Red Light District Walking Tour

Where better to start our tour of Amsterdam's most notorious neighborhood than at the hallowed doors of the city's oldest church. De Oude Kerk (The Old Church) was consecrated in 1368 and is in the heart of the RLD. It is so named to differentiate it from the New Church (consecrated 1408) that sits on Dam Square. It is well worth a visit inside to see the beautifully rustic interior and floor burial stones commemorating the historic and wealthy Amsterdam residents buried beneath. Most notable are the organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) and Rembrandt's wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642). Rembrandt himself is interred in a paupers grave at the Westerkerk across town.

Climbing the tower costs extra but will give you wonderful views over the oldest part of Amsterdam.
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Oudekerksplein
020-625-8284
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Admission
13 and older €5
Climb to tower €5
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Hours
Monday-Saturday 11am-5pm
Sunday 1-5pm
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The circuitous route to POI No. 2 will take you through narrow red-lit alleyways that are lined with prostitute's windows. You will notice a wide variety of shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities of the working women, which speaks to the varied tastes of customers.

As you pass the Old Church again on your right, you will find a statue of "Belle." This statue is the only one in the world to honor sex workers. The inscription reads, "Respect sex workers all over the world."

Another church? You bet! The Amstelkring Museum is one of the most overlooked museums in Amsterdam. An important part of Amsterdam's history is the centuries-long battle between Catholics and Protestants. In 1578 the Protestants gained power from the Catholics in what is known as the Alteration. Catholic churches were vandalized and shut down, and Catholics were forced to worship in private. In 1663 a wealthy merchant build Our Lord in the Attic, one of several places in the city that was built as a place of secret worship.
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Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40
020-624-6604
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Admission
Adults €8
Kids 6-18 €4
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Hours
Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 1-5pm
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OK, after visiting a couple churches it's time to have a beer at Amsterdam's wonderful micro brewery de Prael.

De Prael (The Pearl) is one of only three micro breweries left in Amsterdam. Opened in 2002, it is also a brew pub with good, unfiltered organic beers. The brewery produces eight beers, with five to six available at any one time.

There is a full kitchen where you can order sides or snacks from a changing menu. One typical Dutch snack is bitterballen, a piping hot, minced-meat, fried finger food.

The beers at de Prael are named after famous Dutch musicians and include Johnny, Willy and Mary. The proeflokaal (tasting room, aka pub) is open Tuesday-Sunday 11am-11pm. Closed Mondays.

There is also a shop where you can buy take-away beer and souvenirs (Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, until 9pm Thursday; Saturday-Sunday noon-5pm).
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Oudezijds Armsteeg 26
020-408-4470
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Brewery hours
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm
Tours can be arranged
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After visiting de Prael we'll walk along Zeedijk, which is the home to Amsterdam's small Chinatown district. There are two restaurants on Zeedijk if you're looking for a good meal. The first is Thaise Snackbar Bird at Zeedijk 77, which serves up quick and delicious Thai food. The second is Nam Kee at Zeedijk 111, considered one of the best Chinese restaurants in town.

There are several live sex shows in the RLD, and from what I've read Theatre Casa Rosso is the best among them. This type of performance is not for everyone, but will be a fun experience for many. The crowd is typically couples, tour groups and bachelor/bachelorette parties. The show is entertaining and more theatrical than "sexy."

Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest and the most likely to see bachelor/bachelorette parties. The night I walked by was a rainy Sunday at 10pm and the line to get in was pretty long. To avoid the long lines I recommend catching an early show.

The shows go on continuously through the evening and you can stay as long as you like.
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Oudezijds Achterburgwal 106-108
020-6231834
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Admission
€35 no drinks included
€50 four drinks included
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Monday-Thursday, Sunday 7pm-2am
Friday-Saturday 7pm-3am
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Just a few doors down from Casa Rosso you will pass Bar de Stoof just before you cross over the bridge to the other side of the canal. If you're thirsty this is a nice pub to stop at for a beer. Prior to 1997 the ground floor of this building was a red-lit window. Now if you sit at one of the tables in the window on the canal side, you can look across the canal and watch the scantily clad women work their magic (until the curtains close).

A RLD tour is not complete without a stop at a sex shop. Of all the sex shops in the RLD, Red Light Souvenirs has the most kitsch—and I mean that in a good way. There are plenty of cheap and amusing souvenirs to choose from. They are open daily from 1pm to 11pm.

