The tulip is a national symbol in Holland. Every spring, the Netherlands burst into a rainbow of yellow, purple, red, pink, white and orange blooms. Tulips are literally everywhere (from farmers’ fields to cute souvenirs shops), making the country overwhelmingly beautiful. This patchwork of colors attracts millions of visitors each year. If you plan on visiting Amsterdam, finding tulips are just a bike or train ride away! In the article, I’ve listed down the best way to see the tulips near Amsterdam.
Disclaimer: I was invited by the Amsterdam tourism board to visit some of the areas mentioned below but all of the opinions stated in this article are my own.
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1. Experience National Tulip Day & Check out Bloemenmarkt
A lot of people come to Amsterdam thinking that they will see tulips everywhere in the capital. Actually, there are no tulip fields in Amsterdam! The only day you can see a tulip garden is during National Tulip Day, in January when a temporary patch of 200,000 tulips is set up on Dam Square and all visitors can pick a tulip to bring back home for free.
The second place in Amsterdam where you can see tulips is at the floating flower market on Singel called Bloemenmarkt. Permanently established in Amsterdam, it is one of the city’s main attractions.
If you are interested in history, you can also check out the Amsterdam Tulip Museum, located in the Jordaan district.
However, if you truly want to experience the tulips in the Netherlands and see the fields, the best is to get out of Amsterdam. It might sound difficult to get out of the capital if you have never been to Holland but actually, since the country is fairly small and the transport system incredible, it is super easy to get around! Below are the best places to go to to see tulips around Amsterdam as locals do!
2. Pick your own Tulips at Annemieke’s Picking Garden
Owned by the lovely Ammemieke, this organic flower farm located in Hillegom, lets you pick your own bouquet from mid-February to mid-May. You can choose from more than 300 varieties of flowers in all kinds of colors!
Annemieke’s Picking Garden is just a short ride away from Amsterdam and it is one of the best ways to discover the region.
3. Visit the FAM Flower Farm
if you wish to visit another tulip farm, you can also check out the FAM Flower Farm. It is a blogger’s dream; the tulips fields are gorgeous and the owners even provide you with some props (a bike, watering cans, little signs, and cut flowers) so you can take incredible photos.
Little tip: you should definitely book ahead online to visit the place as they tend to sell out fast.
4. Bike or Drive through Bollenstreek
Annemieke’s Picking Garden and FAM Flower Farm are located in the “Bulb Region” or Bollenstreek, which is a gorgeous place to see the tulip fields. Located in Western Netherlands, this area stretching from Haarlem to Leiden is where a lot of flower fields are located. This “Flower Strip” is all around the cities of Leyde, Noordwijk, Noordwijkerhout, Lisse and Hillegom, offering a spectacular display of blooming tulips but also hyacinths or daffodils. You can drive through the Bollenstreek but the Dutch way is to bike around!
Contrary to the picking gardens, most of the fields on the “Flower Strip” are private and don’t allow free entry. Please always ask the owner if you can enter the field. Don’t forget that those flowers are the owners’ hard work and income so avoid stepping on any of them, don’t pick the tulips, and be respectful.
5. Visit the Keukenhof Gardens
Right in the heart of the Bollenstreek, in the city of Lisse, lies the largest flower garden in the country named Keukenhof. Only open for two months each year, Keukenhof welcomes 1 million visitors annually! Boasting up to seven million bulbs, the park reinvent itself each time, showcasing an amazing collection of colorful flowers. Tulips are, of course, the icon of the Netherlands and occupy a prominent place in the garden. However, Keukenhof features other flowers such as roses, orchids, and lilies. The park also has its own sculpture garden and even a children’s area with a maze, playground and a petting zoo. There is also a cute windmill there!
Since it is incredibly popular, the crowds can be insane! I would advise you to go as soon as the park opens or during the last few hours before it closes. You should also book your ticket online to skip the lines.
You can easily get there from Schiphol Airport directly by taking the Keukenhof bus (858 bus) which is 6€ one-way. If you don’t find it, no worries! Directly inside the airport, once you get off the plane, you can find employees next to a sign with fresh tulips that will be able to help you out.
6. Visit the Black Tulip Museum
If you are staying in Lisse a little longer, a visit to the Black Tulip Museum (Museum de Zwarte Tulp) is a must! There, you can learn about the history of tulips and flower bulb culture while admiring how artists, over the centuries, captured tulip’s beauty in art.
Did you know that tulips are not originally from the Netherlands? Originally cultivated in the Ottoman Empire (now, Turkey), tulips were imported in the 16th century into Holland! If you visit the Museum of the Black Tulip, you can learn a lot more about the history of the introduction of bulbs in Europe in a very informative and interactive way.
7. See and… Eat the Tulips!
After a visit to Keukenhof and the Black Tulip Museum, why not eat tulips for dinner? The Restaurant De Vier Seizoenen, in the center of Lisse, offers a flower-themed 4-course menu available from mid-April to mid-May. Located in a 17th-century building which was once the mayor’s residence, this restaurant makes sweet and sour tulip bulbs and eatable tulip petals! My favorite part of the meal was the dessert. The white chocolate and tulip bulb vodka mousse was complimented with hibiscus flower ice cream and violet flower meringue. Incredibly delicious!
8. Check out the Aalsmeer Flower Auction
Today, the Netherlands is the world’s leading flower exporter. In a village close to Schiphol airport, called Aalsmeer, is held the largest flower auction in the world, the Royal Flora Holland. Flowers from all over the planet are traded every day and around 20 million flowers are sold daily! Guests are welcome to watch the Dutch Auction from a special gallery. Called afmijnen, this open-outcry descending-price auction is fascinating to witness. Bear in mind that the auction is only open to visitors in the mornings during weekdays.
9. Go to the Flower Art Museum
Also in Aalsmeer, you can visit the Flower Art Museum which is the first museum in the world that is entirely dedicated to art inspired by flowers and plants. Every three months, this museum displays new exhibitions by contemporary artists from the Netherlands and abroad. You can even admire the sculpture garden on the roof, facing the water tower by the Westeinder lake.
10. Enjoy the Tulip Route in Flevoland
An hour away from Amsterdam, you can also find a lot of tulip fields, in the Noordoostpolder in the province of Flevoland. The Tulip Route in Flevoland is a unique experience that lets you visit beautiful tulip fields along the way. Each year, there is a new tulip route that depends on the various fields where the tulip growers have planted their bulbs.
The Tulip Route in Flevoland is only available from mid-April until around the beginning of May, during tulip season.
Have you ever been to the Netherlands during tulip season? Do you know any other place around Amsterdam to enjoy the flowers? Let me know in the comments below!
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