Amsterdam: Exclusive Red Light Tour｜Netherlands

Enjoy an exclusive small-group experience with a maximum of 4 participants. Join your guide for a 1.5-hour walking tour through Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District. The tour is available in English, German, Italian, Spanish and French.

In a small group, you’ll have more privacy and plenty of opportunity to ask questions as you explore the history, culture, and everyday realities of the Red Light District. Learn how the district developed, how legal sex work operates in the Netherlands, what working as a sex worker involves, and how the industry is viewed by residents and the city today.

Your tour begins at the National Monument on Dam Square. From here, walk towards Warmoesstraat, one of Amsterdam’s historic LGBTQ+ streets, before continuing into the heart of the Red Light District. Along the way, discover the stories behind the district’s famous streets and landmarks, including the Condomerie, Amsterdam’s iconic condom shop. Learn about the history of contraception and how attitudes towards sex and sex work have changed over the centuries.

Learn how Amsterdam’s Golden Age of trade helped not only art and creativity flourish throughout the city, but also shaped its culture and economy. Artists such as Rembrandt, whose works can now be admired at the Rijksmuseum, and Van Gogh, whose own Van Gogh Museum is one of Amsterdam’s most famous attractions, benefited from the wealth and opportunities created by international trade, even if not necessarily during their own lifetimes. The famous Heineken brewery also grew during the city’s heyday, and today, the Heineken Experience has become an integral part of Amsterdam. But there was one business that benefited perhaps even more directly from the city’s thriving trade: the business of the Red Light District.

The tour ends at Nieuwmarkt, on the edge of the Red Light District and the historic Jewish Quarter, which was once the home of Anne Frank. Here, your guide will introduce you to the system behind the famous coffeeshops in Amsterdam and explain the history behind it to you.