By Damian Corrigan. Everyone who has done even the smallest amount of traveling in Europe has likely heard of Amsterdam's infamous red light district. However, the Dutch capital isn't the only popular European city with a red light district. In fact, most major destinations are also home to at least one neighborhood with a higher amount of prostitution and other sex-related businesses.
One of the most unique, however, is more than a thousand miles to the south of Amsterdam, in Spain's passionate and colorful capital of Madrid. If it wasn't, a lot of Madrid's most important and well-known streets would be off limits! However, Madrid's unofficial red light district isn't just limited to the city center. While the enormous park does offer plenty of family-friendly activities and is generally safe, there are still areas where larger groups of sex workers are out and about.
The atmosphere in these areas of the park is more unsavory and best avoided if possible. At first, Madrid's sex district may not seem like much. In fact, it's little more than a large number of sex shops, invariably with "cabins" to watch pornography and some with peep shows. A few also offer contact with the "models. One of them also has a museum of erotic art. Not long ago, there was even a sex shop on Gran Via itself.
However, in recent years the whole area has begun to undergo a makeover of sorts, leaving its sex-focused reputation in the dust. In general, with the exception of petty crime such as pickpocketing, central Madrid is quite safe. The only area we would recommend keeping away from at night, at least is Calle Luna, a large plaza and street just north of Gran Via. The streets around here have a number of sex shops and attract many prostitutes at night.
In the daytime, though, there are plenty of people around frequenting the nearby bars and restaurants, making it a safe place to be. Here, they are known to be more aggressive in their seduction techniques, making distinct clucking noises and at times even grabbing ahold of men. Due to the unsavory atmosphere and high number of prostitutes, Calle Montera at night is probably best avoided. However, aside from the somewhat aggressive techniques the sex workers employ, as well as the fact that the street is aesthetically displeasing, trouble rarely occurs.
