Tulip Festival Blooms Forth

The historic Keukenhof Tulip Festival just bloomed and is ushering in this distinctive Dutch event. The Keukenhof Gardens is in the small town of Lisse, South Holland, The Netherlands. It is located about 30 minutes outside Amsterdam and only open for 7 weeks this year, from March 21 to May 10, 2020.

A World of Colors

“A World of Colors” is this year’s theme for the Keukenhof Tulip Festival. Keukenhof Gardens chooses a theme each year to inspire visitors with a wide range of styled gardens and interior displays. Surprisingly, only forty gardeners have planted the 7 million bulbs supplied by a hundred exhibitors in different configurations. Then, next year all the bulbs will be harvested and re-planted around a new theme.

The gardens display over 1,600 different varieties, making for stunning and picturesque family photographs. Also, it lends an opportunity to gain ideas for ones own gardens. The best time to go to the Keukenhof Tulip Festival is mid-April to the beginning of May.

A collection of nearly 100 art objects add to the dimension of the tulip gardens. Additionally, the gardens showcase over 2,500 trees of 87 different varieties. Ordinarily, I would say that all gardens are pleasing to the eye; however, the Keukenhof Tulip Festival at Keukenhof Gardens exercise all the senses. Also, the park has over 9 miles of walking paths throughout the gardens, winding through fountains, streams, and ponds.

The Oranje Nassau and Other Pavilions

The Oranje Nassau Pavilion displays many unique flowers and held several flower arranging demonstrations. I went in 2018 and into each of the other three pavilions due to the extremely informative nature of the displays. In addition, more than 20 flower shows scheduled this year, with over 500 flower growers presenting cut flowers, potted flowers, etc. While I saw many tulips, there were many other bulbs flowers, such as orchids, anthuriums, daffodils, and hyacinths.

Every day has different activities planned, including scavenger hunts for the children and parades. There is a large playground, a petting zoo, and an exciting maze. Furthermore, everyone can climb the iconic Dutch windmill (from 1892) that has been at Keukenhof Gardens since 1957 for the breathtaking views of the distant tulip fields.

Bulb Fields by the Keukenhof Tulip Festival

You can rent bicycles at the Keukenhof Gardens Main Entrance to explore the flowering bulb fields around the park. Alternatively, you can take the electric powered boats from the windmill that cruise around the fields. Altogether, the Keukenhof Tulip Festival is an experience that cannot be missed if you are visiting The Netherlands.

To get there: You can book tours from Amsterdam to the Keukenhof Tulip Festival in Lisse. Or transfers from the Amsterdam Central Station are available. Car rentals are also available from all the major cities.

Book your hotel early because the fields are expected to be in bloom earlier this year due to a light winter. We stayed at the Hotel Amsterdam and loved its art nouveau style. Check out our review here or on TripAdvisor.