Battlefield Guides
Contemporary accounts, maps, and photographs, and the best historical narratives and analysis, are essential if you really want to work out what happened on a battlefield. But I think that there is no greater aid to understanding than visiting it and seeing the lie of the land, the distances, the sight-lines, the steepness of the slopes and the position of crests, and a May rain storm, for yourself.
I have been fortunate to visit Điện Biên Phủ many times, and still look forward to going back again. I hope that this page will be useful for people who want to get as much out of visiting the place as they can, but who probably only have a chance of spending a few days there, and don’t have my luxury of living relatively close, so they can always go back.
Going Back to Places That I Have Never Been
This is a series of five articles that I wrote for the website of the wargames society that I belong to in Hong Kong, about my visits to the battlefield between 2002 and 2014. Much is now out of date, (especially regarding the museums in both Hanoi and Điện Biên Phủ, and the traffic situation in Hanoi where, as of my last visit in 2024, the car has nearly taken over,) but that gives them a historical perspective all of their own.
History in situ: The Battlefield Today
“Tho' much is taken, much abides…”
This stand-alone guide is an appendix to my thesis, written on the basis that I had done the work, walked the ground, was willing to bring the knowledge gained to an academic discussion, and because it was an appendix it was outside the word count! It was accurate as of 2019.
Hotels
Since I get emails from potential visitors about accommodation, I will just say that both Hanoi and Điện Biên Phủ have hotels for all budgets so stick with your own comfort zone. My back-packing days never really existed anyway, and these days I don’t mind paying a bit more for some luxury.
In Điện Biên Phủ I have only ever stayed in the Mường Thanh Grand Dien Bien Phu Hotel, which is located near Him Lam, and the A1 Hotel Dien Bien, (the clue is in the name for its perfect location for battlefield buffs.) In Hanoi my personal favourites are the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, and the Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi – Mgallery. I can recommend all four of these establishments, but they are just my personal choices. You know your own requirements and price-ranges better than I do, so go with your own budgets and preferences.