As mentioned in the overview, if you are looking to shop for erotic clothing, lingerie or sex toys, skip the sex shops in the RLD and visiting Female & Partners instead. See the POI at the end of this guide for more information.
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Oudezijds Achterburgwal 127
020-320-1691
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Hours
Daily 1-11pm
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The walk to the next stop will take you just outside the RLD. As you walk along Oude Hoogstraat realize that John Adams lived on this street in the 1780s as ambassador to the Dutch Republic. Farther down Oude Hoogstraat, just before you turn right onto Kloveniersburwal, you will find the East India House, which was the international headquarters of the Dutch East India company in the 17th century. It now houses University of Amsterdam's department of sociology.

After turning onto Kloveniersburgwal look up and to your left to see the beautiful tower of Zuiderkerk (South Church).

What would this tour be without a couple of coffeeshops (i.e., cannabis cafes) to visit? Most of the coffeeshops in the RLD are loud and crowded with tourists. This tour takes you to two well-regarded coffeeshops just outside the RLD that offer pleasant ambiance and well-regarded marijuana.

Coffeeshop Basjoe is a quiet cafe with friendly staff, housed next to a picturesque canal. There is a small front terrace with space for three to four tables overlooking the canal, Zuiderkerk tower and crooked canal-side houses. Basjoe is known for its Himalayan Black Hash and the Special Haze weed—or just ask what's good.
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Kloveniersburgwal 62
020-627-3858
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Hours
Daily 10am-1am

This legendary coffeeshop sells potent pot and has won the Cannabis Cup a number of times over the years. With the Grand Hotel next door, celebrities are frequently patrons. It is also a pleasant spot to hang out—with its sunken floors, mosaic stones and blown-glass lamps. It can get quite crowded on Friday and Saturday evenings.
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Oudezijds Voorburgwal 191
020-627-1739
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Hours
Daily 9am-1am
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The walk from the Greenhouse Coffeeshop to the next POI takes you back into the RLD onto another red-lit alleyway. Turn right onto Warmoesstraat, the oldest existing street in Amsterdam.

After turning left onto Oudebrugsteeg, at the end of the block of buildings on your left, notice an ornately decorated building. This is the old tax collector's office, built in 1638. At that time the main harbor was just across the street, where today you see several canal cruise ships docked. Taxes were assessed on the goods coming off the merchant ships. Notice the Amsterdam coat of arms consisting of two golden lions holding the crest emblazoned with three St. Andrew's crosses and topped with the Austrian imperial crown (once the protectorate of Amsterdam).

We end our tour at Amsterdam's Sexmuseum on the busy Damrak, which is a three-minute walk outside of the RLD. There is an Erotic Museum within the RLD but it is smaller, less interesting and more expensive than Sexmuseum Amsterdam.

This museum claims to be the first dedicated to the oldest art (established in 1985). The collection covers four floors and attracts around 500,000 visitors a year. Inside you can see objects and erotica demonstrating sexual attitudes going back some 4,000 years. Depending upon your sensibilities you may find the museum shocking, instructive or a bit dull (or very possibly all three).
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Damrak 18
020-622-8376
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Admission
€4
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Hours
Daily 9:30am-11:30pm; must be 16 to enter
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That concludes our tour around the RLD. To get your bearings, notice that the Sexmuseum is in the shadow of Central Station. From Central Station you can catch trams or buses that take you throughout the city.

If you would like a Flemish treat after all that walking, you can find Verse Vlaamse Frites (Fresh Flemish Fries) by walking 100 meters with Central Station behind you, on the same side of the street as the Sexmuseum. The address is Damrak 41. It is open daily 11am-11pm (to 2am Friday, Saturday). Many consider this shop to have the best fries in the city.

Female & Partners is a woman-owned-and-operated shop that specializes in erotic fashion, lingerie and toys. The shop was opened in 1992 and was the first of its kind to gear itself toward female customers (men are welcome to shop for their wives and girlfriends).

The staff are friendly and informative, and they have an extensive selection. Female & Partners also have an online shop at their website (see below).
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Spuistraat 100
020-620-9152
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Hours
Monday 1-6:30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 11am-6:30pm
Thursday 11am-9pm
Saturday 11am-6pm
Sunday 1-6pm