Red Light Secrets — Museum of Prostitution
Red Light Secrets is a social history museum in Amsterdam’s De Wallen red-light district offering visitors an experiential look at the world behind the city’s famous red-lit windows. Housed in a former working brothel on Oudezijds Achterburgwal, the museum examines the realities of sex work in Amsterdam — its history, its legal framework, and the daily lives of the people involved — through immersive installations, personal testimonies, and interactive displays.
At a glance
- Type
- Social history and experiential museum
- Period
- Contemporary (museum opened in De Wallen historic district)
- Style
- Immersive installation and documentary
- Location
- Oudezijds Achterburgwal 60, 1012 DP Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Coordinates
- 52.3737° N, 4.8968° E
Overview
Located in the heart of one of Europe’s oldest and most debated urban districts, Red Light Secrets takes a non-voyeuristic approach to its subject, prioritising the perspectives of sex workers over the curiosity of tourists. Visitors walk through a recreated working environment — including a simulated window room — while audio testimonies and first-person accounts contextualise what is often reduced to spectacle. The museum aims to replace myth with information and to foster a more nuanced public conversation about sex work, regulation, and urban social policy.
History
De Wallen, Amsterdam’s red-light district, has functioned as a centre of legal prostitution for centuries, and its canal-side window brothels became among the city’s most recognisable — and most contested — landmarks. The museum was established within a building that previously served as a working brothel, preserving the spatial reality of its subject. Its creation reflected a broader shift in Amsterdam’s approach to De Wallen: moving from passive tolerance to active cultural interpretation, partly in response to growing tourism pressure and debates about the ethics of sex tourism.
What you see
The museum is laid out across multiple rooms of a narrow Amsterdam canal house. A highlight is the life-size recreation of a window room where visitors can experience the physical environment from the inside — a perspective rarely available to the general public. Audio stations throughout the building play recorded testimonies from sex workers, clients, and social workers. Display panels cover Amsterdam’s legal and regulatory framework for sex work, health and safety provisions, and the ongoing political debates around the district’s future. The experience is designed to be thought-provoking rather than titillating.
Cultural significance
Red Light Secrets occupies an unusual position in the landscape of European social history museums: it uses the format of heritage interpretation to address a subject that remains legally and morally contested across the world. By situating the museum within an original working space and centring the voices of those who labour there, it makes a documentary and humanising argument in an ongoing civic debate about sex work, tourism, and urban identity in Amsterdam.
Practical information
The museum is located at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 60, Amsterdam. It is open daily; admission is charged. Check the official website for current opening hours, ticket prices, and age restrictions. The museum is intended for adults.
Getting there
De Wallen is centrally located in Amsterdam’s old city, a 10–15 minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station. Tram lines 4, 14, and 24 stop near the area (Spui or Nieuwmarkt). The neighbourhood is also accessible by metro (Nieuwmarkt stop on line 52). Cycling is the most practical option for those already in the city.