I was recently discussing this with my Romanian friend. I visited Amsterdam a couple years ago while studying in Europe. It was a city I heard good things about, but in a lot of ways, more what I expected. I was aware of the "cafes" and De Wallen before visiting, but I did not expect that kind of stuff to be as prevalent as it was. I was also surprised by the casinos as well. A good chunk of the inner city just felt artificial and fake, not unlike Las Vegas. Now, I like Las Vegas, but the thing about that city is that it was designed from the ground up to be a sleazy tourist destination. Amsterdam is a medieval city that got remade into Las Vegas's image. When did this occur and why? Why did this ancient city decide to pivit it's economy to sleazy tourism?
With that being said, I very much enjoyed the outer neighborhoods of Amsterdam. I enjoyed the canal tour and the museum's. I am very aware that not the whole city is like this and that it's limited to the touristy neighborhoods by the train station.
12 comments
Not even the woman working on the Wallen like what it became.
Last time I was there I talked to several of them (not as a client) and they all complain about the drugs, the filth and the tourists. Most stay very short times to cash in and move away as quickly as possible, either other cities in Europe or one of the two other “districts” in Amsterdam.
>Amsterdam is a medieval city that got remade into Las Vegas’s image.
Sailors went to Amsterdam for prostitutes since, what the 14th century? Exotic spices were traded there before America was discovered.
Las Vegas is the taco Bell of debauchery. Nothing new or original, and very cheap and fake. Amsterdam is what it historically always was. Only now it’s not just locals and sailors enjoying the industries.
Funny cause I always talk about the Amsterdamization of various cities’ old towns, such as the gothic quarters in Barcelona or temple bar in Dublin. The historic centre becomes a sort of nightmarish disneyland version of itself where you can always buy the same donuts.
I’ve been in Amsterdam recently after 10 years from my last visit, and I found the city to be _less_ a Disneyland for adults than before. But maybe it’s just because I did this time a much more “cultural” trip which included attending concerts at the Concertgebouw and at the Nationale opera, or spend much more time in museums…
Hello from Amsterdam (please send help).
The short answer is greed.
Unlike Paris, Rome, and most other big tourist cities, there are pretty much no privately owned or family-owned properties and businesses left. What’s left is a fast-food, fast-pleasure industry that caters to cheap and, as you’ve put it, “raunchy” tourism.
Most, if not all, of the property in the inner city is owned by a select group of people (pandjesbazen) who do not care about the city’s heritage and culture and gladly rent out their property to yet another candy shop, rubber duck store, or whatever fast food is trending on TikTok and makes a quick buck—until that business fails and they rent it out to the next greedy idiot with a great idea for making money off tourists.
While our city is becoming a dystopian amusement park, and more and more locals are leaving the city, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Unless the city council bans certain shops or tries to diversify the inner city by changing the zoning laws, I am afraid Amsterdam will be the raunchy tourist capital of Europe for years to come.
I dunno, I visited Amsterdam for the first time last year and was there for four days and while I certain saw a lot of touristy areas/things, I didn’t think it was *that* bad. In fact I found it quite chill to be honest. Then again I went in November, so that could be why?
The “Disneyfication” effect is something that is unfortunately happening in many cities in Europe. Lisbon is like that these days, as is the town of Sintra and some other places in Portugal. I lived in Edinburgh for a bit and its historic center also felt a bit like a theme park at times. As much as I think tourism is necessary for places, I hate how its kind of ruining them as well.
Mass tourism will kill the originality of any city. Those seedy bohemian bars and clubs will get bought out by a chain. The same for the clothes shops. The cheap flats where students and interesting people lived will become desirable and too expensive for all but the rich. The same thing has happened countless times from London to New York, Berlin to Budapest.
Anything interesting and alternative, be it a city or a subculture, that gains popularity will be dead before too long.
When I visited Amsterdam last February, I found that many of the cultural attractions of Amsterdam were booked up for literally months in advance. The Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank’s house in particular spring to mind. As a result, only the more low brow touristy attractions were available for people to enter at any time, and as such the city attracted those types of tourists. The only respite I had was the maritime museum, and exploring the museum it seemed clear that it had come under some political pressure to change the tone of its exhibits.
Because greed trumps everything and the only reason why it happened faster in the US is that because it was directly built like that and here it had to transform. Give it enough time and the way it is going all major cities’ centers are gonna be basically amusement parks
It’s a good thing actually. That way, other cities get a chance. Don’t like Amsterdam? Visit Utrecht. Don’t like Barcelona? Visit Granada.
Hasn’t Amsterdam or “De Wallen” been like this for decades now?
When did Amsterdam pivot to sleazy tourism? 17th century probably.
If anything in recent years there has been efforts to curb and reduce these type of businesses.
Anyway its kinda only a couple of blocks around De Wallen like this. So many areas aren’t sleazy.
I was there last year and completly advoided the district in question.
I’ve lived in Amsterdam for years and are still there very often. While the city center certainly is very touristy and for a large part caters primarily to low brow tourists it still has a lot to offer to those that are willing to look a bit beyond the coffeeshops and those dumb Nutella stores. Most of the city is perfectly liveable and very chill, it’s really just a few streets that are too busy with drunk Brits. It has a whole bunch of nice museums, bars, markets, restaurants and little squares that are popular mostly with locals. Amsterdam’s main problem are the housing prices that are driving out middle class residents in favor of high earners, both Dutch and expats (some of which don’t even come and live in the houses they buy). It’s causing a decay in the social fabric of the city.