Red-light districts A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

are areas associated with the

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide Sex worker, sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of s ...

and sex-oriented businesses (e.g.

sex shops A sex shop is a retailer that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, pornography, and other related products. An early precursor of the modern sex shop was a chain of stores set up in th ...

and

strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

s). In some of these places prostitution occurs, whether legally or illegally. The enforcement of

prostitution law Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal in some places and regarded as a profession, while at the other extreme, it is a crime pun ...

s varies by region. Following is a partial list of well known red-light districts around the world, both current and historical.

Africa

Algeria

Prostitution is legal but third-party involvement is prohibited. *

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

** Rahbat al-Jammal (defunct)

Burkina Faso

Prostitution is not specifically prohibited by the law, but soliciting and

pimping Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

are illegal. *

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

** Dapoya

Egypt

Prostitution in Egypt is illegal. *

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

** Kom al-Nadura (defunct) ** Kom Bakir (defunct) ** Al-Tartushi (defunct) *

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Wagh El Birket Wagh El Birket ( ar, وجه البركة ) was, through the first half of the 20th century, the entertainment district (or red-light district) of Cairo, Egypt. The lake was where Azbakeya is now. Events In the 19th century as Cairo expanded, Wagh ...

(defunct)

Ivory Coast

Prostitution in Ivory Coast is legal. *

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

** Marcory Zone 4 ** Rue Princesse

Kenya

Prostitution is illegal. *

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

** Koinange Street

Mauritania

Prostitution in Mauritania is illegal. *

Nouakchott , image_skyline = Nouakchott.jpg , image_caption = City view of Nouakchott , pushpin_map = Mauritania#Arab world#Africa , pushpin_relief = 1 , mapsize = , map_caption ...

El Mina El-Mina or El Mina (Arabic: الميناء / ALA-LC: ''al-Mīnā’'', which means "the harbour"), is a coastal independent town in Tripoli, Northern Lebanon. El-Mina occupies the location of the old Phoenician city of Tripoli. It acts as the har ...

Morocco

Prostitution is illegal.

South Africa

Prostitution is illegal.

Tunisia

Prostitution is regulated. *

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Sidi Abdallah Guech Sidi Abdallah Guech street, officially known as ''"Impasse Sidi Abdallah Gueche"'' (Arabic: زنقة سيدي عبد الله قش), is the legal red light district in Tunis. It is located in the medina and consists of three narrow winding alley ...

Asia

Bangladesh

Prostitution in Bangladesh is legal and regulated.

Cambodia

Prostitution is illegal, but tolerated. *

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Svay Pak Svay Pak (; km, ស្វាយប៉ាក; also called Kilometer 11 and K-11) is an urban commune of overseas Vietnamese in Cambodia, north of Phnom Penh. The commune has been renowned as a destination for adult and child prostitution, and ...

China

Prostitution is illegal.

Hong Kong

Prostitution itself is not illegal but operating a brothel is illegal. *

Lockhart Road Lockhart Road () is a street spanning the whole length of Wan Chai from east to west on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It begins at Arsenal Street in the west and ends in East Point Road in East Point. History The road is named after Sir ...

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui P ...

Fuk Wa Street Fuk Wa Street () is a street in Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. Name Unlike other streets in the area, Fuk Wa Street is not named after a place in China. Its name means blessing (fuk, 福) and prosperous (wa, 華) while ...

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).

Indonesia

Prostitution is illegal in non-regulated areas. Prostitution is legal in some locations (including pimping and maintaining a brothel).

Iran

Prostitution in Iran is illegal, and incurs various punishments ranging from fines and jail terms to execution for repeat offenders. *

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

** Shahr-e No (demolished 1980)

Iraq

Prostitution in Iraq is illegal, and penalties are severe. *

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

** Al-Battaween ** Bataween **

Haifa Street Haifa Street (or Hayfa Street) ( ar, شارع حيفا) is a two-mile-long street in Baghdad, Iraq, named after the port city of Haifa. It runs parallel to the Tigris and, along with Yafa Street (named after the port city of Jaffa), it leads to t ...

/Salhia neighborhood ** Kamaliyah ( ar, الكمالية) **

Zayouna Zayouna c’est la plus belle. ( point) 12 Apr 2003 It is a mixed-race, upper middle-class area bordering the affluent Karrada suburb. Organisations based in Zayouna include the Iraq Football Association; the "Baghdad Bulletin", Iraq's English-lang ...

Israel

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

** 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.

Jordan

Prostitution is illegal. *

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

Jubeiha Al-Jubeiha (الجبيهة) is a city district and one of twenty-two areas in the Greater Amman Municipality of Jordan. Al-Jubeiha has seven neighborhoods: Al-Jama'a, Al-Rasheed, Qurneh, Al-Sadiq, Al-Zaitounah, Al-Mahabah, and Al-Baladiyat. ...

Sweifieh Sweifieh (also spelled Swéfiéh and Swéfieyé) is a neighborhood located in the western area of the Jordanian capital Amman. It is in the Wadi as-Ser district. Life Sweifieh is best known for its night-life and its shopping culture, malls ...

Kyrgyzstan

Prostitution is legal but pimping and operating a brothel are illegal. *

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

** Pravda Street

South Korea

Prostitution is illegal, but in practice it is tolerated and regulated.

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 Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

state. *

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Brickfields A brickfield is an open site where bricks are made. Place names are often formed from the word. Brickfield, Brickfields or Brickfielder may specifically refer to: Australia *Brickfielder, an arid wind * Brickfield Hill, an area of Sydney *Brickfie ...

area: Jalan Hicks and Jalan Thamibipilly **

Bukit Bintang Bukit Bintang (; stylised as Bintang Walk or Starhill, the latter being a translation of the Malay language, Malay name) is the shopping and entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It encompasses Jalan Bukit Bintang (''Bukit Bintang ...

: Jalan Alor and Changkat Bukit Bintang **

Chow Kit Chow Kit is a suburb in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located around Jalan Chow Kit (Chow Kit Road) and is enclosed by the parallel streets of Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It is named after Loke Chow Kit (陸秋傑) a w ...

** Jalan Petaling **

Lorong Haji Taib Like all other historical urban centres, the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, contains a number of current and old roads and streets across the city. This article contains an alphabetical list of notable roads within ...

Pakistan

Prostitution is illegal, but in practice it is somewhat tolerated although not regulated.

Philippines

Prostitution is illegal, but widespread and generally tolerated. *

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

** Fields Avenue *

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

** EDSA Entertainment Complex, Pasay ** Ermita **

Malate Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms (L ...

** Padre Burgos Street, Makati *

Olongapo City Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

Singapore

Prostitution itself is not illegal; however, public solicitation, living on the earnings of a prostitute, and maintaining a brothel are illegal. *

Geylang Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is perha ...

Orchard Towers Orchard Towers is an 18-story office building in Singapore located on the corner of Claymore Road and Orchard Road. Construction was completed in 1975. The first five floors are a combination of bars and retail outlets with the remainder leased ...

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 Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

** 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.

Turkey

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

** Bentderesi *

İstanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

** Giraffe Lane,

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...

Europe

Austria

Prostitution is legal and regulated. *

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

** Bäckermühlweg *

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

** Gürtel **Stuwerviertel

Belgium

Prostitution is legal, though brothels are not. Enforcement of the law can be lax.

Croatia

Prostitution is illegal. *

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Tkalčićeva Street Tkalčićeva Street ( hr, Tkalčićeva ulica, formally: Ivan Tkalčić Street, ) is a street in the Zagreb, Croatia city center. Extending from the vicinity of the central Ban Jelačić Square to its northern end at the Little Street ( hr, Mala uli ...

(defunct since World War II)

Czech Republic

Prostitution is legal, but brothels and other forms of procuring are prohibited. *

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

**Perlovka

Denmark

Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal. *

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Halmtorvet Halmtorvet (English: The Haymarket) is a public square in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located next to Copenhagen Central Station in front of the Meat District. The oblong square eventually turns into Sønder Boulevard, ...

Istedgade Istedgade (also called ''Strassen'') is a 1-kilometer straight street in the district of Vesterbro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It starts at Copenhagen Central Station and runs parallel to Vesterbrogade to Enghave Plads and Enghaveparken. ...

Finland

Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal. *

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

**Aleksis Kiven katu and Vaasankatu

France

Paying for sex, pimping and keeping a brothel are illegal. Prostitutes commit no offence unless soliciting.

Germany

Prostitution is legal and regulated.

Gibraltar

Prostitution illegal. * Seruya's Ramp, (Calle Peligro) (defunct)

Greece

Prostitution is legal and regulated. *

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

**Fylis Street **

Metaxourgeio Metaxourgeio or Metaxourgio ( ), meaning "silk mill", is a neighbourhood of Athens, Greece. The neighbourhood is located north of the historical centre of Athens, between Kolonos to the east and Kerameikos to the west, and north of Gazi. Metaxourg ...

Area

Ireland

Paying for sex is illegal, as is soliciting in a public place, operating brothels, and other forms of pimping. *

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

(defunct) **

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowest p ...

(defunct)

Italy

Prostitution in Italy is legal, although organized prostitution, whether indoors in brothels or controlled by third parties, is prohibited. *

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, Sicily ** San Berillo *

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

** Carampane di Rialto, including Ponte delle Tette (defunct)

Luxembourg

Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal. *

Luxembourg railway station Luxembourg railway station ( lb, Gare Lëtzebuerg, french: Gare de Luxembourg, german: Bahnhof Luxemburg) is the main railway station serving Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is operated by Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, the state-owne ...

area

Malta

Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal. *

Gżira Gżira ( mt, Il-Gżira) is a town in the Central Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 8,029 as of March 2014. The word ''Gżira'' means "island" in Maltese, and the ...

** Mello Area (Triq Testaferrata) * Marsa **Albert Town Area * St. Julian's **

Paceville Paceville ( sometimes abbreviated PV) is a district in St Julian's which is the main nightlife hub in Malta, being heavily populated with nightclubs, bars, stripclubs, pubs and restaurants, it is hence also known as 'Malta's Sin City'. Pacevill ...

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

** 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 Window prostitution is a form of prostitution that is fairly common in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. The prostitute rents a window plus workspace off a window operator for a certain period of time, often per day or part of a day. The ...

Portugal

Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal. *

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

**Cais do Sodré (defunct) **Rua Nova do Carvalho (defunct) *

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

**Rua Coelho Neto **Rua Conde de Ferreira ** Rua Escura *

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

**Residencial Cairense

Spain

Brothels are illegal (since 1956), but "clubs" and "wiskerias" are fronts for prostitution and are tolerated.

Switzerland

Prostitution is legal and regulated.

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 The Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c 26) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about police reform, prostitution, sex offenders, sex establishments and certain other premises. It amends the law on aviation sec ...

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).

Northern Ireland

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast The Albert Memorial Clock (more commonly referred to as the Albert Clock) is a clock tower situated at Queen's Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was completed in 1869 and is one of the best known landmarks of Belfast. History In 1865 a ...

(defunct) **Amelia Street (defunct) ** Linenhall Street

Scotland

Wales

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Tiger Bay Tiger Bay ( cy, Bae Teigr) was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. Following the building of the Cardiff Barrage, which dams the tidal rivers, Ely and Taff, to create a body of water, it is re ...

* Newport **Commercial Road,

Pillgwenlly Pillgwenlly ( cy, Pilgwenlli), usually known as Pill, is a community (civil parish) and coterminous electoral district (ward) in the city of Newport, South Wales. Etymology The name is an elision of " Pîl Gwynllyw" (or "Gwynllyw's Pîl" in ...

(Pill)

North America

Antigua and Barbuda

Prostitution is legal but related activities are prohibited. * St. John's ** Popeshead Street.

Aruba

Prostitution is legal and regulated. *

Sint Nicolaas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

Barbados

Prostitution is legal but related activities such as brothel keeping and solicitation are prohibited. *

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

** Nelson street

Canada

Prostitution itself is legal but the purchase of sexual services is not (the client commits the offence not the prostitute). Many associated activities (brothels, advertising, street walking) are also illegal. *

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Red-Light District A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

(historic): The area centred around

Saint Catherine Street Sainte-Catherine Street (french: rue Sainte-Catherine) () is the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It crosses the central business district from west to east, beginning at the corner of Claremont Avenue and de M ...

and

Saint-Laurent Boulevard Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...

was historically the city's red light district throughout much of the 20th century, as well as being known for strip clubs and

. In recent decades this has changed drastically as the area gentrified into the Quartier des Spectacles and today prostitution is virtually nonexistent. Rue Dufresne

Centre-Sud The Centre-Sud is a neighbourhood located in the easternmost edge of the Ville-Marie borough of the city of Montreal. Home to Montreal's Gay Village and to the Sainte-Marie area, the Centre-Sud has long been seen as one of the city's most compl ...

