Amsterdam has three Red Light Districts, but the one located in the centre of the city is the most famous. It is not only a place where prostitutes run their business. But also, a part of the city where one can find popular coffee shops, sex-shops, cinemas, theatres, bars and dining places.
Red Light Districts – entertainment and company
The history of the Red Light District in Amsterdam starts around the 14th century. This part of Amsterdam was at this time located nearby the old port. Emigrants which came to the Netherlands found a home at exactly this location. The closeness to the harbour caused that the sailors were visiting this district in a search for entertainment and company. This was a convenient place to start a prostitution business. Although the prostitution is legal in the Netherlands only since the year 2000, the Red Light District was for centuries a home for sexual adventures.
Today you can see prostitutes exhibiting themselves in over 3000 windows in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Although it’s forbidden to take photos of those “shops”, it’s all right to photograph the general architecture of the capital of the Netherlands.
