Son La Prison Nhà tù Sơn La
French prison on the hill over town
Walk the French prison on Khau Ca, the hill over the town. Give it the morning, before the stone yard is hot, and do not spend the whole day on a hill that sits in town. Adult tickets are 30,000 VND and also 10,000 VND from age 16. Check the gate.
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The ruined yard and the two-story block on Khau Ca, with the ridge behind
Photo: Thái Nhi · Public domain
Walk the stone walls, the four watchtowers, the ground-floor and underground cells, the cistern, the cemetery and Tô Hiệu’s grave, and the peach tree he planted. Much of the original building is a ruin after the bombings of 1952 and 1965, with some rebuilt sections and labels. It was built in 1908 and enlarged through the 1930s and 1940s, from more than 1,200 m² to about 2,184 m², with walls up to 4.5 m. It was ranked a special national relic by Quyết định 2408/QĐ-TTg on 31 December 2014.
Photo: ChieuTimViet · CC BY 3.0
The provincial museum stands on the same hill, on đường Khau Cả. One account allows about one hour for the prison and about one hour more for the museum. Check that split on arrival. The displays are described as prehistoric objects and more than 1,000 ancient Thái and Dao books, and also as more than 23,000 objects in three galleries, with Thái, Mông, and Dao material and old Thái script. The book count and the object count are different counts. Whether one ticket covers both buildings is check on arrival.
Come in the morning, before the yard is hot. Around Tết the peach tree is the picture people come for, and the blossom week moves, so that week is check on arrival. The mistake is budgeting a whole day for a hill that sits in town, or paying the museum line and the relic line as if they were the same gate.
Getting there and around
The prison is on Khau Ca, in phường Tô Hiệu after 1 July 2025. Older addresses still use tổ 9, phường Tô Hiệu, thành phố Sơn La. It is a short climb from the town center. Walking minutes and a taxi fare inside town are check on arrival.
From the town center
Walk up Khau Ca. Walking minutes and a town taxi fare are check on arrival.
Hours and fees
- Hours
About 7:30–17:30 with a midday break, or 7:30–18:30. A split day, 7:30–11:30 and 13:30–17:30, is for the museum rather than the relic gate.
- Closed
A midday break sits on the 7:30–17:30 clock and on the museum split. The 7:30–18:30 clock does not name one. Check the board on arrival.
- Admission
One ladder is 30,000 VND for an adult, 15,000 VND for a person over 60, and 5,000 VND for a student. Disabled visitors are also on the 15,000 VND line, and so are wounded veterans, with the 30,000 VND ticket limited to adults under 60. Another ladder is 10,000 VND from age 16, 5,000 VND from 10 to under 16, and free under 10. Whether one ticket covers the prison and the museum is check on arrival. The gate on the day is check on arrival.
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