: The Centre-Sud, of which Sainte-Marie is a part, was notorious for prostitution from the 1990s well into the 2010s, particularly on

Ontario Street Ontario Street (officially in french: rue Ontario) is an east-west artery in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It crosses the boroughs of Ville-Marie and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. In the latter borough, the street becomes a mix of residential a ...

and Dufresne Street. In recent years, gentrification has changed this significantly. **

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Hochelaga-Maisonneuve () is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Canada, situated in the east end of the island, generally to the south of the city's Olympic Stadium and east of downtown. Historically a poor neighbourhood, it has experienced significant ...

: Known for prostitution, particularly in the lower southwestern Hochelaga segment. **

Ahuntsic Ahuntsic (; French pronunciation ) is a district in the northern part of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Originally an independent village, Ahuntsic was first annexed by Montreal in 1910, then merged into the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in 2002. ...

: Located in the north end of Montreal, parts of the Ahuntsic neighbourhood have long been known for prostitution and drugs, partly due to a large presence of cheap

motels A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

on Lajeunesse Street and proximity to

Quebec Autoroute 40 Autoroute 40, officially known as Autoroute Félix-Leclerc outside Montreal and Metropolitan Autoroute/Autoroute Métropolitaine within Montreal, is an Autoroute on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Canadian province of Quebec. It ...

. *

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Chinatown, Vancouver Chinatown is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is Canada's largest Chinatown. Centered around Pender Street, it is surrounded by Gastown to the north, the Downtown financial and central business districts to the west, the Geo ...

(historic): Dupont Street, between Westminster Ave (Main Street) and Carrall, was Vancouver's first official red light district which began when Bridie Stewart set up a shop at 101 Dupont. The district was relocated in 1906 to Shanghai and Canton Alley, which collaboratively hosted 105 brothels. It was later closed and relocated to Shore Street, then Alexander in 1912. **

West End, Vancouver The West End is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located between the Coal Harbour neighbourhood and the financial and central business districts of Downtown Vancouver to the east, Stanley Park to the northwest, the English ...

: An unofficial city red-light district located on and around Davie Street. The sex work hub from the 1960s-1983. Coined the "Prostitution Capitol of Canada", which served as a safe community where cisgender, transgender, and

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

workers of many ages worked together and looked out for each other's safety.Cole, Dale, J. (Director). (1984). ''Hookers on Davie''

ideo file IDEO () is a design firm, design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, serv ...

Canada: Spectrum Films. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ixQS_Ihdk The location of the informative documentary Hookers on Davie. Diminished by the 1983 injunction formed by the Concerned Residents of the West End (CROWE) which forcefully displaced sex workers out of the West End. **

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homeles ...

: An unlisted district in Vancouver where workers face routine violence and harassment.Lyons, Tara (2017)
"The impact of construction and gentrification on an outdoor trans sex work environment: Violence, displacement and policing" (PDF)
''Sexualities Article''. Retrieved 6 April 2021. The Downtown Eastside is the sex trades final destination of city displacement over several years. In 2003, a large number of sex workers went missing and/or were murdered. Many of these were tied to serial killer Robert Pickton, and were the largest contributor to the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) cases over the years. Today workers are increasingly facing the effects of new developments and surveillance that are pushing them into isolated areas where they are at greater risk of harm; forcing them to rush or forgo screening and negotiation processes that puts them at a greater risk of bad dates and STI contraction.

Costa Rica

Prostitution is legal but related activities such as brothel keeping are illegal. * San José ** Gringo Gulch

Guatemala

Prostitution is legal but procuring is prohibited. *

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

** La Linea ** El Trebol ** Parque Concordia

Mexico

Prostitution is legal and regulated.

Panama

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

** El Cangrejo

United States

Prostitution laws vary by state and territory, however it is illegal except for some rural counties of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Strip clubs are legal in most areas, including fully nude strip clubs. Many massage shops offer "happy endings", which is an illegal form of prostitution.

Oceania

Australia

Prostitution laws vary by state, either being legal or decriminalized.

New Zealand

Prostitution and associated activities are legal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Red-Light Districts List of Lists of places Lists by country

Africa

Algeria

Burkina Faso

Egypt

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Mauritania

Morocco

South Africa

Tunisia

Asia

Bangladesh

Cambodia

China

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Japan

Jordan

Kyrgyzstan

South Korea

Malaysia

Pakistan

Philippines

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Turkey

Europe

Austria

Belgium

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Gibraltar

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Portugal

Spain

Switzerland

United Kingdom

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

North America

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba

Barbados

Canada

Costa Rica

Guatemala

Mexico

Panama

United States

Oceania

Australia

New Zealand

See also

References