Tulips! Tulips! Tulips! The Keukenhof Tulip Gardens near Amsterdam are your chance to get lost in a sea of beautiful spring flowers. Come spring and the doors of Keukenhof Gardens open for visitors, albeit for a short period of 8 weeks! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to visit the Keukenhof Gardens in 2019 to create a memory of a lifetime. Take your kids along and show them incredible natural beauty that pops out like a scene out of a fantasy movie! Go on a guided tour and learn about the history of tulips in Amsterdam and their value to the people. Participate in the Flower Parade and hope for peace in this year’s Flower Power theme of Keukenhof Gardens!
Before visiting the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, here's all you need to know to prep you for a terrific visit.
History of Tulips in Amsterdam
A farmhand in 16th century Netherlands could have only wished for a glimpse of the tulip because the flower was so rare! The hype for the bulbous and colorful tulips reached its peak during the 16th century when they caused an economic bubble known as the tulip mania. The tulips were introduced to Europe during the Dutch Golden Age when they were brought from the Ottoman Empire in Central Asia. The Dutch fell in love with the beautiful flower and used them everywhere from paintings to insignia. While eventually, the craze for tulips died down, the locals took up production, and today the Netherlands accounts for more than 40% of the world’s production of tulips and other flowers.
What is the Keukenhof Tulip Garden?
With more than seven million flowers, Keukenhof is not your regular park! Meaning ‘Kitchen Garden’ in Dutch, the 32 hectare Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam are one of the world’s largest flower gardens. The garden was opened in 1949 to display the flower produce of the Netherlands, then a fledgling industry, the country is now the world’s leading exporter of flowers.
Located in the town of Lisse in the region of Bollenstreek, a short ride of 40 minutes or less will take you to the Keukenhof Gardens from Amsterdam. Open only for a short duration of 59 days during spring the garden hosts exhibitions, landscaped flower beds, installations, and sculptures to showcase the best of the tulip season in Amsterdam.
Why you must visit the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens?
- The Keukenhof Garden is known as the Garden of Europe and its scale justifies its epithet. Each year the garden witnesses the blooming of over seven million flowers including over 800 species of tulips!
- The spectacular tulip fields that you often see in photographs and videos belong to private tulip producers and most of the fields are off-limits. The best way to experience the tulip season without compromising on safety or losing out on the beauty is at the Keukenhof Gardens.
- The Keukenhof Gardens are a short distance from Amsterdam, making it an ideal day trip and the most convenient location to enjoy the tulip season.
- The Keukenhof Gardens offer activities and events for the entire family, including kids. You can witness the beauty of spring flowers and learn about them in the various exhibitions, sculptures, manicured gardens and installations across the park.
- The gardens are located within the Bollenstreek region and a visit to Keukenhof allows you to explore the spectacular countryside. The scenery is typically Dutch and is dotted with picturesque windmill villages, pristine beaches, meandering waterways and endless flower fields.
Best Time to Visit Keukenhof Gardens
The tulip season in Amsterdam is for a limited period of around eight weeks during spring, which is also when the Keukenhof Gardens are open to the public.
Mid-April to Mid-May – This is hands down the best time to visit Keukenhof Gardens. It is the peak of spring and the days are bright and sunny, perfect for the blooming of tulips. It is a visual treat as the colors shine in the sun, making for fantastic photographs. This is also the most crowded period when international tourists visit the gardens.
Mid-March to Early-April – Early spring is a good time to visit, however you may experience a few cloudy days. Also, if you reach quite early, you may not view the tulips in their full glory. But, you can enjoy other flowers like crocuses, daffodils, and hyacinths. You will also experience fewer crowds during this period.
Keukenhof Theme 2019
The tulips in the Keukenhof Gardens have been inviting visitors for 70 years now. 2019 is the 70th year of opening of the gardens, and the theme of this year is Flower Power. It aims to bring back the idyllic 1970s vibe of hippies, emotive music, bright colors and the hope for world peace. The Keukenhof Gardens will showcase the theme through installations and landscaping art.
