Vietnam War Hidden History of Hanoi’s Charm and Hoa Lo Prison

1. Hanoi
   30m
   1️⃣ Coffee Talk: Sip a cup of coffee (or another beverage) at a unique local café while retracing key milestones from feudal eras to modern times for an overview of Vietnam’s history. Vietnam's story will surely impress you with its profound depth and dramatic ups and downs alongside so many world powers.
2. Long Bien Bridge
   15m · Admission ticket included
   2️⃣ Long Bien Bridge: A bridge over 120 years old dubbed the "horizontal Eiffel Tower"—a witness to the complex relationship between Vietnam and France, as well as its enduring resilience through fierce American bombing raids.
3. Hanoi
   30m
   3️⃣ Hang Ngang Villa (Tuesday to Saturday) or Historic French Villa (Sunday & Monday): Visit the place where President Ho Chi Minh drafted the Declaration of Independence, or a century-old French villa to explore daily life under colonial rule. At these historic sites, step back into 1945 to discover the actions of French and Japanese forces, the trials faced by the Vietnamese, and the geopolitical chess game between the US and the Soviet Union during World War II.
4. Dong Xuan Market
   15m · Admission ticket included
   4️⃣ Dong Xuan Market: Hanoi’s oldest and most famous market, preserving memories of fierce battles between the Vietnamese and the French, where you may occasionally hear authentic stories directly from the old locals.
5. Hanoi
   15m
   5️⃣ Old Communal Apartment Blocks: Built mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, these blocks showcase unique subsidy-era architecture, where roughly 50 families share a common living space and hold fascinating stories about local life during and after the war.
6. Hanoi Opera House
   30m · Admission ticket included
   6️⃣ Hanoi Opera House & the French Quarter: Inspired by Paris’s Palais Garnier, this lavish landmark sits in an area known as "Little Paris in Hanoi." Behind its colonial charm lie stories of French-Vietnamese conflict and cooperation, visible bomb scars you can see firsthand, and fascinating tales of American presence—from famous anti-war figures like Joan Baez (Queen of Folk) and Jane Fonda to recent visits by US presidents.
7. Hoa Lo Prison
   45m · Admission ticket included
   7️⃣ Hoa Lo Prison (Inside Visit): Built by the French in the late 19th century to detain Vietnamese political prisoners, it was later used to hold captured American pilots and became known as the "Hanoi Hilton." During the visit, we will reveal moving stories of the Vietnamese held here, alongside surprising and intriguing insights into the daily lives of American pilots during their detention at Hoa Lo.

Pickup details

Our tour guide will contact you before the tour starts and pick you up at your hotel. Please provide your WhatsApp number. Our tour guide will wait for you at your hotel's reception/lobby.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness