About the neighborhood
Red-light districts are areas associated with the sex industry and sex-oriented businesses (e.g. sex shops and strip clubs). In some of these places prostitution occurs, whether legally or illegally. The enforcement of prostitution laws varies by region.
Following is a partial list of well known red-light districts around the world, both current and historical.
Africa
Algeria
Prostitution in Algeria is illegal.
Constantine Rahbat al-Jammal (defunct)
Burkina Faso
Prostitution is not specifically prohibited by the law, but soliciting and pimping are illegal.
Ouagadougou Dapoya
Egypt
Prostitution in Egypt is illegal.
Alexandria Kom al-Nadura (defunct)
Kom Bakir (defunct)
Al-Tartushi (defunct)
Cairo Wagh El Birket (defunct)
Ivory Coast
Prostitution in Ivory Coast is legal.
Abidjan Marcory Zone 4
Rue Princesse
Kenya
Prostitution is illegal.
Nairobi Koinange Street
Mauritania
Prostitution in Mauritania is illegal.
Nouakchott El Mina
Morocco
Prostitution is illegal.
Casablanca Bousbir(defunct)
Fez Moullay Abdullah (defunct)
Marrakesh Bab el Khemis
Rabat Oukassa (defunct)
Tangier Petit Socco
South Africa
Prostitution is illegal.
Durban Point Road
Johannesburg Hillbrow
Tunisia
Prostitution is regulated.
Tunis Sidi Abdallah Guech
Asia
Bangladesh
Prostitution in Bangladesh is legal and regulated.
Bagerhat District Bani Shanta
Faridpur District Faridpur
Narayanganj Tanbazar
Rajbari District Daulatdia
Tangail District Kandapara
Cambodia
Prostitution is illegal, but tolerated.
Phnom Penh Svay Pak
China
Prostitution is illegal.
Beijing Dashilan
Shanghai Simalu
Hong Kong
Prostitution itself is not illegal but operating a brothel is illegal.
Lockhart Road
Sham Shui Po/Fuk Wa Street
India
Prostitution is legal when performed by a person acting alone in private but public solicitation, brothels and pimping are illegal (however in practice prostitution is tolerated and regulated).
Prayagraj Meergunj
Bundi Mohanpura
Gwalior Rashmpura
Hyderabad Mehboob Ki Mehandi
Jaipur Tilawala
Jodhpur Jawaharkhana Ghaas Mandi
Kolkata Bowbazar
Garia
Kalighat
Kidderpore
Kada Road, Durgapur
Lebu Bagan
Sonagachi
Tollygunge
Meerut Kabadi Bazar
Mumbai Kamathipura
Muzaffarpur Chaturbhuj Sthan
Nagpur Ganga Jamuna, SMS King, Itwari
New Delhi Garstin Bastion Road
Pune Budhwar Peth
Sitamarhi Boha Tola – (burnt down in 2008)
Surat Chakla Bazar
Varanasi Dalamandi, near the Kashi Vishwanath Temple – (closed 1970s)
Shivdaspur
Indonesia
Prostitution is illegal in non-regulated areas. Prostitution is legal in some locations (including pimping and maintaining a brothel).
Batam Nagoya
Jakarta Kalijodo (demolished on 29 February 2016, now a public park)
Kramat Tunggak (closed in 1999)
Deli Serdang Bandar Baru
Surabaya Gang Dolly (closed in 2014)
Iran
Prostitution in Iran is illegal, and incurs various punishments ranging from fines and jail terms to execution for repeat offenders.
Tehran Shahr-e No (demolished 1980)
Iraq
Prostitution in Iraq is illegal, and penalties are severe.
Baghdad Al-Battaween
Bataween
Haifa Street/Salhia neighborhood
Kamaliyah (Arabic: الكمالية)
Zayouna
Israel
Tel Aviv Old bus station area.
Japan
Prostitution is illegal but narrowly defined. Many sexual acts for pay that would be considered to be prostitution in other countries are legal.
Fukuoka Nakasu
Gifu Kanazuen
Hokkaidō Susukino
Kyoto Shimabara (defunct)
Osaka Imasato Shinchi
Jūsō
Kujo
Matsushima Shinchi
Shinchi Otobe (defunct)
Shinmachi
Shinodayama Shinchi
Tobita Shinchi
Yoshiwara (defunct)
Tokyo Kabukichō
Roppongi
Yoshiwara (defunct)
Jordan
Prostitution is illegal.
