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Amsterdam red light district

Is it safe for 2 women to stay at accommodations within the red light district of Amsterdam? The property has very positive reviews, and does not reference any concerns regarding safety. It will be myself, and my 25 yr old granddaughter for 5 days. Thoughts

Posted by
5348 posts

If you Google red light district safety at night, you'll get some eye opening answers. Personally, I wouldn't stay there with my young daughter, given the choice.

Posted by
5476 posts

You may want to research noise levels at night, also, and when the bars around your lodging shut down.
So nice that you'll experience AMS with your granddaughter !

Posted by
7945 posts

"Red light District" is a description used to cover a large area, so it really depends exactly where. The area is really pretty, and I do not think safety is really an issue like it may have been 20 years ago. The city has drastically reduced the number of windows, and cleaned up the area, to the point that much of the area described as the RLD, has no "red light" activity and none of the "party atmosphere"

What can be an issue though, is along a few streets and the Oudizijds canal, are crowds at night. Not sure where the property is, but if it is away from the central area, it would be fine.

Posted by
8130 posts

I have been Amsterdam 10 times and half drunk in the Red Lights area after midnight It's fine. Just don't go walking down allies and what not when there are no people on the streets.

Posted by
17254 posts

I would want to “walk” the street on Google Street View to see what the neighborhood looks like—what businesses are on either side of the hotel, etc.

Maybe you could name the hotel or the street it is on to get a more precise answer.

Posted by
438 posts

The impression I got from s doing the informational tour with the the Prostitution Information Center in the RLD is that the RLD is one of the most policed areas of the city. Prostitution is highly regulated. Street prostitution is illegal. The problem is that the RLD attracts crowds of rowdy drunken young men tourists from other countries and they, in turn, may attract pickpockets and scammers. Walking around, you will pass "red light" windows and some sex shops but no one will make you look or go inside if you are not curious. I would not stay there because it sounded to me that it would be noisy and unpleasant at night but not physically dangerous.
You might look closely at reviews on booking.com to see what women travelers say about the neighborhood.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and insights. Doing more research, and considering your remarks I have found other accommodations more suited to us.
Thanks again,
Happy travels