The whole area between Warmoesstraat, Nieuwmarkt and Damstraat is the Red Light District, known locally as "De Walletjes". The total area is approximately 6500 square meters. The city's history of prostitution dates from the its 13th-century roots. Amsterdam has always resisted efforts to banish sex as an industry, and the Dutch came to accept the advantage of a more pragmatic approach. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, with the exception of street prostitution.

De Wallen has become a famous tourist attraction. It consists of a network of roads and alleys containing several hundred small, one-room apartments rented by female sex workers, who offer their services from behind a window, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, a sex museum and a number of coffee shops.