One of the best drives you can make from Amsterdam is to the Keukenhof Gardens, also known as the Garden of Europe! It IS the world’s largest flower garden. When you go to Keukenhof you’ll see flowers – thousands and thousands and thousands of flowers.
Each year, in October, there is a “planting weekend” where the annual “first bulb” is planted. After that weekend, the park closes until March as more than 7 million tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and other flowers are planted… just in time to bloom in the Spring. The best time to go: probably mid to late April… as that’s when most of the flowers are blooming.
Keukenhof is situated in South Holland in the small town of Lisse, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. It is located in an area called the “Dune and Bulb Region.”
In addition to the beautiful flowers at Keukenhof, there are many activities and displays. There’s an annual flower show, 15 kilometers of footpaths, 280 benches, 15 fountains, 32 bridges, 5 restaurants, 6 souvenir shops and 3 flower bulb sales outlets! From late March until the end of May, Keukenhof welcomes thousands of guests daily.
The annual flower show – at the height of the blooming season which usually falls on the third week of April – starts with the construction of the floats in Sassenheim. The floats are adorned with millions of flowers. On first Saturday of the show, the parade travels 40km from Noordwijk to the ‘Keukenhof Corso Boulevard’. The floats will also be in the park on that Sunday so check out the Keukenhof website and schedule your visit accordingly!
The Keukenhof Gardens are a short drive from Amsterdam and they live up to their billing as the Garden of Europe. If you need assistance planning a trip to the Netherlands – with a stop-over at the Keukenhof Gardens – Contact Ron Phillips Travel.
For many more of our pictures of the Keukenhof Gardens, head to the Keukenhof Pinterest board.copyright (c) 2012 by Ron Phillips Travel LLC – luxury travel and consultancy. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, Contact Ron Phillips Travel
