De Castries bunker Hầm De Castries: Sở chỉ huy Tập đoàn cứ điểm Điện Biên Phủ
Command bunker in the basin
Go down into the command bunker in the center of town. The flag went up on the roof at 17:30 on 7 May 1954. The 15:00 order that day was the assault order at Mường Phăng, not this minute. From the yard you also see the bridge, tanks left in place, and French 105 mm and 155 mm guns. Those guns are not a separate stop. Adults pay 20,000 VND at this point. A visit length is check on arrival.
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The command bunker under its shelter, with the yard and the trees beyond
Photo: Ioe2015 · CC BY 4.0
Go down into the command bunker, the heart of the French position in the center of the old strongpoint. The flag went up on the roof at 17:30 on 7 May 1954. The same day at 15:00, the general attack order went out from the forest headquarters at Mường Phăng. Those are two moments. Do not use one as the other’s clock. From this yard you can also see the Mường Thanh bridge, burned-out tanks left in place, and French 105 mm and 155 mm gun positions. The guns stay with this stop. They are not a separate gate.
Photo: Adam Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
Day hours match the other relic points: 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–18:00 from 1 March to 30 September, and 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:30 from 1 October to 28 February, all week including holidays. The gates are shut from 11:00 to 13:30. There is no night opening here. Hill A1’s 19:30–21:30 window is that hill, not this bunker. Check the visit length on arrival.
This bunker is one of four points that issue an electronic receipt, with Hill A1, the victory monument, and the Mường Phăng headquarters. Adults 18 and over pay 20,000 VND a person a visit a point. Half price for ethnic residents of the province, older people, and people with severe disability. Veterans, people with a revolutionary-service paper, organized students and soldiers with a plan, people under 18, and people with especially severe disability are free. The bridge beside the yard is not in that four-point list. A bridge ticket is check on arrival.
Getting there and around
The bunker is in the center of the basin, near the Mường Thanh bridge, in phường Điện Biên Phủ. Walk from a hotel in the ward. Check the minutes and a taxi fare inside the ward on arrival.
From the basin ward
On foot, in the center. Check the minutes from a central hotel on arrival. The gate follows the relic day hours and is shut from 11:00 to 13:30.
From the Muong Thanh bridge
The bridge is the span you can see from this stop. Walk between them. Check the minutes on arrival. The bridge is a road outside the bunker’s gate.
Hours and fees
- Hours
7:00–11:00 and 13:30–18:00 from 1 March to 30 September. 7:00–11:00 and 13:30–17:30 from 1 October to 28 February. All week, including holidays. No night opening.
- Closed
Shut from 11:00 to 13:30 every day. No weekly close. Last entry, if it differs from closing, is check on arrival.
- Admission
Adults 18 and over pay 20,000 VND a person a visit a point. Half price for ethnic residents of the province, older people, and people with severe disability. Free for veterans, people with a revolutionary-service paper, organized students and soldiers with a plan, people under 18, and people with especially severe disability. The museum’s 100,000 VND visit and its 5,000 VND figure do not cover this bunker. The bridge is a separate question. Check on arrival.
Also in Dien Bien Phu
Hill A1 Đồi A1: Eliane 2: Pú Lạng Chượng
Walk Hill A1, the crater, the trenches, and the crest bunker.
Victory monument and Hill D1 Tượng đài Chiến thắng Điện Biên Phủ: Đồi D1
Walk the copper group on Hill D1 and the yard under it.
Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum Bảo tàng Chiến thắng Điện Biên Phủ
Walk the campaign museum in the basin, on a ticket of its own.
Muong Thanh bridge Cầu Mường Thanh: cầu Bailey
Cross the Bailey span over the Nậm Rốm in the center of town.
The Nam Rom and the basin fields Sông Nậm Rốm: lòng chảo Mường Thanh
Walk the Nậm Rốm and the rice fields under the hills.
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