About this experience
Discover Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District on a 1.5-hour guided tour and choose between multiple language options. Learn about the district’s history and gain insight into the city's sex work.
Highlights
- Gain a critical perspective on sex work in Amsterdam’s Red Light District
- Explore the district in your language (DE, EN, IT, ES, FR, PT, HU or NL)
- Learn about the history, politics, and culture of Amsterdam’s coffeeshops
- Discover how sex workers earn a living and look behind the scenes of the area
What's included
- A tour through the Red Light District
- Licensed guide (German, English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hungarian or Dutch)
- Your guide is a professional native speaker. The tour is not bilingual, so please select the correct language option
How to use
- Show Mobile Ticket
- At Redemption Counter
What to expect
Discover Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District on a fun and engaging tour with a guide speaking German, English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hungarian or Dutch. Learn about the lives of sex workers, including average earnings, working conditions, and the realities behind the profession.
Gain insight into the history of Amsterdam’s coffeeshops and Marihuana, the current political landscape, and why they are seen as both a blessing and a challenge for the city.
Starting at the National Monument on Dam Square, where the famous Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is also located, stroll to Warmoesstraat, one of Amsterdam’s most well-known LGBTQ+ streets. Pass the Condomerie, a unique condom shop, and hear about the city’s history of contraception.
See the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam’s oldest church, and explore its fascinating and paradoxical connection to the Red Light District.
Learn how the city’s golden age of trade helped not just art and creativity flourish in Amsterdam. Artists such as Rembrandt, whose works now hang in the Rijksmuseum, and Van Gogh, who has his own museum, the Van Gogh Museum, benefited greatly from the wealth generated by trade, even if not necessarily during their lifetimes. The famous Heineken brewery also grew during the city’s heyday. Today, the Heineken Experience has become an integral part of Amsterdam. But there is something that benefited even more from the trade: the business in the red-light district.
Learn more about how interactions between clients and sex workers work, including pricing, expenses, room rentals, taxation, and safety measures.
Discover the origins of the Red Light District and visit the historic harbour area that contributed to its development. Stop for a photo at the iconic “dancing houses,” one of the city’s most picturesque sights.
Explore the evolution of Amsterdam’s coffeeshop culture, how it was established, the challenges it faces today, and what the future may hold. Please note that this tour does not include a visit inside a coffeeshop, but you are free to explore them at your own pace afterwards.
Finish the tour with personalised recommendations from your guide, including tips for further exploring the Red Light District and optional experiences such as visiting a traditional 1970s-style peepshow.
The tour ends at Nieuwmarkt, on the edge of the red-light district and the Jewish quarter, where Anne Frank also lived before she and her family went into hiding in her father’s factory, which is now the Anne Frank House.
If you book a private tour, the itinerary and route can be customized. This allows us to visit parts of the city center, including Museum Square—home to the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Stedelijk Museum—or the southern canal belt, where the Heineken Experience is located.
Terms & conditions
This tour is conducted in German, English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hungarian or Dutch – it is not bilingual. Please ensure you select the correct language option when booking.
This tour does not include an indoor visit to a coffeeshop.
On Fridays and Saturdays, the Red Light District is very busy. For a quieter experience, we recommend taking the tour on another day.
The tour takes place in all weather conditions. Please bring an umbrella in case of rain.
The walking distance is approximately 1.8 km (1.2 miles) at a comfortable pace.
Photography of sex workers is strictly prohibited.
Participants aged 16–18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Participants under 16 may only join a private tour, which can be adjusted according to their age.