Night tours of Hanoi’s Hoa Lo Prison will officially kick-off on July 24, taking visitors on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

Using light and sound effects, the 45-minute tour, called “Sacred Night - Glorious Vietnamese Spirit”, tells the story of the prison, once called “hell on earth”.

The journey backwards in time takes visitors through the main gate to dark cells, a tropical almond tree, a guillotine, a monument, and blocks for male prisoners, female prisoners, and political prisoners.

Hoa Lo Prison was named after the coal-fired stoves once sold on the surrounding streets and was built by the French and opened in 1896 to jail anti-French revolutionaries.

Dozens of Vietnamese tourists were taken on a trial night tour in late June - a joint creation of the prison’s management board and the Hanoitourist Travel Agency.

Night tours of Hoa Lo Prison will be held at 7pm every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The tours are not recommended for children under 16 years of age.

Hoa Lo Prison Relic in Hanoi

Hoa Lo Prison relic site, known in French as Maison Centrale (meaning central prison), is an attraction in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem district.