To not want to go to the red light district

[Filletsteak]

Going to Amsterdam next week with my partner. We've both said we have no interest in going to the red light district. Told friends this and they laughed and said we were being daft as it's a tourist attraction. Also they said it's pretty unavoidable, is this true?

I personally don't see prostitutes stood in windows as an attraction I need to tick off. Am I being silly? Surely there's plenty in Amsterdam to see and do that doesn't include that. Just don't understand why it's seen as socially acceptable to visit?

Well don't go then. No it's not unavoidable at all. It's also probably nowhere near as seedy as you're imagining. It seems odd to have a moral objection to the red light district but choose to holiday in a country where it's legal.

It's easy to avoid and if you don't want to go that's fine. Not their choice or holiday.
You just do what you want

You can avoid it. It’s not weird though, or anything like that. There’s bars and restaurants in the areas. You can’t stare in at the Windows or take photos ( that would be weird) but you walk through it and it’s very normal. I’ve taken my kids round there- it’s just an area like anywhere else

We apparently walked down one of the streets but it was so busy I didn’t actually notice. We went because we got super cheap flights, not for rld not cannabis. Amsterdam has way more to offer.

Morality and legality are two separate issues no? Prostitution is the very definition of seedy and I would not be interested in it either. YANBU op.

We completely avoided it easily enough when we went earlier this year, so it's easy to do. My mum went on a guided tour of the red light district and found the history of it all very interesting. It is more than just prostitutes in windows.

I don’t agree that you should consider it a tourist attraction, but I wouldn’t purposefully avoid a whole area of central Amsterdam either. I still find it a nice area to walk around.

Well I think it’s really insulting of the women working to go and gawp at them in their windows with no intention of paying for their services, so no I wouldn’t go to do that. It is actually quite an interesting part of the city though if you take a tour, very informative. If you want to avoid it completely though it is easy to do so.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Amsterdam, usually for gigs and I've never seen the red light district.

I went to Amsterdam with my teenage sons, and it was very easy to avoid the red light district. There are much nicer areas and attractions that would easily fill your time - the museum quarter, canal cruise, Anne Frank House, the new and modern northern zone with the A'dam tower.

Why is this odd?! The Netherlands is one of our nearest neighbours and has hugely rich cultural history. I’d love to go to Amsterdam for the art, the museums, the architecture. I’m hugely uncomfortable with the approach to drugs and prostitution, but would find the suggestion that I couldn’t go to see the Vermeers without simultaneously endorsing the idea of the legal purchase of women’s bodies very weird…

Easily avoided just check. There's more than one area so do a bit of research before you book your hotel

I mean, it exists and it is there. I believe you should travel to see the world as it is, rather than how you wish it was. I would go and see it because it’s a part of the city.

Amsterdam is a great city over all though. Loads to see and do. I wouldn’t write off a whole area though!

Thank you everyone for your helpful tips and advise. I'm no prude but it's just something I have no desire to see.
It's reassuring I can avoid the area.

Canal cruise and museums are top of my agenda!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.