What started off skeptically has today turned into one of the key attractions in Amsterdam. Along with a rich past, spectacular art and breath taking architecture, Amsterdam is home to the most flamboyant sex and erotic industry and also the world’s first Sex Museum.

Opened in 1985, the Sex museum gets on an average over 500,000 visitors every year. Also known as the Venus Temple, the Sex museum, is recorded as the fourth most visited museum in Amsterdam just after Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank’s House, and likely so, the Museum provides detailed historical accounts of how civilizations sated their carnal desires. (Now, who wouldn’t want to know that).

The Museum is definitely not for everyone, only for those who are curious and definitely not children. It is filled with paintings, sculptures, vintage photographs, cartoons and other recordings having one denominator, Erotica and sensuality. The Sex Museum also has a vast collection of objects, personal belongings and recordings of personalities of the past who have played a huge role in shaping and influencing the history of sex. This includes people like Marquise de Pompadour, Marquis de Sade, Mata Hari, etc.

Another fun exhibit at the Museum is the one dedicated to the practices of the ancient Greek and Romans. Altogether, the Sex Museum is a fun experience which should not be missed at any cost.

Since opening in the vibrant heart of Amsterdam’s Red Light District this bar has been the city’s premier venue for the best modern Drum and Bass, reggae, dance, funk and rare grooves with electronic music. Very often Greenhouse Effect is visited by local top DJs.

One of the key attractions of Amsterdam is its ostentatious and very legal prostitution. The Red Light District or the De Wallen, as the locals call it, is the largest red light area in the world. Although this aspect of the city may seem very exotic, appealing and adventurous, assistance may be needed to ensure you are well informed and familiarized.

Having an information center for the world largest prostitution area seems like a logical idea, and Miss Mariska Majoor, a onetime professional herself, did exactly that. Started in 1994, the Prostitution Information Center helps educate newcomers, tourists and visitors about this thriving industry of Amsterdam. Right from well reputed places to what to expect behind the curtain, you can find assistance at the PIC.

The PIC is a non-governmental organization and helps keep the prostitution business as clean and professional as possible. Protecting both the customer and the professional, the PIC is the best place to get the right information about the Red light District of Amsterdam. A fun tour is organized by the PIC around the De Wallen and noted Red Light Areas that lasts for one hour and takes visitors around some pretty interesting places. A must when in Amsterdam!

The Zeedijk is one place that is beaming with fun and activity. Not only is its present lively, the Zeedijk has a dynamic and vibrant past as well. A perfect, in fact lethal combination of history, glamour, fun and entertainment, the Zeedijk is all wrapped in one.

The Chinese neighborhood of any city invariably makes it to the list of attraction of a city and Amsterdam is no exception. The Zeedijk, roughly translated- the ‘sea dikes’ is in the heart of the China town in Amsterdam. As with many mini Chinas in other cities, there are loads of fun stuff to explore in and around the neighborhood, whether it be related to sight, sound, smell or taste.

Sieve through numerous arrays of tokos, small Chinese stores, restaurants and herbal shops. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the only remaining wooden houses in Amsterdam, located exclusively in Zeedijk. Also worth seeing are some vintage structures that now house some of the most famous pubs and bars, a Buddhist temple and some high street fashion stores. The Zeedijk has long served Amsterdam as one of the most significant harbors, from disembarking voyage ships in the 15th and 16th century to drug vessels and traffic in the 20th century. Zeedijk also marks the boundary of the Red Light District of the city.

There are a lot of things Amsterdam is famous for; it may be history, art, architecture or science. However, one thing about the city you just cannot ignore is its bold and candid expression of eroticism. Whether it is taking a walk down the Red Light District or visiting the Erotic Museum, people of Amsterdam are not shy.

Bringing forth eroticism with a hint of art is what the Erotic Museum strives to do. Collecting art, paintings, photography, sketches, sculptures and prints from artists all over the world who have a common denominator, eroticism and its artistic expression is what the Erotic Museum works towards all around the year.

At the entrance of the Museum, one is greeted with an orgasmic mannequin of a maid riding a power paddled dildo. The museum is filled with new age erotic art, wax models, equipment and toys as well as vintage, turn of the century erotic art and photographs. It may not be the place you can take an innocent minded, but it is definitely a place worth the visit in Amsterdam for rarely does one come across a museum displaying erotica. The most ironic part however, is the gable stone on this building that reads ‘God is myn burgh’ (God is my citadel).

The Hash, Marijuana and Hemp museum situated in Amsterdam, at Oudezijds Achterburgwal, a canal of the Red Light District, are attractions within a walking distance from one another. These were established in 1985, 1987 and 2008 respectively, and were expanded into two venues due to the increased number of displays. The museum takes you through the past, present and the future of hemp and marijuana (also known as Cannabis). It provides insight into the use of hemp with an emphasis on its medicinal, cultural and religious aspects, its uses in production of paper and textile, as well as its potential for benefiting the environment and agriculture. This museum is operated and owned by one of the oldest and biggest seed companies in Amsterdam, the Sensi Seed Bank (which is located next to the museum).
There are two main exhibition venues, namely: the Museum itself and the Hemp gallery. The Museum shows various recreational uses of hemp, such as the oil extracted from hemp and suitable for human consumption, impregnate textiles, paints and soaps. Hemp is also a close alternative to cotton, since its cultivation is easy and the plant is undemanding and versatile. The Hemp gallery shows the history of hemp in the form of paintings, photographs and short films.
There is a facility through which visitors can observe cultivation of varieties of marijuana from behind a glass wall. Adult visitors can enjoy the effects of vapors in a special vaporizing room located right there on the museum premises.