Tulips are as Dutch as Gouda cheese and wooden shoes. Centuries ago, the intricate flora proved a hit with the Netherlands’ upper crust, who’d shell out big sums of guilders (the currency at the time) to wear them as corsages during balls or to decorate their canal-side homes. At the height of their popularity in the 1630s, a bona fide tulip mania swept through the country, and single bulbs of the most colorful species were worth more than their weight in gold.
Today, though, the tulip is everyone’s flower, brightening public parks and backyards all around the country during spring. Amsterdam rings in the start of tulip season on National Tulip Day, an annual event on the third Saturday of January. The city’s Museum Square turns into a giant tulip garden where everybody—including tourists—is free to pick a bouquet.
To see the country in full bloom, time your visit between late March and early May, when its flower fields are carpeted in eye-popping streaks of pink, orange, and yellow, and tulip festivals in Amsterdam and the surrounding countryside put the beloved flowers in the spotlight.
Here’s where to find the Netherlands’ most awe-inspiring tulip displays in 2024.
Throughout April, travelers can spot tulips for free throughout the city.
Courtesy of © TulpFestivalAmsterdam 2018
Amsterdam Tulp Festival
- Where: Amsterdam
- When to visit: April 1–30, 2024
Amsterdam’s annual Tulp Festival brings a kaleidoscope of colors to all corners of the city. From Vondelpark and central Dam Square to the swirling streets of the Museum Quarter, more than 880,000 tulips will bloom in 85 locations around town. The 2024 edition will take place throughout April and include locations such as the Plantage Middenlaan near the historic Artis zoo, and NDSM Wharf, a former shipyard, across the IJ river.
Exhibits at the Amsterdam Tulip Museum outline the history of the Dutch fascination with the tulip.
Photo by Hans Engbers/Shutterstock
Amsterdam Tulip Museum
- Where: Amsterdam
- When to visit: year-round, except on April 27 and December 25
- Plan your visit: amsterdamtulipmuseum.com/the-museum; €5 for adults, €3 for students
The Amsterdam Tulip Museum is a colorful corner to visit year-round. This small museum along the Prinsengracht canal delivers a deep dive into the Himalayan origins of the bulb and the fascinating tulip mania that swept through the country in the 17th century. Other parts of the museum feature tulip-themed Ottoman ceramics and industry artifacts, and the gift shop sells certified bags of bulbs from a range of species.
Keukenhof gardens consists of more than 79 acres filled with 800 varieties of tulips.
Courtesy of Keukenhof
Keukenhof
- Where: Lisse
- When to visit: March 21–May 12, 2024
- Buy a ticket: keukenhof.combi.ticket counter.eu; €19.50 (US$21.50) for adults, €9 (US$10 ) for children
The Keukenhof, a 40-minute drive from downtown Amsterdam, hosts some of the Netherlands’ most dazzling flower displays. With 79 acres bedecked in more than 7 million bulbs (including more than 800 tulip species), it’s the largest flower garden in the world. No wonder it attracts well over a million visitors during the eight weeks it’s open each year.
In 2024, the walkable gardens open from March 21 to May 12. This year’s edition also happens to be the Keukenhof’s 75th anniversary, so expect extra festivities, like the appearance of Dutch music bands.
Museum de Zwarte Tulp
- Where: Lisse
- When to visit: year-round; hours vary
- Plan your visit: museumdezwartetulp.nl; €10 (US$11) for adults, €5 (US$5.50) for students
Beyond the Keukenhof, the town of Lisse has plenty of other jumping-off points for explorations around this tulip-growing region (also known as the Bulb District, or Bollenstreek). For a lay of the land, stop by the nearby Museum de Zwarte Tulp in Lisse, where rotating exhibitions focus on tulips in everything from paintings to their representation in the Baroque period.
From here, embark on walking or cycling routes around the tulip fields (or on €159-a-person helicopter tours, US$173, on select Saturdays and Sundays throughout April). After, if you’re still not tulip-ed out, the family-run Tulip Experience Amsterdam, launched in 2019 just down the road from the Keukenhof gardens, has tulips fields with more than a million blooms through which guests are allowed to walk for €9.50 (US$10).
The Bloemencorso Bollenstreek takes place in April.
Photo by wjarek/Shutterstock
Bloemencorso Bollenstreek
- Where: Noordwijk, Lisse, and Haarlem
- When to visit: April 17–21, 2024
The Bulb District’s floral frenzy is at its highest on April 20, when an annual flower parade known as the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek will travel the 26-mile stretch between Noordwijk and Haarlem in a procession of colorful floats tufted with tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other bulb flowers. The parade passes through villages and towns along the route and makes a short stop at the Keukenhof entrance around 3:45 p.m.
From April 17 to 19, guests can peek behind the scenes at the Klinkenberg tennis hall in Sassenheim, where dozens of volunteers will decorate the flower floats before they embark on an after-dark parade through Noordwijkerhout on the evening of April 19. If you miss the parade, the floats will be on display in Haarlem’s historic city center on April 21.
Tulip Festival Noordoostpolder
- Where: Emmeloord
- When to visit: April 19–May 5, 2024
While the Bulb District around Amsterdam welcomes the lion’s share of tulip tourists every spring, most tulips are grown in the Noordoostpolder, a low-lying municipality of reclaimed land about an hour north of Amsterdam.
During the blooming season from late April to early May, the area turns into a Technicolor patchwork of flower fields, which is celebrated from April 19 to May 5, during the region’s annual Tulip Festival Noordoostpolder. During this time, a signposted car and cycling route guides visitors past the area’s most beautiful tulip fields.
Off-season tulip hot spots
While the Netherlands—Amsterdam in particular—is at its most colorful in spring, you can still get your flower fix if you visit during summer, autumn, or winter. The floating flower market (or Bloemenmarkt in the local language) on Amsterdam’s Singel canal has been around since 1862 and is a great spot to pick up tulip bulbs to bring back home throughout the year. Be aware, though, that only certain varieties are approved by U.S. Customs and require a phytosanitary certificate attached to their packaging—most vendors will be able to advise.
This article originally appeared online in April 2016. It was updated on January 15, 2024, to include current information.
