Let’s make it clear: NO, there will neither have pictures of prostitutes in a showcase nor huge joints of weed. Right, first because pictures are not allowed at the risk of being insulted by the lady and grabbed later by the henchmen who were keeping a close eye incognito… Anyway, the reason is also that the famous Red Light District does not come down ONLY to this…

The proof is in the pictures!

This is also Shutter’s café, well… they made a mistake but we cannot blame them…

More seriously, this is also Nam Kee, one of the city’s best chinese restaurants where we often have to queue up out of the door to hope for having a sea… A bit further up the street, we can go for a stroll at Patta, the Dutch brand we don’t need to present anymore. One piece of advice: do not come just before the closing time or you will put them in a bad mood…

OK, we inevitably went to coffees it’s true and we particularly appreciated the kind of ritual at the Bulldog’s which is comprised of writing a message, drawing something or bullshit on rolling paper and stick it under the lights. And in the basement of this very coffee you can, if you want, observe your weed buds under the microscope!

We were talking about it at the beginning, the Red Light District is also known for its girls in a showcase which is often a bit shady as we can see here in this semi-bury nook where store fronts are side by side and where stoned tourists rush to feast their eyes on both day and night. Combine weed, alcohol and sex in the same district is not always a good idea, especially for some ladies who have chosen a very straight and visual communication… As everywhere, there are rules, indicated by the customer guidelines in the ladies’ “cells”…

We also appreciated those few people who jumped at the chance to turned it into a parallel business, as this shop expert in condom which has the innocent name of “CONDOMERIE” or this former whorehouse now turned into a bar, which kept its original name “QUARTIER PUTAIN”

Sex shops too are fabulous… with some treasures inside even more mad, just like this “cul sur pattes” made in silicone and of which the packaging specifies “over 20lbs. legs, ass & pussy” as well as « fuck me silly, mega masturbator » and « pipedream extreme »… The marketing lads must get a good laugh!

(The photo is taken from the outside, keep calm)

The Red Light District is also a radio, “Red Light Radio”, in the store front too, with sometimes really weird Djs like the first time I passed in front of, the Dj wore a white wrestling mask with a black cross which separated his face into 4 parts… I didn’t stop.

Next to the radio, a vinyl record collector hidden at the back of an hallway which gives onto a little inner courtyard. The almost secret place is revealed to us by Egbert, the owner of the gallery “Ultra De La Rue”, a stone’s throw from here. A very cool place where we can find tee shirts, photography exhibitions, various installations and a lot of cool stuff! For your information, Ultra De La Rue’s team is located at number 5 and they make it known. We go out of the gallery and come across a little square, quite pretty, where we discover signs we are not used to finding here in France… Just near by the square, the “Tonton Club”, half-bar, half-arcade, where we can play BOGGLE as we were used to with our grandma a long time ago… Shutter Power!

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Photo report Shutter Clothing