Beyond the Red Light : A Different Class of Dutch Coffee Shop

By Laura Eberschveiler

Originally published by Wanderous Affair Magazine of Toronto, Canada

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Amsterdam is a time-capsule of a city with a personality as divergent and interlocked as the canals that twine it together. Shoe-softened cobblestones and rows of gabbled roofs enkindle the feeling of a tidy, well-to-do town. Genteel locals chat cheerfully along waterside terraces, gracious and well-mannered, as they sip from foamy biers. With its abundance of museums, boathouses, and amicable residents, the ambiance in Amsterdam is one of charming refinement.

Humble beginnings as a medieval fishing village led the way to Amsterdam’s eventual status as a major 17th-century trading port at the height of the Dutch Golden Age. Diamonds, Eastern spices, and tea fueled the expansion of the city as it rose from the Amstel River Dam, over time transforming the town into a veritable haven for countless esteemed political, artistic, and academic figures.

Yet the city is just as well known for its drug use and prostitution as it is for Van Gogh and Vermeer. Curious visitors travel from far to explore Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light Districts - Yes, there is more than one red light district in Amsterdam. Surrounded by a wealth of interesting neighborhoods lies the port town’s oldest and most recognized red light district, De Wallen. So-called for the earthen walls that formerly enclosed it, De Wallen was a convenient spot for 14th-century sailors on shore leave to enjoy a drink and a woman. The area was so popular that the code word for paid sex in the Netherlands eventually became “wall.” Many, many years later and it is still Amsterdam’s go-to hot spot for recreational stimulants and prostitution…

Visitors to Amsterdam seem especially intrigued by its notorious coffeeshops or, in Dutch, “koffieshops,” where cannabis is available to buy and get high. (Not to be confused with a “koffie huis,” the Netherlands’ equivalent of a café.) Unadvertised, save for perhaps an Ethiopian flag or other Rastafarian symbols displayed in their windows, coffeeshops might be difficult for the uninitiated traveler to spot. Green and white signs, palm leaves, and splashes of gold, green, and red often adorn some part of their exteriors. This low key presence is a result of cannabis being decriminalized rather than fully legalized - a modern manifestation of“gedogen,” the Dutch custom of winking at rules they don’t feel should necessarily be enforced. 

De Wallen is home to Amsterdam’s most famous coffeeshops, such as Dampkring, where Ocean’s 12 filmed the painfully funny “Lost in Translation” scene and The Bulldog, Amsterdam’s very first coffeehouse, established even before cannabis was decriminalized in 1976. While these particular coffeeshops might appeal to some visitors, they are actually quite far from an authentic Amsterdam experience. People tend to visit them more as an homage to the pop culture of marijuana rather than to enjoy their ambiance. Other slightly off-center red light district coffeeshops like Bagheera and Basjoe are slightly less touristic but still draw in droves of out-of-towners with their psychedelic rainbow cakes and cheerful, candy-laden brownies.

Whatever your reasons for visiting Amsterdam, De Wallen should almost definitely be a line on your itinerary at least once in your lifetime. It has too much history to overlook. Unfortunately, the neighborhood is becoming increasingly difficult to appreciate these days. The exemplary 14th-century Dutch architecture leaning at charming angles is almost impossible to enjoy or even notice under years of accumulated grime. Walking through the narrow streets has turned into a constant battle against the onslaught of eager, red-faced tourists. And having been there at different hours of the day on all of my visits, it’s difficult for me to say whether this neighborhood is grungier at night, under the skunky haze of red lights, or during the day, when all its sooty nooks and crannies are laid bare.

My best argument against spending too much time in De Wallen’s Red Light District is simply the overwhelmingly touristic, often immature, feel to it all. It seems to reflect more about the tourists who come in search of bongs and comical sex toys than it does the real culture of this charming city. Fortunately, just beyond De Wallen lies an abundance of fascinating neighborhoods where time is better spent.

Slightly to the west of De Wallen are arguably two of the prettiest neighborhoods in Amsterdam, De Negen Straatjes (Nine Streets) and Jordaan. Laced together by charming canals and arched bridges, these neighborhoods are the place to go for strolling and shopping. A little further south will lead you to Oud-West, where you will find restaurants, design stores, and De Hallen - the place to go for everything from arthouse film screenings to steamed bao buns. A short stroll east will take you through Amsterdam’s museum quarter and drop you off in De Pijp, Amsterdam’s “Latin Quarter.” Nowadays, De Pijp has a lingering 60’s beatnik vibe and is a great neighborhood for brunch and beers. And if you feel like delving into Amsterdam’s contemporary culture scene, take the free 906 Ferry from Amsterdam Centraal for a fifteen-minute ride northwest on IJ Bay to NDSM Wharf. In addition to the countless ateliers and galleries inside NDSM Loods, a repurposed shipbuilding shed, the wharf just outside has restaurants, beaches, and IJ-Hallen, one of Europe’s biggest flea market once a month.

