12 actually good things to do in Amsterdam’s red light district

Oude Kerk is the city’s oldest building, built in the 13th century by Catholics (then ransacked by Calvinists during the Reformation) and still holding huge importance to Amsterdammers. It might be like no where you’ve ever visited before – around 2,500 gravestones greet you when you walk through the door. Learning about its very turbulent history is fascinating in itself, but the venue is now a cultural centre in its own right, hosting exhibitions and gallery days from a load of international artists. 

Explore Amsterdam’s turbulent religious heritage at this fascinating museum in the Red Light District. The whole place centres around a clandestine chapel built by an underground Catholic congregation after their religion was outlawed in the sixteenth century by the Protestant Dutch government. Decorated with pastel pinks and vivid iconography, the chapel appears frozen in time, allowing visitors to fully experience this important chapter of Dutch history. 

Founded in the 1980s to help promote safe sex during the Aids crisis, Condomerie was the world’s first condom specialist store. Besides selling johnnies of all shapes and sizes, the store serves as an information centre for safe sex and offers advice concerning everything from artificial lubrication to personal hygiene. Even though its aims are noble, Condomerie doesn’t shy away from humour and stocks a bunch of novelty items emblazoned with cartoon condoms, too. 

It wouldn’t be right to discuss the red light district without at least mentioning the area’s most (in)famous feature: prostitution. But instead of gawking at windows alongside throngs of other tourists, there’s a much better way to get some insight into this world – and that’s by visiting Red Light Secrets. Referred to as the world’s ‘first and only prostitution museum,’ this institution attempts to contextualise the practice and show it from the perspective of those working in the field. If you’re interested in the history of the red light district and the impact prostitution has had on the area, Red Light Secrets is well worth a visit.

Tucked away in an unassuming spot on Zeedijk is the lovely little Mascini Theatre. This brown bar – or bruin café, what we call traditional Dutch pubs round here – has live music and theatre most days of the week, but it’s modest enough from the outside that you could walk past and not even know it was a venue. But don’t just come here for the theatre; it’s a bit of a hidden drinking spot too, with a very nice bar that overlooks the canal, open till 1am on weekdays and 3am on weekends. 

This charitable brewery helps locals facing difficulties in the job market find meaningful employment. Known for its preference for time-honed recipes, Brouwerij de Prael