa Valley and Cat Cat Village.
From the café, it is easy for guests to walk into Cat Cat Village which displays the distinctive customs and practices of the Hmong ethnic minority.
The café is open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Located on the 10th floor of Hotel De la Coupole in downtown Sa Pa, Absinthe Bar and Café is designed in French architectural style.
From the café's balcony, guests can easily admire the Muong Hoa Valley with high mountain ranges smothered in thick fog.
It is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
It serves wine, cocktail, espresso, chocolate and traditional dishes like pho cocktails, Sa Pa black pork on sugarcane or highland chicken satay with prices starting from VND140,000.
On a mountainous hill in Tam Dao, once a cool retreat during the French colonial time, Co La coffee shop is a wooden house surrounded by pine forests that offers a year-round cool climate.
The café, in Village No.2 of Tam Dao, allows guests to take a breathtaking view of the northern hill town which is always shrouded in thick fog.
Its menu includes coconut milk coffee, honey chrysanthemum tea and orange lemongrass peach tea and smoothies with prices ranging from VND30,000-60,000.
Around five kilometers from downtown Da Lat, famous for its year-round cool climate in a tropical country, In the Forest Da Lat café hangs in the middle of a green pine forest and can be reached by motorbike.
The shop is also surrounded by persimmon gardens that bloom in October.
The cafe comprises an old wooden house with classic interior design. Thanks to its seclusion and greenness, it is loved by tourists who want to escape bustling urban life.
The menu includes coffee, soft drinks, fried chicken, French fries and grilled sausage, with prices ranging from VND20,000 to 50,000. The café at 86/7 Khe Sanh Street, Ward 10, is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Under a mountainous hill surrounded by thick fog in Da Lat, Cheo Veooo café is a 30-square-meter wooden house overlooking a high mountain range.
It is not easy for first-timers to find without instructions from locals as guests have to go through a green pine forest with only a few houses along the way.
Sitting on the café balcony, guests can admire a breathtaking view of Da Lat shrouded in thick fog.
The café at 116 Hung Vuong Street, Ward 11, mainly consists of wood and bamboo furniture. The menu varies from coffee and cappuccino to yogurt with prices ranging from VND30,000-60,000. It is open from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
