As the world prepares to mark half a century since the end of the U.S.-Vietnam War, one hotel in Hanoi is offering a quiet descent into history.

At the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, a luxury property with more than a century of stories etched into its walls, history isn’t framed on the lobby walls—it lies beneath the ground. The hotel’s “Path of History” experience leads guests down a staircase few might expect, into the wartime bomb shelter that once protected names like Joan Baez and Jane Fonda during air raids in the capital.

Sealed and forgotten after the war ended on April 30, 1975, the bunker slept in silence until 2011, when a routine renovation of the Bamboo Bar unearthed it. Since then, the hidden space has become the emotional heart of the hotel’s historical tour—a subterranean chamber that pulses with memory.

Twice each day, at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., in-house guests follow a Metropole historian into the depths of the hotel. The experience begins above ground, with old photographs of storied visitors (Charlie Chaplin honeymooned here, and heads of state and royalty have crossed its thresholds) and a curated display of vintage artifacts—like century-old room keys that once jingled in the pockets of passing diplomats and dreamers.

But it’s the shelter itself that lingers in the mind. Visitors pause in the dim chambers, where a recording of Baez’s “Where Are You Now, My Son?” plays—a haunting sound collage of song, spoken word, and the piercing sirens of December 1972.

In a city racing toward the future, the Metropole’s tour offers a rare chance to step backward—underground, into a silence that remembers.

This month, the Metropole welcomed back Uzaki Makoto, a former war reporter for Japan’s Nihon Denpa News. Uzaki lived at the hotel from 1971 to 1974 while covering the conflict in northern Vietnam. NDN is believed to have been the only foreign video news outlet with a Hanoi office during the war. During his return, he visited the very room where he once lived and worked—pausing, too, in the bunker where he had taken shelter with Baez more than five decades ago.

Now 124 years old, the hotel continues to honor its past while evolving its present. Last year saw the relaunch of the historic Heritage Wing, meticulously restored during a 21-month refurbishment project. The 103 rooms and suites retain their classic ambiance, infused with vibrant color, advanced technology, and bespoke comforts—an echo of old-world elegance, carefully tuned to modern ears.