Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Built around 1480 as part of the city's defenses, Henry Hudson set sail for the New World
from this tower in 1609; a plaque outside marks the spot. It's called the 'wailing tower' in
lore - where women waved farewell to sailors' ships - but the name actually comes from
the word 'sharp' (for how the corner jutted into the bay). Step into the VOC Cafe for a
look inside the structure.
(
www.schreierstoren.nl
; Prins Hendrikkade 94-95;
4/9/16/24/25 Centraal Station)
10
Sexmuseum Amsterdam
MUSEUM
The Sexmuseum is good for a giggle. You'll find replicas of pornographic Pompeian
plates, erotic 14th-century Viennese bronzes, some of the world's earliest nude photo-
graphs, an automated farting flasher in a trench coat and a music box that plays 'Edel-
weiss' and purports to show a couple in flagrante delicto.
(
www.sexmuseumamsterdam.nl
; Damrak
18; admission €4, 16yr & over only;
9.30am-11.30pm;
4/9/16/24/25 Centraal Station)
Understand
Red Light District & Legalised Prostitution
As much as the tourism board wishes it weren't so, the Red Light District - aka De Wallen (The Quays) - is a dis-
tinguishing feature of Amsterdam. Perhaps what's most fascinating is that it's not a festering den of sleaze. Gran-
ted, lads on lost weekends don't set a great tone, but this may be the safest vice zone in the world.
No Big Deal
To the Dutch, legal prostitution is simply an industry like any other. Still, it's mind-bending when you first set
eyes on the women in the windows, illuminated not only with red lights (because it's the most flattering hue), but
also with black ones that make their white lingerie glow enticingly. Your first instinct might be to take a photo,
but don't do it - out of simple respect, and to avoid having your camera tossed in a canal by the ladies' enforcers.
You'll see specialisation - an NL sticker in a window, indicating 'Dutch spoken here', and sections occupied
by women from Suriname, Russia or Latin America - and of course aggressive self-marketing. Women pay to
rent a window for an eight- or 10-hour shift; they also pay income taxes based on city estimates of income correl-
ated with tourism figures. Overall, the industry generates about €650 million annually, according to the Central
Bureau of Statistics.
