It was a contemporary of Macau, attracting Dutch, Portuguese and Japanese trading vessels, and it retains the feel of centuries past. Its magnificent collection of almost 850 older structures and intact streetscapes just beg to be explored. They include merchants' homes, pagodas, public buildings and a whole city block of colonnaded French buildings. It was built as a hill station for the French in 1922, but went into a long decline from which it has only recently recovered. The Saturday market is the best place to buy handicrafts.
Accommodation can be tight, especially on weekends when tour parties visit.
A hike to the top and back takes about four days, and you'll need a guide and decent equipment, as it is usually wet and cold. Once you reach Lao Cai, you'll need to transfer to a local bus. The valley is surrounded by steep heavily forested hills and the area is inhabited by hill tribes, notably the Tai and Hmong. Dien Bien Phu was the site of that rarest of military events, a battle that can be called truly decisive. The site of the battle is marked by a small museum, which eloquently tells the story of Vietnamese determination to be rid of the colonial forces.