Amsterdam and prostitution have been together since the 15th century.

In the famous red light district in the old centre, women from all over the world sit behind windows, lit by red lights.

The Amsterdam council wants to crack down on illegal prostitution and human trafficking for women working in the red light district and is turning off many of the red lights.

 The Amsterdam red light district will not close down or disappear all together. But businesses in the old centre will have to prove they are not involved in any criminal activity.

View Red Light District in a larger map

Amsterdam red light

Taking a stroll round the Amsterdam red light district is a very interesting thing to do in Amsterdam.

 The warm neighbourhood, the pink neighbourhood or de Wallen or de Amsterdamse hoerenbuurt or de rosse buurt, as Amsterdam people call it, is by far the oldest part of Amsterdam.

Prostitution in the red light district

Dutch people call the red light district the Wallen, similar to dikes in Amsterdam.

The name comes from the old dikes (wallen) that formed the outside border of the city.

In the west, this was the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and in the east the Oudezijds Voorburgwal (1385).

Soon after, the city was expanded and new dikes arrived: the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, the Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal and the Oudezijds Achterburgwal.

Window prostitution

In the 1930′s street prostitution wasn’t allowed by the police, neither was luring customers from the doorway.

The girls could however sit behind the window glass, with the curtains closed and peek outside to make contact. This was the birth of the window prostitution that has gained Amsterdam her reputation.

Prostitution behind the window in Amsterdam is still legal.

Closing the windows

Since 2004, more and reports say that many of the working women of the red light district have not voluntarily chosen their profession, but that they are in fact victims of human trafficking.

According to investigations, it is nearly impossible for a prostitute to work independently. They are all forced to work there either for a boyfriend (so called lover boy), a pimp or a human trafficker.

To crack down on illegal prostitution and the abuse of working women in the area, the Amsterdam council has put forward new rules that the businesses in the area have to abide.

Also, about half of the windows in the prostitution zones have been closed.

Red light district at Oude Kerk

How many windows have been closed?

The Amsterdam council have closed over 200 windows (of a total of 400+) in recent years.

Famous red light district locations that had been there for many years were also forced to shut, as the Amsterdam government decided not to renew their licenses.

Among them are the Casa Rosso live sex theatre, the Banana bar strip, the Yab Yum brothel and many other sex clubs and coffeeshops in the area. They were suspected of having close ties with criminal organisations.

To take down criminal activity, the Amsterdam council has furthermore started to buy many of the historical houses in the old part, making sure they don’t fall in the hands of criminals and in many cases renovations are taking place vigorously.

Still, Amsterdam and prostitution are almost synonyms and the red light district will probably never disappear.

Safety in the red light district

About 20 years ago, the red light district was quite dangerous. Now however, the area is a safe place. Especially because there are so many people on the streets, day and night, violent crimes almost never happen.

Of course pickpockets are very common, as in every major city in the world and it’s never a good idea to wander around in small alleyways late at night.

Drugs in the Red Light

Because there are so many tourists in the red light district, wanting to have a good time, there are small time drugs dealers wandering around trying to sell their goods to them. They will approach tourists with the words: ‘charlie, heroin, ectasy’. The quality is not good. It is recommended to say no.

Respect the prostitutes

Treat prostitutes with the respect, they are just doing their job. Prostitution is legal and the women are registered having their own ‘business’. So the Dutch prostitutes pay taxes. Also, Dutch prostitutes have their own ‘prostitutes-union’, which represents the rights of the working women.

Safe sex in Red Light District

All of the women undergo regular health checks. They do not practise unsafe sex, so you don’t have to bother asking them.

No pictures please

The prostitutes don’t like it when you take photographs of them, so keep your camera in your pocket.

Red Light Prices

Prices in the Amsterdam red light district are about € 50 per 15 minutes.