Old French Prison and Museum

The Old French Prison and Museum offers you a peek into the heartbreaking torture that Vietnamese Prisoners went through at the hands of French colonialists. It is a storehouse of knowledge with regard to the French colonialist rule and ethnicities of the area.

The prison, nicknamed 'Hell on earth', is notorious for living up to its reputation in describing the brutality of French colonialists towards Vietnamese prisoners. The area is rampant with insects and is overrun by a foul smell. Some of the underground rooms barely have any light reaching them. The most remarkable however are the torture rooms that have managed to remain almost intact. They contain a wide assortment of torture devices that will make you shudder. A visit to the jail complex is definitely an eye-opening experience.

The Son La Museum, built in 1908 by the French is a storehouse of knowledge on the people that lived and live in Vietnam. The museum hosts thousands of scriptures, documents, artefacts, folk tales and songs of more than 12 ethnic groups that inhabit Vietnam. It is the perfect place for someone who wishes to explore the Vietnamese culture and history.