Amman Jubeiha
Sweifieh
Kyrgyzstan
Prostitution is legal but pimping and operating a brothel are illegal.
Bishkek Pravda Street
Malaysia
Prostitution in most of Malaysia is legal and widespread, though there are laws against prostitution-related activities. However, prostitution is illegal in Malaysia's Kelantan state.
Kuala Lumpur Brickfields area: Jalan Hicks and Jalan Thamibipilly
Bukit Bintang: Jalan Alor and Changkat Bukit Bintang
Chow Kit
Jalan Petaling
Lorong Haji Taib
Johor Bahru Johor Bahru City Square
Wong Ah Fook Street
Jalan Meldrum
Kotaraya
Taman Sentosa
South Korea
Prostitution is illegal, but in practice it is tolerated and regulated.
Daegu Jagalmadang
Paju Yong Ju Gol
Seoul Cheonho
Cheongnyangni 588 (demolished 2017)
Hooker Hill, Itaewon
Mia-ri
Yeongdeungpo
Pakistan
Prostitution is illegal, but in practice it is somewhat tolerated although not regulated.
Hyderabad Bazaar-i-Husn
Serey Ghat
Karachi Napier Road
Lahore Heera Mandi
Multan Bazaar-i-Husn
Peshawar Thatti Bazaar
Philippines
Prostitution is illegal, but widespread and generally tolerated.
Angeles City Fields Avenue
Manila EDSA Entertainment Complex, Pasay
Ermita
Malate
Padre Burgos Street, Makati
Poblacion, Makati
Olongapo City Subic Bay
Singapore
Prostitution itself is not illegal; however, public solicitation, living on the earnings of prostitution, and maintaining a brothel are illegal.
Geylang
Orchard Towers
Taiwan
Prostitution in Taiwan was made illegal under a 1991 law. Legislation was introduced in 2011 to allow local governments in Taiwan to set up "special zones" where prostitution is permitted. Outside these zones prostitution is illegal. As of 2017 no "special zones" had been opened.
Taipei Snake Alley (defunct)
Thailand
Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, and solicitation and public nuisance laws are in effect. In practice it is tolerated and partly regulated.
Bangkok Patpong
Soi Pratuchai
The western Sukhumvit Road area (notably including Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy; formerly included the now-defunct Clinton Plaza)
Washington Square (demolished 2013)
Phuket Soi Bang-La – Patong Beach
Pattaya Beach Road
Boyztown
Soi 6
Sunee Plaza
Walking Street
Turkey
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Ankara Bentderesi
Istanbul Züraga Sokaği (Giraffe Lane), Beyoğlu
Europe
Austria
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Linz Bäckermühlweg
Vienna Gürtel
Stuwerviertel
Belgium
Prostitution is legal, though brothels are not. Enforcement of the law can be lax.
Antwerp Schipperskwartier including Villa Tinto
Brussels Alhambra Quarter
Avenue Louise
Place Fontainas
Rue d'Aerschot and surrounds
Charleroi "Charleroi Triangle" (closed 2011)
Area around ministère des Finances
Faubourg de Bruxelles and the N5, Gosselies
Deinze Kortrijksesteenweg (N43).
Ghent Schepenenvijverstraat/Pieter Vanderdoncktdoorgang (including Glazen Straatje)
Belgradostraat
Liège Rue du Champion/Rue de l'Agneau (windows closed in 2009, street prostitution still occurs)
Ostend hazegras
Seraing Rue Marnix
A purpose built "Eros Centre" is planned than abandoned
Sint-Truiden Luikersteenweg (know locally as "Chaussée d'Amour")
Croatia
Prostitution is illegal.
Zagreb Tkalčićeva Street (defunct since World War II)
Czech Republic
Prostitution is legal, but brothels and other forms of procuring are prohibited.
Prague Perlovka
Ostrava
Denmark
Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Copenhagen Halmtorvet
Istedgade
Finland
Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Helsinki Aleksis Kiven katu and Vaasankatu
France
Paying for sex, pimping and keeping a brothel are illegal. Prostitutes commit no offence unless soliciting.
