Hotels in Amsterdam

Red Light Area of Amsterdam – Play it safe

The Red Light District, known in Dutch as Rosse Buurt, is frequented by visitors for fun and simply out of curiosity. Prostitution, which is legal is Netherlands, is concentrated mostly in this area.

The best way to get to this place is from Damstraat, beside the Krasnapolsky Hotel on the Dam. Then stick to the main drag on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, as far north as the Oude Kerk, the venerable Old Church, which stands watch over this passable representation of Sodom and Gomorrah. One can go as far as to the parallel canal, Oudezijds Achterburgwal, and to Nieuwmarkt which has many good bars and Chinese restaurants.

The area seems lively and buzzing with activity at night with skimpily clad prostitutes moving around or tapping on the windows as potential customers go by, peep-show joints with private cabins, dark and noisy bars, performing art theaters, bookstores, video libraries, and also dedicated apparel and appliance stores.

Safety is not a big issue as long as you keep to the busier streets and crowds. Moving about in groups is a better way to avoid trouble. It is not a wise decision to go out alone in those narrow, dark side streets and connecting lanes between the canals. The trouble here is small time criminals like muggers, pickpockets, drug dealers, junkies, street prostitutes, pimps, and weird folks in general.

The most celebrated Amsterdam bordello is Yab Yum, Singel 295, in a 17th-century mansion, and named for a goddess of love from the Kama Sutra.

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