Best Way to Experience Keukenhof Gardens
The best way to ensure you have an enjoyable and fulfilling trip to Keukenhof Gardens is by going on a guided tour. The queues at Keukenhof Gardens are long at this time of the year, and you can enjoy skip the line entry as a part of the tour. You will also get nuggets of information about the gardens and the surroundings by a local multilingual guide. The tour will save a lot of time by organizing your transport from and to Amsterdam. Plus, you can enjoy perks like visiting a private tulip farm, and upgrades to enjoy other aspects of Dutch heritage like visiting windmill villages, cheese factory, wooden shoe factory, and the beautiful countryside.
Check out these top Keukenhof Tours and Tickets that promise a terrific experience.
Keukenhof Fast Track Entry Ticket & Transfers
Relish a comprehensive experience of Keukenhof with an exclusive fast track entry into the attraction as well as flexible travel options to and from the park. Explore 32 acres of the Keukenhof Garden and get a chance to see more than 7 million blooming flowers.
Indoor Flower Shows at Keukenhof Tulip Gardens
Once you're done walking around the tulip fields, step into the indoor pavilions brimming with flowering bulbs, cut flowers and pot plants. Inside these pavilions you can see over 500 growers presenting their prize blooms for leading flower arrangers to use in their unique shows. Here's a quick glance of what you can expect inside each pavilion.
Beatrix Pavilion
Oranje Nassau Pavilion
Willem-Alexander Pavilion
Keukenhof Opening Times
By Bus
You will first have to take a bus to Schiphol Airport, as there are no direct buses Keukenhof Gardens from Amsterdam. On reaching you can find the Keukenhof Express (Bus 858) at the bus station. It will cost you about 10 Euros for a round trip. But the queue at bus stop, during the tulip season in Amsterdam, is very long so reach there early.
By Car
Located between Amsterdam and The Hague, Keukenhof can be easily reached via the A4 (exit Nieuw-Vennep) and the A44 (exit 3 Lisse). A car journey should take you about 33 min (39.7 km). To plan your route use Keukenhof’s address in your navigation: Stationsweg 166A, Lisse. Parking at Keukenhof Gardens costs €6 a day.
By Train
There is no train station at Keukenhof. You can however take a train till the Schiphol Railway Station and then take the bus from there. By Car – You can type Keukenhof Gardens Amsterdam in your GPS or Google Maps to visit. It will take you via the A4 highway and take about 35 minutes from central Amsterdam. The exact address of the park is Stationsweg 166a, 2161 AM Lisse.
On a Guided Tour
An organized tour is a great option as you get priority entrance tickets and you can save time on a direct bus from Amsterdam Central Station (Most tours start here) and money on shared transport. You can also extend your trip by visiting nearby attractions like Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken, Windmills and Flower fields without worrying about planning transport.
Beyond the Tulips at Keukenhof Amsterdam
Whisper Boats
The landscaped gardens, pavilions and exhibits are the main attractions of the Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam. But your trip needn’t end when you are done with seeing them all; you can choose to go on a boat trip through the canals that cut across the endless tulip fields surrounding the park. This 45 minute boat ride promises spectacular photos and a memeorable experience.Note, tickets for this boat trip is available only at the windmill in Keukenhof.
Keukenhof rental bike
Another way to explore the flower fields is to rent a bike and ride alongside the flower fields. A bike costs €15 for 3 hours or € 20 a day. We recommend you book your bike online and get a FlowerCard with your online purchase. The FlowerCard gives you a digital magazine about the surroundings of Keukenhof, tips for the best hotspots and get great discounts at the flower farm, museum, restaurants and souvenir shop. You can also score a few discounts on attractions and museums in Amsterdam.
Keukenhof Events
The gardens host special events which showcase Dutch heritage and culture, where you can view performances and attend workshops. If you're visiting the Keukenhof gardens on these days, you're in for extra entertainment.
23/03/2019 – 24/03/2019 – Sounds of Holland
29/03/2019 – 31/03-2019 – Holland Heritage Weekend
05/04/2019 – 07/04/2019 – Flower Power Weekend
13/04/2019 – Keukenhof Flower Parade
21/04/2019 – 22/04/2019 – Easter weekend: Melloy Yellow
27/04/2019 – King’s Dag at Keukenhof
29/04/2019 – 03/05/2019 – Bird of Prey shows
11/05/2019 – 12/05/2019 – Romance at Keukenhof
13/05/2019 – 19/05/2019 – Woodstock Festival
A Taste Of Dutch Culture
The Keukenhof garden celebrates holidays like the King’s Day and Easter with special activities for both adults and kids. The garden also has restaurants and kiosks where you can sample Dutch cuisine like decadent Gouda with black truffles, poffertjes, herring, and hotdogs.