Angers Place Pierre Semard
Avignon Bourg Neuf
Béziers Avenue President Wilson
Bordeaux Quartier de la Gare Saint Jean
Quartier Saint-Rémi
Les Quinconces
Caen Saint Saveur (defunct)
Presqu'île de Caen
Cannes La croisette
Le Havre rue LeSueur/rue Haudry/rue Laperouse (defunct)
Lille Quartier Peuple Belge (defunct)
La Madeleine (defunct)
Limoges Champ de Juillet (defunct)
Lyon Gare de Perrache
River "quais"
Mantes-la-Jolie Quartier du Val Fourré
Marseille La Canebière
Montpellier Boulevard de Strasbourg
Nancy Rue de la Source
Nantes Rue Paul Bellamy
Quai de la Fosse
Rue de Strasbourg
Rue de Talensac
Nice Promenade des Anglais
Rue de France
Paris Beaubourg (17c now defunct), including: Rue Gratte-Cul, now Rue Dussoubs
Rue Maubuée, now Rue de Venise
Rue du Poil-au-Con, now Rue du Pélican
Rue Pute-y-Musse, now Rue du Petit-Musc
Rue Tire-Vit, now Rue Marie-Stuart
Rue Trousse-Nonnain, now Rue Beaubourg
Rue Troussevache, now rue de La Reynie
1st arrondissement Rue Saint-Denis
3rd arrondissement Rue Trace-Putain (defunct) later rue Tasse-Nonnain, now part of Rue Beaubourg
4th arrondissement Rue Brisemiche (Defunct) later rue Baillehoë and now part of Rue Brisemiche
9th arrondissement Barbès-Rochechouart
Rue de Budapest (defunct)
Quartier Pigalle (defunct)
10th arrondissement Porte Saint-Martin
Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Vincennes
Rouen Boulevard des Belges
Rue St Jacques
Strasbourg Avenue de la Forêt-Noire
Route du Rhin
Quai des Alpes
Quai Louis-Pasteur
Boulevard de Lyon Quartier de la Gare
Toulouse Rue Bayard
Quartier du Canal
Boulevard de Strasbourg
Troyes
Germany
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Aachen Antoniusstraße
Augsburg Hasengasse
Berlin Bülowstraße
Kurfüstendamm (defunct)
Kurfürstenstraße
Oranienburger Straße
Potsdamer Straße (defunct)
Stuttgarter Platz (defunct)
Bielefeld Eckendorferstraße
Bochum Im Winkel
Bonn Immenburgstraße
Braunschweig Bruchstraße
Bremen Die Küste (defunct)
Helenenstraße
Punkendeich (defunct)
Bremerhaven Lessingstraße
Cologne Hornstraße
Darmstadt Bismarckstraße
Dortmund Linienstraße
Ravensberger Straße (defunct)
Duisburg Vulkanstraße
Düsseldorf Hinter dem Bahndamm
Essen Stahlstraße
Flensburg Oluf-Samsons-Gang
Frankfurt Bahnhofsviertel
Breite Gasse
Hagen Düppenbeckerstraße
Hamburg St. Georg
St. Pauli: area around Reeperbahn
Hanover Am Steintor
Ludwigstraße
Reitwallstraße
Karlsruhe Brunnenstraße
Kiel Wall am Hafen
Lübeck Clemensstraße (defunct)
Mannheim Lupinenstraße
Minden Rampenloch (defunct, last 2 brothels closed in 2018)
Munich Landsberger Straße
Schillerstraße
Stahlgruberring
Nuremberg Frauentormauer
Oberhausen Flaßhofstraße
Stuttgart Leonhardsviertel
Ulm Blaubeurer Straße
Gibraltar
Prostitution is illegal.
Seruya's Ramp, (Calle Peligro) (defunct)
Greece
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Athens Fylis Street
Metaxourgeio Area
Piraeus Troumpa (defunct)
Ireland
Paying for sex is illegal, as is soliciting in a public place, operating brothels, and other forms of pimping.
Dublin Monto (defunct)
Grafton Street (defunct)
Italy
Prostitution in Italy is legal, although organized prostitution, whether indoors in brothels or controlled by third parties, is prohibited.
Catania, Sicily San Berillo
Venice Carampane di Rialto, including Ponte delle Tette (defunct)
Lithuania
Prostitution in Lithuania is illegal.
