Maison Centrale, aka "Hanoi Hilton"
@ Hoa Lo Prison, Hoa Lo Street, Hanoi
Maison Centrale, or to be precise, Hoa Lo Prison (Hoa Lo in Vietnamese means "fiery furnace"), is the infamous "Hanoi Hilton", as what the American prisoner's-of-war nicknamed it, a sarcastic reference to the upmarket Hilton hotel chain. Its most famous inmate was probably Douglas Pete Peterson, the first US ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and John McCain, the US pilot who later became a senator. The name Maison Centrale comes from the French, where the term Maison Centrale usually refers to a prison back in France.
Main entrance into the Maison Centrale.
Located in the centre of Hanoi, Maison Centrale is no longer a prison. Rather it functions today as a museum. Within Maison Centrale, you can see the various torture instruments used by the French on its Vietnamese prisoners. Here the French incarcerated, tortured and guillotined many which the state considered revolutionaries.
How to go to Maison Centrale
Maison Centrale is located along Hoa Lo Street, an offshoot of Ly Thuong Kiet Street. Using the Melia Hanoi as reference, walk along Ly Thuong Kiet Street with Melia Hanoi to your right. You will pass the Ministry of Justice building on your right and then reach the junction to Hoa Lo Street. Turn right into it. Hoa Lo Prison entrance is a short distance from the junction, on the left side of the road.
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