Hoa Lo Prison Museum Hanoi

Description and is it worth a visit

Hoa Lo Prison Museum or Hanoi Hilton Hanoi (Hoa Lo Prison or Hanoi Hilton) is a former operating prison built by the French in the early 20th century. It was the largest in Indochina, and was primarily intended for political revolutionary-minded prisoners opposed to colonial France. Later, after the revolution and during the war with the United States, American prisoners of war, mostly pilots, were held here. John McCain, a senator and candidate for the presidency of the United States, was even held in this prison, and a separate exposition is devoted to this. In the 90s it was finally closed, and today only a small part of it has been turned into a museum, and a high-rise building has been built on the other part.

Inspection of the museum is carried out according to the scheme (route), following which you will get acquainted with the history of this place starting with the design and construction, and further along the chronology with the period of the revolution and the war with the Americans. There is a section on the life of prisoners and their occupations during imprisonment, and even parts of the sewer system through which prisoners escaped are exposed. By the way, the second name, Hanoi Hilton, was given to the prison during the detention of American prisoners here, since the conditions for them were very soft: they were allowed to play sports and even celebrate Christmas.

In general, this place is very interesting, informative and must-visit. But it is worth preparing for not the most pleasant impressions: scary cameras, mannequins of prisoners, a real guillotine.

Photo of the prison museum