To not want to go to the red light district

I agree you can avoid it easily. And be aware many places don't take cash and VISA cards are not widely accepted, so you need a MasterCard. You also need to pre-book museums as they sell out quickly. Have a great time.

I have been going to Amsterdam my whole life, me and my mum used to go for a cheap weekend all the time when I was younger. It has changed. I was last there just before lockdown and the red light district was particularly intense. Most of the girls looked very young and very spaced out. Tbh, they looked like they had just been dropped there with no idea what was going on. I would not walk my children around that area for any reason.
It is easy to avoid and there is plenty to do there OP, you will have a great time.

I've been to Amsterdam twice. Went to the red light district the first time and we were very unnerved by the drug dealers. We got out of there as quickly as possible. Didn't go back the second time.

Love Amsterdam though.

When we went a few years ago now we walked through the red light district (not on purpose) in the morning and it was pretty much all closed up. It was not at all obvious what it was, although I do recall some big (empty) windows.
The area was pretty much deserted, nothing to see. (Fine by me.)

I’ve been to Amsterdam a few times and never looked for it but have walked through inadvertently. I believe there are a few areas so it’s possible you might stumble across one without realising as we did.

I went albeit it a number of years ago, I found it really sad to see the men go through the doors knowing that women would be selling themselves for sex.

my DH has never had a particularly high sex drive (that I know of anyway) and it made me wonder why men do it.

I don't know what kind of pubs you go to but... 😅

I’ve been to Amsterdam twice and managed not to see it. To be fair though, I am the least observant person ever so I might have walked right through it and not noticed 😂 I certainly didn’t want to see it so I’m glad I didn’t.

Me neither.

I'd still go to oude kerk, that's on the edge of the biggest area but you can approach it without going down the narrow alleys.

Umm of course but if I had a moral objection to something, I wouldn't choose to visit somewhere famous for it. For example I won't set foot in UAE. The red light district is unlikely to be as seedy as OP imagines, it just looks like a row of pubs.

I would have no interest in this either and I think it’s gross to call it a tourist attraction.

I spend a long weekend in Amsterdam a few years ago and didn’t see anything of the red light district, it is largely avoidable.

It's a bit different, isn't it? Decriminalised then, if you want to be pedantic

It's a shame to miss the area from an architectural perspective, it's actually lovely. The windows themselves aren't on every single street, they are down a couple of them that you could avoid or just walk past quickly without looking.

@BigDahliaFan agree! Takes you into another time and place.

@Filletsteak highly recommend the Church in the Attic - fascinating about the history of religion in Amsterdam.

From personal experience I thought it would be harmless walking through, naively thinking they'd all chosen to be there, until I saw one of the women crying in the window, then seeing her go off with a paying customer (who would have noticed she was upset). It still upsets me now to think about it, I wouldn't blame you if you avoid it.

We went through it as part of a walking tour (it wasn't advertised as a red light district walking tour) and found out a bit about the history - fascinating. But it is weird.

Easy to avoid. There's so much else to see and do in Amsterdam.
The city authorities don't much like it as it is either, and are seeking to move it out of the centre. It's not the working women there I object to - it's the punters. I just don't want to be anywhere near the sleazy men!

amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/19/amsterdam-sex-workers-protest-against-plan-to-move-red-light-district

But you're not the one posting asking why it's socially acceptable to visit, are you? Everyone makes their own choices on what they're comfortable with.

It is only a few streets so it is certainly possible to avoid them.

Amsterdam is a lovely city for walking and it is very easy to avoid the red light district. The very centre of Amsterdam can be super busy but head out by a canal or two and it's a great place to explore.

Where what's legal? There are red light districts here too.

If you are wandering around the canals yes, it's hard to avoid but it's not immediately obvious 'in your face'. From example there are 3 windows just beside the big church that is a tourist attraction.

The history of it is really interesting but of course now there are a lot of Eastern European girls with pimps. I used to live there and what I hated most was seeing young lads going in while their mates waited outside.