Tulip Festival in Netherlands

Plan your visit to Keukenhof Park

This garden receives more than 800,000 visitors annually, and although it is only open for eight weeks of the entire year, it attracts large tourist crowds with its stunning flower displays and abundant supply of bright, beautiful tulips. In 2019, 1.5 million people visited the park during the two-month period that the park was open, and other years (not affected by Corona) were just as busy. So, if you're planning a trip to this world-famous attraction, save yourself from an hours-long line and book skip-the-line tickets in advance online.

The Tulip Festival at Keukenhof Park includes a range of different exhibitions, in which exhibitors are given a theme to plan their exhibitions around. Some of the most impressive themes among these include famous paintings by Van Gogh, some traditional Dutch designs and the theme of floral energy. The Keukenhof theme for 2022 will be “Floral Classics”. Given the history, culture and endless colors on display around the park, this theme is sure to impress.

What are the best activities and tours that can be done during the Tulip Festival in Keukenhof Park?   ?

With over seven million bulbs and 800 varieties of tulips, this festival is a treat for tulip lovers and flower lovers alike. If you want to make the most of your time in the Dutch countryside, there are plenty of tickets, tours and excursions to help you make a day of it.

Combine your visit with a guided bike ride around the park, as this 2.5-hour bike tour allows you to pass endless rows of beautiful flowers and see gems like windmills, a 14th-century castle, and more. You'll learn about the history of the Netherlands and your guide will answer any of your burning questions! You can even combine the bike tour with your Keukenhof admission ticket and save 10%.

What kind of Dutch trip would it be without a canal cruise?

The waters hug the fields surrounding Keukenhof, and it's a truly relaxing time to sit on a boat and watch the colors fade. The 90-minute cruise departs from Lisse and floats along the beautiful Kagerplassen Lakes. You can choose your Keukenhof ticket on the boat and head to the park after the cruise.

And if your trip to the flower fields needs a little excitement, how about a helicopter ride over the Dutch tulip fields before your visit to Keukenhof? This plane will take you on an exciting flight across the skies of the Netherlands, presenting you with a new world full of colors from above. In addition to the magnificent Keukenhof fields, you'll see the sweeping Dutch coastline, green landscapes, historic towns and sand dunes unique to the Netherlands .

When does the Keukenhof Festival start?

In 2022, Keukenhof Park will open   It is open to the public between March 24 and May 15, daily from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (If you're keen to avoid the crowds and snap a photo of yourself unencumbered by some gorgeous, flowery landscapes, head to the park before 10:30 or after 16:00.)

How can I get to Keukenhof?

Keukenhof Park is located in the city of Lisse, between The Hague and Amsterdam, and is easily accessible by car and public transportation. If you choose to go by car, the park is accessible via the A4 and A44 motorways, and parking is available on site. There are 2 parking lots, and parking per day costs 6 euros. If you're relying on public transportation, the best way to get to the park is to make your way to one of the six departure locations (Haarlem Station, Eurobabel Metro Station, Hoofddorp Station, Schiphol Airport, Leiden Central Station, all Line 90 buses stop at Katwijk, Noordwijk and Noordwijkirhout ) where you can take the Arriva bus directly to Keukenhof.

Tulip craze in Holland

You may find yourself wondering: why do the Dutch have 32 hectares dedicated to flowers that only bloom for a few weeks of the year, and why do you feel like you have to be one of more than 800,000 people visiting Keukenhof in 2022? We have two words for you: tulip mania.

The Dutch fascination with tulips began when the Flemish botanist Carolus Clausius received a few bulbs from his Turkish colleague Auger, who planted them in a botanical garden in Leiden. Impressed by the vibrant shades of tulips that grew from those tiny “bulbs” and their ability to withstand the harsh Dutch climate, he published a book about the flower, inadvertently sparking what later became known as “tulip mania.” The flowers were so popular that Clausius's garden was regularly raided by Leiden locals. And this was just the beginning.

The popularity of tulips extended beyond the small community of Leiden and the cheerful flower began to captivate the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries. Tulips became a recurring feature in paintings, a regular in the garden decoration scene and even the subject of festivals. Excitement around the flower continued to build and flower prices continued to rise.

By the early 17th century, the value of tulip bulbs had increased to the point that a handful of them were worth six ships or a small palace. By 1637, that economic bubble had burst and the tulip craze seemed to be over. But while the price of tulips has fallen back into an affordable range, their popularity has continued to rise. During the 1640s, Holland's largest exports were gin, herring, and tulips. Tulip sales may have fluctuated since the 17th century, but the Dutch remain the largest growers of this flower to this day. In 2017, it was reported that nine out of ten tulips are exported from the Netherlands.

So, when did Keukenhof become famous?

The land that houses the Keukenhof today was once part of the estate of Tellingen Castle, and was generally reserved for hunting. In the 15th century, when Countess Jacoba van Buren lived on the premises, she added a small garden near the kitchen where she could grow and harvest herbs. The garden became known as the Keukenhof. (Kitchen courtyard).

In 1857, landscape architect Jean-David Zoucher and his son Louis-Paul Zoucher were commissioned to redesign the gardens of Tellingen Castle, and they used the original Keukenhof garden as the basis for the new design of the gardens, which at the time did not revolve around tulips. Only in the late 1940s did Keukenhof become the tulip town we know and love today.

The transformation of Keukenhof into a paradise for flower lovers was initiated by flower exporters and bulb growers, who needed a space to display their products. In 1949, Dutch flower merchants descended on Keukenhof to prepare for their first exhibitions of spring-blooming bulbs in 1950. During Keukenhof's first year of operations as a flower garden, more than 20,000 visitors flocked to admire the work of the Dutch merchants. As we all know, the park's popularity increased in the decades that followed and today it is one of the most famous attractions in the entire Netherlands .