Hoa Lo Prison And Little Paris Tour In Hanoi (French Quarter)

An informative and enthusiastic tour with Shaun who clearly loves his city as he is proud and knowledgeable. We enjoyed the ice cream and Shaun’s recommendations for other places to visit.

We had an absolutely amazing experience with Shaun as our tour guide in Hanoi! He was incredibly kind, sweet, patient, and genuinely caring throughout the entire day. You could immediately tell how passionate he is about Hanoi and how much he loves sharing its history and culture with visitors. Shaun was extremely knowledgeable and informative, but he explained everything in such an engaging and easy-to-understand way. Our visit to Hoa Lo Prison was especially meaningful because Shaun gave us so much historical context and helped us understand the stories behind what we were seeing. He truly brought the history to life. We also loved walking through the French Quarter with him. He pointed out details we would have completely missed on our own and shared interesting stories about the architecture, history, and culture of the area. Beyond his knowledge, what really stood out was how sweet and thoughtful Shaun was. He made us feel comfortable, welcomed, and genuinely taken care of. He was never rushed and was happy to answer all of our questions. If you’re visiting Hanoi, we HIGHLY recommend requesting Shaun as your guide. He made our experience so much more memorable, and we’re incredibly grateful for the time we spent with him. Thank you so much, Shaun! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What started with a cancelled walking tour due to a miscommunication turned into one of our most memorable experiences in Hanoi. Lisa and Van of Joyful Adventures went out of their way to arrange a makeup tour, combining the Old Quarter and French Quarter into a customised experience for us. Van was an outstanding guide — knowledgeable, passionate and clearly deeply connected to her country's history. She covered all the essential sights, but what made the tour special was the little extras: delicious Vietnamese donuts, wandering through hidden alleyways, and exploring an ancient French villa, which was a real highlight for us. We ended at Hoa Lo Prison — haunting and powerful, but also a testament to the resilience of the Vietnamese people. The tour ultimately became 4.5 hours of fascinating stories, history and insights into Vietnamese culture and mentality. Van spared no effort and we were so grateful for everything she shared. Highly recommended if you want to 'experience' Hanoi's history rather than simply read about it!

Tour guide was very cheerful and friendly. Knowledgeable on the history of vietnam from all aspects.

Experience was positive from the offset as the passion and knowledge shown from our guide Shaun (Son). He was patient and very clear explaining the details as we had an elderly traveling with us. He made the experience unforgettable and all I can say this young man should be promoted. 10/10

Lisa gave me a deep inside into Vietnams past. I learned a lot at the Hoa Lo Prison, the house and the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. Additionally I had a great time at Train Street, enjoyed great coffee and met local people at a typical beer stand.

Had a wonderful visit of French quarter and hoa la prison with our guide Son! Every small detail and preference was taken care of. We found it an amazing way to explore Hanoi with a knowledgable and fun guide. Definitely recommend!!

Julia was an excellent tour guide. Her English was perfect and she was very knowledgeable about the history, culture, and places to go in Hanoi and Vietnam. Be prepared for lots of walking which on a hot and humid summer day was quite exhausting.

Julia was an absolutely fantastic guide! She taught me so much about the history of Vietnam, and you can genuinely see how passionate she is about her country. Her knowledge, enthusiasm and storytelling made every stop so engaging and memorable. I loved that the tour wasn’t just about the main sights, we also had candid conversations in small local establishments that made the experience feel authentic and gave me a glimpse into everyday life in Hanoi. This was the perfect way to finish my trip, and my only regret is not doing it sooner. I know I would have appreciated everything I saw throughout Vietnam even more with the context Julia shared. Thank you, Julia, for such a wonderful experience. I highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to understand the history, culture and people of Vietnam!

We had a good time and learned so much!! I would definitely recommend doing a walking tour with a local, we got many recommendations for the upcoming days and learned so much about vietnams history and society :)

The historical value of the tour was very high. Shaun is a very knowledgeable and kind person, he ensured we were comfortable and engaged with the topics. We would highly recommend him as a tour guide.

Julia was an amazing guide teaching us many new facts about Vietnams history. Throughout the tour, she was also really patient with our questions we asked. She was so friendly and nice even going 1 hour over time just to teach us more. She also recommended us a lot of restaurants to go to. She was the most amazing guide ever!

Shaun was a really great guide, giving us all the information and cultural background easy to understand in excellent English. The tour was well thoughthrough composed of the essential highlights. Thank you very much Shaun for this helpful introduction into history and culture of Hanoi. Yara

We had a really good tour with Julia, we visited must seen spot with great details of the history, culture and habits of Viet Nam. But also some others hidden spot like an old appartment build during french colonization. Julia was really kind and has an onsane knowledge. We also had great conversation about some differents subjects.

I went to the tour with Lisa, and it turned out to be the best walking tour I had in Vietnam. Lisa is very friendly and knowledgable. Talking with Lisa is more like conversation between friends, not tour guide vs. tourists, which made the tour more fun and enjoyable. We visited some hidden places, and got great recommendation of local restaurant. Definitely recommended Lisa and this tour.

