The Red Light District has 43 places to stay, and almost all of them are small and budget. It is the most central district in Amsterdam and the one most people are wrong about in both directions: quieter by day than they expect, louder at night than they hoped.
Who this area suits
De Wallen is the oldest part of Amsterdam. The Oude Kerk dates from 1306 and the canals here were dug centuries before the ring. In daylight it is an ordinary and rather beautiful old quarter, and you are a five-minute walk from Central Station, the Dam and the canal belt.
At night it is a different place. Between roughly ten in the evening and three in the morning the narrow lanes fill up, and the noise carries between buildings that stand a few metres apart. If you sleep lightly, this is not your district. If you are out until two anyway, nowhere is more convenient.
| Accommodation in this district | 43 properties, mostly small and budget |
| Booking.com district | Red Light District / De Wallen |
| Walk to Central Station | 5 to 10 minutes |
| Walk to the Dam | 5 minutes |
| Best for | Short stays on a budget, night owls |
| Less good for | Families, light sleepers, anyone arriving with a car |
Two hotels that are the exception
This district is short on notable hotels — that is a fact about the area rather than an oversight. Two properties stand apart, and both sit at the calm edges rather than in the middle.
Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197
Began in 1411 as two convents, was the headquarters of the Amsterdam Admiralty from 1655 to 1808, and served as the city hall from 1808 until 1987. It stands at the quiet southern end of the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, away from the windows.
NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace
Prins Hendrikkade 59–72
Built from several seventeenth-century town houses around St Olof’s Chapel, the oldest chapel in Amsterdam, which is now the hotel’s events space. It faces the water opposite Central Station, at the very top of the district.
How much choice you have
43 properties, and the district is small enough to walk across in ten minutes. Where you are inside it matters more than in any other part of the city: Warmoesstraat and the two Burgwallen in the middle are loud at night, while the southern end near the Grimburgwal and the northern edge along the Prins Hendrikkade are ordinary quiet streets.
Compare what is available: all 43 places to stay in the Red Light District.
Getting around from here
- Central Station is five to ten minutes on foot, which is the district’s main practical advantage.
- Metro 52 stops at Rokin, a few minutes away.
- Tram 4, 14 and 24 run along the Damrak and the Rokin on the western edge.
- Do not bring a car. There is effectively nowhere to park and the streets are barely wide enough.
What is around you
Read the full guide to De Wallen for what is worth seeing and the rules on photography. The Kalverstraat and the Dam are on the other side of the Damrak, and the canal ring starts ten minutes west.
Frequently asked questions
It is busy and heavily policed rather than dangerous. The realistic risks are pickpockets in the crowds and a bad night’s sleep, not violence.
Booking.com lists 43 properties in the De Wallen district, most of them small budget hotels and hostels.
In the middle, yes, especially from Thursday to Sunday. The southern end near the Grimburgwal and the northern edge on the Prins Hendrikkade are much quieter.
Not really. There is no danger to speak of during the day, but the district after dark is not something most parents want to walk their children through to reach the hotel.
