Sin City is a nickname that may be applied to an urban area (a city or part of) that caters to various vices. These vices may be legal (depending on area) or illegal activities which are tolerated.
Examples of such vices include sex-related services (prostitution, strip clubs, sex shops, etc.), gambling (casinos, betting shops, etc.), or drug use (alcohol, marijuana, etc. consumption), and even excessive organized crime and gang activity. If the city is known for prostitution, it is often called a red-light district, as in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Contents
Sin Cities in the world
Cities or areas that have this reputation include:
Africa
Egypt
Cairo
Asia
Bahrain
Manama (drinking, clubs, prostitution)
China
Dongguan (prostitution, brothels, strip clubs, sex shops, sex shows)
Hong Kong
Portland Street (massage parlours, prostitution, organized crimes, night clubs, karaoke/hostess bars and brothels)
Macau (gambling, organized crime, clubbing, prostitution, drinking)
India
Mumbai (drinking, drugs, gambling, prostitution, organized crime)
Indonesia
Batam
Kampung Bule: A well-known Western-oriented district featuring small pubs, bars, and entertainment venues.
Nagoya (Lubuk Baja): The busiest commercial hub on the island, packed with hotels, karaoke lounges, clubs, and massage parlors.
Jodoh/Sungai Jodoh: Another prominent commercial and nightlife zone close to the ferry terminals.
Yogyakarta
Kampung Sarkem (drinking, clubs, prostitution)
Israel
Eilat (late-night drinking and entertainment, clubbing, prostitution, brothels, strip clubs, sex shops, sex shows, sex tourism, massage parlors, sex-publisihing industries)
Tel Aviv (late-night drinking and entertainment, gambling, massage parlors, cabarets, drugs, strip clubs, sex shops, prostitution, scams, organized crime, police corruption, sex-publishing industries)
Europe
Cyprus
Ayia Napa (drugs, drinking, clubbing)
Czech Republic
Prague (prostitution, organized crime, police corruption, clubbing, strip clubs, brothels, marijuana consumption)
Germany
Berlin (prostitution, drugs, brothels, clubbing, drinking, scams, organized crime, police corruption)
Greece
Athens (prostitution, drugs, brothels, clubbing, drinking, scams, organized crime, police corruption)
Malta
Paceville (clubbing, drinking, police corruption)
Netherlands
Amsterdam (prostitution notably in De Wallen, brothels, strip clubs, sex shops, sex shows, marijuana consumption)
Russia
Moscow (organized crime, gangs, clubbing, drinking, drugs, police corruption, political corruption, prostitution, strip clubs)
Spain
Ibiza (clubbing, drugs)
United Kingdom
Liverpool, England
Soho, London, England (late-night drinking and entertainment, strip clubs, sex shops, prostitution with the Soho walk-up, sex-publishing industries)
North America
Canada
Montreal became well known as one of North America's "sin cities" with unparalleled nightlife, a reputation it still holds today. In part, its bustling nightlife is attributed to its relatively late "last call" (3 a.m.), a large university population, the drinking age of 18, and the excellent public transportation system combines with other aspects of the Montreal culture to make the city's nightlife unique. The diversity of the clubs in Montreal attests to the popularity of its nightlife, with night clubs, pubs, bars and singing bars ("boîte à chansons"), Latin clubs, African clubs, jazz clubs, lounges, after-hours houses, and strip clubs all attracting different types of customers.
Mexico
Tijuana (drugs, prostitution, drinking, police corruption, strip clubs)
United States
Alabama
Phenix City
California
Los Angeles and its Hollywood district (bank robberies, porn industry, sex-publishing industries, tabloids, prostitution (Sunset & Vine); also includes police corruption, nightclubs, drugs, drinking, strip clubs, gangs.)
San Francisco (organized crime, gangs, drugs, and prostitution)
Florida
Miami (gangs, organized crime, drug trafficking, prostitution, drinking, political and police corruption, scams, strip clubs)
Illinois
Calumet City (organized crime, illegal alcohol consumption, gambling, prostitution)
Chicago (organized crime, political and police corruption)
South America
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro (male & female prostitution, scams, notorious prison system, police corruption, political corruption, drinking, drugs, favelas, gangs, clubbing)
Colombia
Medellín (police corruption, prostitution, drinking, drugs, gangs, clubbing)
Venezuela
Caracas (scams, prison system corruption, police corruption, political corruption, prostitution, organized crime, drinking, drugs, slums, gangs, robbery, clubbing, drug trafficking, violence)
Oceania
Australia
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra – Canberra is regarded as the most socially progressive city in Australia; the city has long had a large and legal sex industry and a large nightlife scene; the ACT is also the only part of Australia where recreational cannabis usage is legal
New South Wales
Sydney
Kings Cross – A historically notorious inner-city of Sydney, although this reputation is outdated with the imposition of new lockout laws in February 2014 changing the character of the area dramatically, and arguably eliminating the only "sin city" in Australia. (Prostitution, brothels, gambling (illegal and legal), organized crime, bikie gangs (to an extent), police corruption, drugs, strip clubs, drinking, excessive, drunken and random violence.)
Queensland
Gold Coast
Mount Isa – known for its alcohol
Northern Territory
Palmerston
Gray
Victoria
Melbourne
New Zealand
Auckland
Christchurch
Former Sin Cities
Asia
China
Shanghai – 1920s and 1930s (organized crime, opium dens, gambling, police corruption, political corruption, prostitution)
Europe
Weimar Republic
Berlin – 1920s and early 1930s (prostitution, numerous cabarets, decadence in general)
Monto, Dublin – (prostitution, crime)
North America
Canada
Montreal, Quebec, which earned a reputation for vice through American tourists fleeing the prohibition laws.
United States
Alabama
Phenix City, was notorious during the 1940s and 1950s for being a haven for organized crime, prostitution, and gambling. Many of its customers came from the United States Army training center at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Florida
Miami, during the 1970s and 1980s (organized crime, drug trafficking, gangs, strip clubs, clubbing, drinking, police corruption, prostitution, brothels and political corruption)
Illinois
Chicago in the 1920s to 1930s (prostitution, bootlegging, cabarets, speakeasies, illegal gambling, bank robberies, police corruption, political corruption, organized crime, and gang activity)
Indiana
Michigan City was considered Sin City in the 1980-1990s, with the proliferation of massage parlors.
Terre Haute was labeled Sin City by the monthly magazine Stag in 1955. (reputation for being "wide open", with gambling and a well-developed "red light district"). Now the federal death row is in Terre Haute at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex.
Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky (brothels, gambling, organized crime)
Newport, Kentucky (brothels, gambling, organized crime)
Massachusetts
Oceania
Australia
Western Australia
Kalgoorlie – once home to many brothels and pubs that opened in the morning