5 Best Sights in Red Light District, Amsterdam

While it's one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, the Nes may not one of the prettiest, but it's filled with plenty of theaters and restaurants. For two centuries, it was packed with monasteries and convents, until the Alteration (or Protestant changeover) in 1578, which kick-started Amsterdam's march toward the Golden Age. Adjacent to the southern end of the Nes is Gebed Zonder End, the "Prayer Without End" alleyway, which got its name because it was said you could always hear prayers from behind the walls of the convents that used to line the alley. The Frascati Theater (No. 63) began life as a coffeehouse in 1810, but it wasn't until the 1850s that the street really blossomed with cafés filled with dance, song, operetta performances, and vaudeville, the stars of which often represented the less uptight segment of the Jewish community.

Landmarked by its now-famous pair of chiseled spectacles set over the Oudezijds Achterburgwal pediment—a sweet reference to old age—this passage led to an Oudemannenhuis, or pensioners' house, founded in 1602. Today bikes (not canes) are in evidence here, as this former almshouse is now part of the University of Amsterdam. One charming relic from its 18th-century days is the covered walkway, which was once lined with traders selling luxury items, whose rents helped subsidize the elderly. Adorned with red shutters, the stalls now house an array of antiquarian booksellers. Atop the Kloveniersburgwal end stands a group of allegorical figures, sculpted by Anthonie Ziesenis in 1786, representing Mercy with the attributes of Abundance (a horn), Enlightenment (a lamp), and Wisdom (a book) flanked by Old Age and Poverty.

The architect A. C. Bleijs designed this Catholic church with its large dome, twin steeples, and colorful stained-glass windows as a replacement for all the clandestine churches that operated during the Reformation. After the Oude Kerk and the Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic) chapel, this church, completed in 1887, became the third (and probably final) Sint-Nicolaas church in Amsterdam. Saint Nicholas, the all-purpose patron saint of children, thieves, prostitutes, sailors, and the City of Amsterdam, transforms into Sinterklaas in mid-November, when he is popularly said to arrive from Spain on a steamboat with his helper Piet (formerly Black Pete). The eve of his birthday on December 6 is celebrated as a family feast when everyone exchanges presents and poems. The church hosts a Choral evensong on Saturday at 5 and a Gregorian chant vesper service on Sunday at 5, September through June.

This rather touristy strip of hostels, bars, and coffeeshops began life as one of the original dikes along the Amstel. It's where the famous 17th-century poet Joost van den Vondel did business from his hosiery shop at No. 101, and where Mozart's father tried to unload tickets for his son's concerts in the area's upscale bars. It entered a decline in the 17th century when the proprietors decamped for fancier digs on the Canal Ring; sailors (and the businesses that catered to them) started to fill in the gaps. In the 19th century, the street devolved, along with its extension, Nes, into the city's primary debauchery zone. Today, there's an active gay scene here: look out for the rainbow and black-and-blue flags.

Few streets have had a longer or more torrid history than Zeedijk (it means "sea dike," as it sounds), which has been around since Amsterdam began life as a boggy hamlet. In the 15th and 16th centuries, its businesses serviced the lonely, thirsty sailors disembarking from the ships of the East India Company. By the 1970s, though, most of the traffic Zeedijk saw was drug traffic, and tourists were advised to avoid the neighborhood at night because of the junkies and high crime rate. Since its renovation, Zeedijk has become a pleasant street, with plenty of restaurants, pubs, and shops, and it's a very nice place to wander.

There are several interesting sights along the Zeedijk. The entrance of 15th-century Sint Olofskapel (St. Olaf Chapel) sports a sandstone sculpture by Hendrick de Keyser: grains growing out of a supine skeleton with a Latin inscription meaning "Hope for a better life." It's now an events venue. Across the street at No. 1 is one of only two houses with timber facades left in the city. Dating to around 1550, a persistent (and untrue) folkloric tale tells that In't Aepjen (In the Monkeys) provided bedding to destitute sailors if they promised to return from their next voyage with a monkey. Alas, a local historian revealed in 2019 there never was an inn here, though it's first inhabitant, Jan Jansz 'int Aepjen was a trader in hides and skins. Café 't Mandje at No. 65 was the first openly gay bar, run by legendary lesbian biker chick Bet van Beeren (1902–67). It reopened in 2008, with much of the original interior restored, complete with the trophy ties Bet snipped off customers. The Chinese community dominates the end of the street, where street signs are in Dutch and Mandarin. There are around 10,000 Chinese in Amsterdam, a 20th-century presence much younger than the Dutch in China (Taiwan came under Dutch control in 1624). One highlight is the Fo Guang Shan He Hua Buddhist temple (No. 118), the largest Buddhist temple in Europe constructed in the traditional style. Chinatown extends into Geldersekade and Nieuwmarkt, and every year there are small (but colorful) Chinese New Year celebrations.