Hoa Lo Prison Relic

Di tích Nhà tù Hỏa Lò

French colonial jail turned 'Hanoi Hilton': the city's history at its heaviest

Hours

Daily 8am–5pm including holidays (tickets until about 4:30pm). Night tour Fri & Sat 7–9pm

Tickets

50,000 VND adults; 25,000 students and over-60s; free under 16. Audio guide 50,000

Address

1 Hoa Lo Street, a 15-minute walk southwest of the Opera House

The French built this central prison in 1896 to hold Vietnamese independence fighters, and 'MAISON CENTRALE' still runs over the gate. Inside: a cell of life-size prisoners shackled in a row, solitary cells with sloping floors that made lying down impossible, the actual guillotine, and a reconstruction of a sewer escape. The last rooms cover the Vietnam War, when downed American pilots were held here, John McCain's flight suit among the exhibits. Most of the original complex was demolished, but what remains takes 40 minutes to an hour and is plenty heavy.