Visiting Keukenhof with Kids
Ticking the blooming of the tulip season in Amsterdam is probably a bucket list item for you, but if you are traveling with kids they might not be so enthused with the idea of endless flower beds! The Keukenhof Gardens has fun stuff for the kids as well; it has a cute windmill at one end of the park that they can climb and get views of the park. There is also a petting zoo with farm animals that will make them squeal with delight. And don’t forget to participate in the treasure hunt and collect your clues at the gate, your kids will be more excited in sightseeing and learning about the tulips while finding clues!
Tips for your Keukenhof Gardens visit
- If you are traveling with luggage, you have two options, either put your luggage at the Schiphol Airport Railway Station which is in the airport area, or make use of the lockers at the Keukenhof Gardens.
- The Amsterdam Flower Parade is a mega event in the region and you will have to take out an entire day to participate in the event. Do not book flights coming in or going out on the day as the roads are jam packed and you might miss your schedule. If you want convenience, then you can watch the parade from Voorhout, Hillegom, or Haarlem which have train stations that will connect to Amsterdam.
- Too young to have attended the epic Woodstock Festival from 1969? You can experience it now or relive it at the Woodstock Festival at the Keukenhof Gardens, that promises to be an extravaganza of ‘peace and music’. The music festival will run from 13th May 2019 to 19th May 2019.
- You cannot truly escape the crowds at Keukenhof Gardens but if you visit before 10:30 AM and after 4:00 PM you can experience thinner crowds. Also, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are relatively less crowded than other days of the week.
- The Keukenhofmolen is the big windmill in the garden and this place can get really crowded with everyone fighting for the perfect picture/selfie. Hit up the windmill first thing in the morning or the last thing before the park closes in order to get some time and space for your series of Windmill shots.
- There are many restaurants and eating kiosks within the park and they are also affordable, but you can also bring in your own food. The gardens have picnic meadows and tables where you can sit down with your family and enjoy a meal.
- You will find tulip bulb stalls in Keukenhof, if you are looking for souvenirs you can buy them from the farmers. They will ship the bulbs to you during autumn season and also provide a quarantine certificate, which is extremely important if you are traveling from countries like USA, Australia and Canada.
Keukenhof Map
More about Tulip Gardens in Amsterdam
Bollenstreek
If you are thinking of long endless rows of rainbow fields of flowers, then you are visualizing the spectacular region of Bollenstreek in the Netherlands. The word ‘Bollenstreek’ itself means Bulb region and is known for its cultivation of flowers. The area has unique geography; situated right along the coast of the North Sea its sand dunes protect the flower fields. The weather is perfect for a variety of flowers including tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, gladioli, dahlias, and carnations.
Bollenstreek is however not a particular municipality and covers over six municipalities including Lisse which is home to the most famous tulip garden in Amsterdam, the Keukenhof Gardens. The pristine beaches, tulip flower fields, windmills, and picturesque Dutch towns make Bollenstreek a great holiday destination.
Amsterdam Flower Parade
The Amsterdam Flower Parade or the Bloemencorso Flower Parade is the pride of the Bollenstreek Region. The annual parade, now in its 72nd year, showcases the beautiful flowers which have enriched the region and brought it wealth and fame. The parade, includes incredible floats made of fresh flowers like tulips, and is joined by enthusiastic locals who dance, sing and entertain onlookers, who number in the thousands!
The parade takes place on 13th April 2019 and goes on a 40KM long journey through the Bollenstreek region covering towns like Noordwijk, Voorhout, Sassenheim, Lisse, Hillegom, Bennebroek, Heemstede, and Haarlem. It passes along the Keukenhof Boulevard near the gardens at around 3:30 PM when you can witness the glorious parade, whose theme for 2019 is ‘Changing World.’
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Amsterdam Tulip Festival take place at Keukenhof?
I need to cancel my tickets. What is the cancellation policy of Keukenhof Tickets?
Is There Free Wi-Fi at Keukenhof?
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