For anyone still determined to take advantage of the marijuana aspect of Amsterdam, you will find much better coffeeshops in neighborhoods like these. A prevalent misconception among sightseers is that there are a select few coffeehouses that locals frequent, where the “real Amsterdam atmosphere” can be found. Any coffeeshop that advertises itself as “the spot” where locals go for a smoke is probably stretching the truth. In reality, Amsterdammers, or “Mokummers,” rarely imbibe in the crowded, public areas that coffeeshops have to offer. In general, they prefer to buy and take it home to enjoy in privacy and comfort with a few friends. Self-rolled joints are opted for over bongs, which are almost never used and are considered quite tacky. The bongs displayed in many windows of De Wallen are there primarily to satiate tourists who expect them to be. If you want to roll like the locals, try booking a smoking-permitted hotel room with some charm and seating space. Renting an apartment through Airbnb is an even better alternative and much closer what a normal Amsterdam home is like. They often offer more room and personality than hotel accommodations for around the same price.

For a boutique experience buying pot products to take away, make the short stroll from Amsterdam’s famous Bloemenmarkt, past the Art Nouveau façade of Pathé Tuschinski, to Boerejongens’ cannabis boutique on Utrechtsestraat. Known for their intricate edibles and cheerful expertise, Boerejongens’ atmosphere blurs the line between a patisserie and an apothecary. Marble floors, golden fixtures, and white-gloved assistants make the whole interaction feel more like buying macarons from Ladurée in Paris rather than pot from a dispensary… But be warned. Just like Ladurée, Boerejongens has become an increasingly popular place for tourists to buy their goodies. It’ll be a longish line, but it is worth the wait.

To enjoy your indulgences in the fresh air, you can hardly do better than La Tertulia. Nestled between the enchanting mini-neighborhoods of Nine Streets and Jordaan, this colorful coffeeshop has a pleasant stretch of terrace along Prinsengracht canal. While many coffeeshops offer a primarily masculine (often Rastafarian den) atmosphere, La Tertulia is the yang to that particular yin. Sunny, warm and bright, it is very female friendly. A sign in Middle Dutch hangs above their terrace proclaiming, “Het Groene Wout” … “the Green Wood.” And a green wood indeed. Filled with plants and warm tones, one feels outdoors even when inside, and all of the weed strains sold there are organic. In stark contrast to many touristic coffeeshops (where even the coffee warrants a pass), La Tertulia serves an array of fresh juices, organic teas, and a bevy of hot and cold “stoner snacks.”

If you are looking for a hot meal to go along with your high, which can actually be pretty hard to find, you won’t need to search further than Haarlemmerstraat in Jordaan. Restaurant-coffeeshop hybrid Barney’s has three locations all at the same intersection of this trendy street. Shoulder to shoulder with countless unique shops (and self-captained boat rentals just a ten-minute stroll north)… you’ll have plenty to do in this area. Some of Barney’s Haarlemmerstraat locations are coffeeshops while the others are cafés and bars that serve real food and alcoholic drinks - A boon since serving alcohol at coffeeshops is strictly prohibited. The feeling around Barney’s is contemporary and warm. This is the kind of place you go to have a relaxed smoke and a meal with friends. The food may be good, but if you or one of your travel-companions finds smoke off-putting, I do not recommend Barney’s as a dining option. 

For a more urban atmosphere, try one of Kadinsky’s coffeeshops. Sheet glass windows, brushed steel, and poured concrete give a modern (mildly factory) feel to each location. There are several branches around Amsterdam, all of them well-located. Hot and cold drinks are served as well as a range of tasty pastries. Their coffeeshop on Zoutsteeg even has its own sister café-bar directly across the street, meaning you can wander across the street for a cold beer when you like.

Walking around Amsterdam, with its Gothic churches and peaceful, tree-lined canals, it might be difficult to picture how this town in the heart of such a historically straight-laced country like the Netherlands became a sanctuary for such radically divergent subcultures. The answer most likely lies in the essential setting-aside of differences the Dutch needed for survival in the Middle Ages. Twelfth-century villagers would cooperate despite contrasting religious and political beliefs to ensure that the dykes that protected them from the sea were properly maintained. This pragmatic Dutch altruism lives on as the “Polder Model,” a form of consensus decision-making, and is the primary reason behind the continued stability of the Netherlands and the diversity of lifestyles thriving there today.

Unfortunately, due to a heavy-handed tourism scheme by the Dutch government in the mid-’90s, Amsterdam has become a victim of its success. Shops that once catered to locals ten years ago have been bought out and replaced by shops selling cheap products aimed at tourists. Visitors, both sober and inebriated, walk unwittingly through bike lanes, often leaving a trail of litter in their wake. Bloated tour groups pause frequently in front of private homes to loudly recite the neighborhood history, and locals regularly wake up to find that someone has purged themselves in the family flower planter. Many residents no longer feel that living in one of Amsterdam’s beautiful townhouses is a desirable thing.

An increasing number of Dutch citizens, tired of their towns being seen as the pot-stops of Europe, are calling for an end to the gedogen drug tolerance policies. New “no-growth laws” aimed at quelling the effect of coffeeshops have been instituted, causing the number of operating coffeeshops to plummet. Some municipalities have even gone so far as to ban foreigners from entering coffeeshops, while certain political parties currently push drug policy reform in the Hague. 

Despite the pioneering role the Netherlands played in the tolerance of cannabis - a mantle that Canada, Uruguay, and certain regions of the United States have taken up in recent years - the cannabis world seems to be at a crossroad. As the Dutch backtrack in one direction, many countries head the exact opposite way. There could come a day very soon when this aspect of tourism that made the Netherlands a famous recreational drug hub comes to an end.

Luckily, there are more than enough reasons to visit this gorgeous, richly cultured country no matter what you’re allowed to smoke.

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