While there are many activities for children and parents to benefit from in Amsterdam, there are also several locations with in the city that you may want to avoid.
Places and buildings where the entertainment appears to be mostly for adults stand out a mile, especially with the brightly lit neon signs of the various bars,cafes, and other adult entertainment.
If you have children with you on holiday in Amsterdam, then for obvious reasons you’ll probably want to steer clear of the RLD,coffee shops and other forms of strictly adult entertainment. Most people would now assume there’s not much else to do in Amsterdam, but in fact there is plenty of things to do. And the kids can join in the fun!
Areas you may want to avoid:
Warmoesstraat and the surrounding streets.
Warmoesstraat is home to many adult clubs,coffee shops and more red light activity than you may want your kids to see. Known as a vibrant and busy hot spot of the city, Warmoesstraat and it’s surrounding streets make up the RLD in this part of town. Excellant fun for adults to walk around, not so much fun for the children. Daytimes are much better than in an evening.
The RLD. (Oude Kerk)
Starting behind Warmoesstraat and heading over towards the Nieuwemarkt. The RLD (Red light district) is an old part of town and covers quite a large area. Windows surround the Oude Kerk so visiting during the day is recommended. Walking around the canals in this particular part of town, you’ll notice displays of red windows and women as well as sex cinemas and equally adult shops line the streets.
Spuistraat is simlar to the above. Known as a red light district but with no where near as many women or windows. Spuistraat is in the north west of Amsterdam. This part of town isn’t so bad as long as you stick to the main streets, taking a wander down an alleyway here may be a bad choice if you have children with you. The main street is relatively clean with only a few windows and coffee shops along it’s stretch.
As children aren’t allowed to enter coffee shops, you shouldn’t encounter much of a problem with them. Smoking products from the coffee shops is against the law on the streets or in many other public places, so the only encounter you may have is with the smell as people open and close the doors. Coffee shops are scattered across the city so may be hard to avoid passing.