Vilnius bus station and Vilnius railway station area
Luxembourg
Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Luxembourg railway station area
Malta
Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Gżira Mello Area (Triq Testaferrata)
Marsa Albert Town Area
St. Julian's Paceville
Valletta Strait Street – known as "The Gut" by the British Navy (defunct)
Netherlands
Prostitution and associated activities are legal and common. A total of 11 cities in the Netherlands have red light districts with window prostitution.
Alkmaar Achterdam
Amsterdam De Wallen
Singel
de Pijp
Arnhem – closed 2006
Deventer Bokkingshang
Doetinchem Roerstraat
Eindhoven Baekelandplein
Groningen
Haarlem
The Hague Geleenstraat
Hunsestraat
Doubletstraat
Heerenveen Munnikstraat
Leeuwarden
Nijmegen New Market
Rotterdam – closed 2003 Keileweg
Utrecht – closed 2013 Hardebollenstraat
Zandpad
Portugal
Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Lisbon Cais do Sodré (defunct)
Rua Nova do Carvalho (defunct)
Porto Rua Coelho Neto
Rua Conde de Ferreira
Rua Escura
Braga Residencial Cairense
Serbia
Belgrade Picin park
Plavi most
Novi Sad Kaćka petlja
Partizanska street
Spain
Brothels are illegal (since 1956), but "clubs" and "wiskerias" are fronts for prostitution and are tolerated.
Barcelona Barrio Chino, Carrer de Sant Ramon
Carrer d'En Robador
La Rambla
Ronda de Sant Antoni
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Calle Molino de Viento
Madrid Centro Calle Atocha
Calle Carretas
Calle de Barco
Calle del Desengaño
Calle de la Ballesta
Calle Montera
Calle de Valverde
Plaza de la Luna
Plaza Jacinto Benavente
Puerta del Sol
Casa de Campo (defunct)
Colonia Marconi
El Gato industrial area
Parque del Oeste Paseo de Camoens
Vicálvaro Polígono de Villaverde
Palma de Mallorca Carrer de la Ferreria
Salamanca Barrio Chino de Salamanca (defunct)
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Calle Miraflores
Valencia Calle de Viana
Switzerland
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Zürich Langstrasse
Strichplatz
Bern Lorraine
Geneva Les Pâquis
Lausanne Sevelin
United Kingdom
England
Prostitution is not illegal when performed by a person acting alone in private, but public solicitation, brothels and pimping are. The Policing and Crime Act 2009 makes it illegal to pay for sex with a prostitute who has been "subjected to force" and this is a strict liability offence (clients can be prosecuted even if they did not know the prostitute was forced).
Birmingham Soho Road
Bradford Manningham – the red light district is situated around Lumb Lane and Manningham Lane and was featured in the TV series Band of Gold.
Huddersfield Great Northern Street
Leeds Chapeltown – the traditional red light-area was around the Spencer Place and Avenue Hill streets. This has diminished in importance since the emergence of Holbeck as a red-light district.
Holbeck – Under a scheme started in October 2014, initiated by West Yorkshire Police and Leeds City Council, sex workers may trade without fear of arrest on an industrial estate in Leeds' Holbeck district; providing they obey various rules, including only working between 7pm and 7am and only working within the area. This scheme was scrapped in 2021.
Leicester South Highfields (defunct)
London Gropecunt Lane (possible medieval; defunct)
King's Cross
Piccadilly Circus (defunct)
Bayswater
Earl's Court
Shepherd Market
Soho
Middlesbrough Over the Border / St Hilda's
Nottingham Forest Road
Mapperley Road
Plymouth Millbay
Portsmouth Sailortown (defunct)
Preston, Lancashire Fletcher Road/St Mary's Street
Reading Oxford Road and its adjoining streets
Shrewsbury Grope Lane (medieval; defunct)
Mountfields (defunct)
Stoke-on-Trent Cobridge
Swindon Manchester Road/Gorse Hill Rivers Way
Wolverhampton All Saints/Parkfield/ Horseley Fields/West Park
Northern Ireland
Belfast Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast (defunct)
Amelia Street (defunct)
Linenhall Street
Scotland
Edinburgh Defunct Leith/Coburg Street/Salamander Street (all defunct)
Edinburgh does have brothels, but not a red light district.
Encyclopedic content adapted from the Wikipedia article on C-Scheme, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
