Hoa Lo Prison

Museum in Hanoi

Hanoi Hilton
CC BY-SA 2.0 / rhjpage

The Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi, sarcastically nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton” by American POWs during the Vietnam War, is a large prison complex originally built by the French in the style of the Maison Centrales, a term used for prisons in France. Initially, it served as a prison, detention, and torture center for revolutionaries fighting for independence from France. During the Vietnam War, it housed several American pilots whose planes were shot down by Vietnamese forces.

Constructed by the French between 1886 and 1901, Hoa Lo means “fiery furnace” or “stove” in Vietnamese. The facility was originally built to accommodate 450 inmates. However, during the struggle for independence, the prison held over 2,000 Vietnamese inmates in subhuman conditions. Various torture tools used by the French, including a guillotine employed to execute early Vietnamese freedom fighters, are preserved in the museum. From 1964 to 1973, Hoa Lo served as a major POW detention facility, earning its infamous nickname, the “Hanoi Hilton.” Notable inmates included Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican Presidential nominee, and Pete Peterson, who later became the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam.

Today, a small part of the original prison complex is preserved as a museum, while the rest has been transformed into a modern office and residential complex known as the Hanoi Towers. The Hoa Lo Prison is located near the French Quarter in Hanoi.

The Hoa Lo Prison appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Hanoi!

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Visiting Hoa Lo Prison

Hours:

Daily 08:00 until 17:00


Price:

30,000vnd (~$1.5)

Address: Hoa Lo Prison Relic, Phố Hoả Lò, Tran Hung Dao, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi, Vietnam
Duration: 20 minutes
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