Had a great walking tour with Julia this morning. I learned so much about the history and culture of Vietnam. Highly recommend recommend it to everyone who wants to enjoy their tour . Can hardly wait to try her restaurant recommendations .

Julia showed us a number of interesting places and took the time to explain details covering various historical events, architecture and Vietnamese culture. She is warm and makes you feel comfortable throughout the tour. Julia has a positive energy and you can see that she loves what she does which enabled me to truly enjoy the tour. Highly recommend this for tourists in Hanoi!

Julia is very professional, knowledgeable and outgoing. She provided all the information we need to understand Vietnam in general and Hanoi in specific. Her English is excellent and the pace of the tour is just perfect. The best tour in Vietnam so far.

We spent a very enjoyable 4 hours walking around the French district. We learnt so much about the buildings but also about life in Hanoi. The last place we visited was the Hanoi Hilton - the prison. Very harrowing but a must to see. We would recommend this tour to anyone. Thank you.

I went on this free walking tour from free tour and it was a great decision to do the guided walking tour as I could listen to the story and places I won’t know if I explored myself. Nam is such a great guide and very informative, he told us the story behind every stops and always answering and even provided us with other infos.

I joined the Hoa Lo Prison and Little Paris Tour in Hanoi (French Quarter) with Vân as my guide, and it was an excellent experience. Since I had already visited the Hoa Lo Prison together with the War Museum on a previous tour, Vân adjusted the itinerary perfectly and spent more time showing me the beautiful and historic French Quarter. Her flexibility, deep knowledge, and clear explanations made the tour both enjoyable and very informative. I learned so much about the architecture, the colonial history, and the hidden corners of this elegant district. Vân’s warm personality and engaging storytelling added so much value to every stop we explored. I can highly recommend this tour as well.

We had Nam as our tour guide and we learnt a lot. He knew his stuff and was very friendly along the way. Had a great time with him and would highly recommend.

Van was an excellent guide. She is very cheerful and very communicative with all the guests. The tour had everything from the big must sees, till small and hidden places. The groupsize was perfect.

This was the best tour we ever had, Nam showed us the French Quarter and taught us a lot about Vietnamese culture, we were so captivated that we asked a thousand questions! Would recommend to everybody.

Nam is highly knowledgeable and presents local history in a compelling manner that is tailored to your interests.

11/10, Julia had fanatic knowledge and a beautiful Smile. Every question I asked got fully explained and I learnt a lot. Brilliant energy and a brilliant tour. Highly recommended and also got to experience more of Vietnams beauty.

We couldn't have asked for a better guide...Nam was very passionate about culture and history and gave us a great walking tour through the French quarter highlighting all the French architectural elements visible in buildings in Hanoi today. Then he took us to a local favourite icecream place that's been around since 1958, and after that to a very cool bar in a hidden alley where we had a great cocktail. The prison tour was very sobering and moving and Nam gave us a very Vietnamese perspective of the same. I highly recommend him as a guide

This was an amazing experience. Unfortunately I was the only person who booked this tour today but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I had an incredible experience. Van was the most amazing tour guide I’ve ever had. She is incredibly knowledgeable about all of the locations listed on this tour. Since I was there only client I had her undivided attention. I learned so much more about Hanoi than I ever thought possible. She is very thorough, very friendly and very professional. I highly recommend taking this tour with her and any of the other tours that she does. I know that the next time that I come to Hanoi I will only look to book my tours with her. I want to thank her for one hell of an education today. I left the tour having been enlightened and edified with the rich history of Hanoi from Van, a proud, true historian of her Vietnamese culture. I can’t say enough great things about the history lesson that she provided me with today. I will definitely be looking for any of your tours on my next visit to Hanoi.

I booked this tour once we were in Hanoi for my daughter and me. We were staying in Old Town and it was very easy to meet our guide, Van. We thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour of the French Quarter as it was a big contrast to where we were staying. Van was very knowledgeable of the cities history and architecture and she spoke very good English. We especially enjoyed the out of the way quiet areas including a secret library and several quaint coffee shops. The walk was at a comfortable pace. Plenty of time was allowed for our last stop, the HOA Lo Prison which is now a museum. We highly recommend this educational experience while enjoying Hanoi! Special thanks to Van for making it such a memorable experience!

Very good tour, a valuable addition to the hectic old part. The legacy of the French occupation both culturally and socially was expressed by our guide Van. Her enthusiasm made the tour last longer than planned. Highly recommended to do

Very nice day passes next to julia and Lisa experience to renew unforgettable stay Hanoi city to visit absolutely

With my friends we had a great day with our guides. Excellent knowledge of the history of the country and Hanoi. Very good general culture. Exchanges are fluid in English. Very nice discovery...I highly recommend. I'll be back...you quay lai.