What is the purple light district?
(CNN) — Amsterdam's De Wallen red-light district has long been one of the city's most provocative neighborhoods thanks to its notorious window brothels. But the historic area has become something of a spectacle in recent years thanks to a dramatic rise in tourists to the Dutch capital.
The name “Red Light District” comes from the use of neon red lights featured in the doorways of parlours. Street prostitution is illegal in the Netherlands so for many, the use of a red neon light in a doorway is a smart trick to attract customers.
Amsterdam
There are around 1270 windows used for prostitution in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam the traditional window prostitution neighbourhoods are the red-light district, the area around the Singel and the Ruysdaelkade. In Rotterdam window prostitution has not been tolerated since the seventies.
: a district in which houses of prostitution are frequent.
green light district in British English noun. an area in which prostitution is officially tolerated.