What is your favourite flower?
If you love tulips then you must visit Keukenhof – the spectacular tulip gardens near Amsterdam in 2019.
Keukenhof is open 21st March to 19th May in 2019
I love peonies but tulips run a close second. They are so bright and sunny and when they start appearing in shops you know spring is in full swing and summer is on its way.
We visited Amsterdam in the Spring and just had to see the tulips fields for ourselves. Here is our guide to tulips in Amsterdam and information on how to get Keukenhof tickets and visit the park.
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Keukenhof and the tulip fields near Amsterdam
All of the major tulip growing areas of the Netherlands are found within a half hour drive of Amsterdam.
We chose to visit the Keukenhof flower gardens near Lisse in the Bollenstreek or Flower Bulb region between the cities of Leiden and Haarlem.
Known as ‘The Garden of Europe”, Keukenhof park is a series of manicured and cultivated gardens covering 32 hectares.
Laid out in a semi formal style the gardens are designed to showcase many hundreds of colours and varieties of tulips and other flowers. There are over 800 varieties of tulips alone!
The main activity for visitors to Keukenhof is to wander around the grounds enjoying the flowers that are planted around waterways, fountains and statues.
If you are a garden and flower lover then a visit to see the Keukenhof tulips should be on your must do list when you visit the Netherlands.
I would have loved to joined a tulip fields bike tour in the commercial growing areas of Kop van Noord-Holland, or the Noordoostpolder area famous for its tulip festival, but time was not on our side.
The best time to visit Keukenhof
Obviously the best time to visit the Dutch tulip fields is when the tulips are in full bloom. The season for tulips is very short lasting only about 8 weeks from the end of March to the end of May each year.
The tulip park opens in line with the tulip season and even then there is no guarantee you will see the full bloom of flowers in the gardens and fields during your visit.
The very best time to see tulips in the Netherlands is mid April towards the end of spring.
Visiting the park in early Spring
We took a gamble when we visited on the first weekend the park opened in late March.
So while there were some incredibly beautiful displays of flowers most of them were crocuses and daffodils. Unfortunately, there were only a few tulip varieties in bloom but scene was still incredibly pretty.
All the flower beds and displays are beautiful and colourful and they were the perfect antidote to what was a somewhat grey and chilly spring day.
If you are intent on seeing tulips there is a large greenhouse where many varieties are on display but actually the crocuses are lovely.
Practical information for your Keukenhof visit
Keukenhof opening times and ticket prices 2019
The Keukenhof gardens are open from the 21st March to the 19th May in 2019. The park is open from 08:00am to 19:30pm. The ticket office closes at 18:00pm.
Keukenhof ticket prices are €17 for adults and €8 for children aged between 4 and 17. There is no charge for children 3 and under.
If you don’t want to spend time waiting in line, I recommend buying skip the line tickets in advance – click here for ticket info
Plan on spending at least 2 hours in the gardens.
Activities and things to do at Keukenhof
Apart from the main displays throughout the spring season there are weekly flower shows showcasing different varieties.
Each weekend the park adopts a different theme including Dutch heritage, a weekend for kids and even a romance weekend when many marriage proposals are made among the tulips.
Throughout the park there are many eateries with a focus on Dutch cuisine.
I loved the cheese shop where I discovered the delicious gouda with black truffle that I have been thinking about ever since!
You can hire bikes at the park to explore the area and there is a little boat ride along the waterways which we didn’t do but looked peaceful.
Those activities are in addition to the ticket price.
How to get from Amsterdam to Keukenhof
We drove from Amsterdam but you can also go by public transport. Even easier, join a tour from central Amsterdam that includes skip the line tickets for Keukenhof park – click here for the details
If you are driving, the carpark at the gardens is huge so make note of where you parked your car otherwise you may have a bit of searching to do. I always like to take a photo of our car registration and location on my phone when I am visiting new places and this tip came in very handy at Keukenhof.
To go by public transport from Amsterdam to Keukenhof, catch the train or bus to Schipol Airport where you join bus 858, the Keukenhof Express, that will take you from Schiphol to the Keukenhof entrance.
Visiting Keukenhof with kids
Wandering around a Dutch flower garden may not immediately spring to mind as a great activity for kids but we were thrilled to discover how child friendly the gardens are. The Keukenhof website is woefully inadequate with this information so here is a summary.
I am a big fan of wide open spaces for kids to run off steam and the Keukenhof gardens has this in abundance.
Once the novelty of row upon row of flowers wears off and trampling blooms looks like it is going to become the favourite activity of the day there are several activities for kids that will keep them entertained.
Head toward the giant windmill to the right of the main entrance.
You can climb the windmill for views of the park or try on some on some enormous wooden clogs. Close to the windmill there are several playgrounds and a petting zoo with the cutest baby goats, pigs and llamas.
Our kids were already big fans of Miffy after visiting the Miffy Museum in Utrecht so they were thrilled to go inside her house at Keukenhof. There they did some drawing and have their photo taken with her.
Lastly, there are many kid friendly eating options with an emphasis on Dutch cuisine – hotdogs, pretzels and the little dutch pancakes poffertjes.
More information on visiting the flower gardens on the Keukenhof website
Keukenhof flower gardens in summary
The Keukenhof flower gardens are a short day trip from Amsterdam and are where, at the right time of year, you will find row upon row of beautiful vibrant tulips.
The gardens are magnificent and we were impressed by the range of activities at the park for visitors of all ages. I can imagine on a sunny weekend day in Spring it is simply heaving with people.
Despite the lack of tulips we were not disappointed to be sharing our experience with a smaller crowd. I thought we would spend about an hour and a half there but we ended up staying over three hours as there was so much to see and do.
And we kept stopping to smell the flowers.
For those looking for rows upon rows of flowers stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see this is not the right place to visit.
Head north to Kop van Noord-Holland instead where you can ride a bike among the tulip fields past traditional windmills. For more beautiful places to visit in the Netherlands click here
Quick tulip facts*
✪ Tulips are not native to the Netherlands but originated in Eurasia in Tien Shan range on the border between China and Kyrgyzstan
✪ As the Ottoman Empire grew they brought tulips to Holland where they flourished in a climate with cool springs
✪ Holland dominates the global floricultural market supplying 44% share of the world’s flowers and flower products
✪ Over 4.3 billion tulip bulbs are produced each year in the Netherlands and just over 50% of these are grown into cut flowers
✪ The Netherlands exports 1.1 billion cut tulips every year
* Source: Holland Trade
Have you visited the Keukenhof flower gardens when the tulips were blooming? What do you think, should we go back and experience the gardens in all their tulip glory?
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The creator, writer and photographer behind Untold Morsels, Katy has been travelling and tasting the world since she was a teenager.
Now the proud mum of twins, she hopes they grow up to share her passions of great food, wine and travel. Favourite destination: Italy