Keukenhof Holland | Tulip Garden in Lisse,Amsterdam | The most beautiful spring garden in the world | TulpenGarten

It was a fine sunny day, with the sun all lit up as a bold candle flame; With its shades of gold, it shinned over the Bulbs; And the Bulbs smiled over the sun, to make fun of its monotonous brightness; But the Sun laughed harder on the foolish Tulip blooms and said; It´s my refraction that makes you who you are, bright, colourful, lively and beautiful; Yet the Tulips stayed in pride and faced the sun with no sense of fear; That is when the world around the Bulbs, captured the Tulips in a frame along with them and tagged it to be some `Place in the Heaven´.

What should I say about this beautiful place that everyone doesn’t know? Nor the photos justify the immense beauty of this place nor will my words do any justice. Yet will try to give in my honest opinion and a short guide on this place.

About Keukenhof

Keukenhof is the most beautiful spring garden in the world, with more than 7 million Tulips, daffodils, orchids and hyacinths spread over 32 hectares. It blossoms with its vibrant shades and misty fragrance. The place features spectacular flower shows and amazing flowering trends. It gives a chance to discover latest gardening hacks from their stunningly decorated gardens. Keukenhof buzzes, enchants and inspires for 8 weeks between March to May. A refreshing experience and wonderful memories are guaranteed on a visit to Keukenhof. I highly recommend this place to everyone.

Every year,
The tulip blooms more beautiful
than the last year.
Over time it shall wilt and die,
but the tulip is blessed
with the opportunity
to be beautiful again.
I do hope that,
like the tulip,
I can be beautiful again.

Best time to visit

Keukenhof is open for a very short time in a year as the blooming season for Tulips is very short. The garden is open for its public display from Mid-March to Mid-May. The Tulips are at their best from around Mid-April, so this is the best time to visit the Keukenhof. Considering of going at the peak season, do expect a lot of crowd in there.

Flower Parade

Keukenhof arranges a flower parade each year to display its obsession and creativity with flowers by decorating about 40 floats with beautiful figurines so bright and colourful that will leave you astounded. The dates change every year but can be found on their official website, to plan your trip accordingly. It is difficult to cover the park and the parade on the same, as the parade passes on the exterior of the Keukenhof. So you’ll have to choose between visiting the gardens or follow the parade. Keep in mind that the parade attracts a multitude of tourists, as a result you can easily get stuck in traffic for 1 to 2 hours to get to the park and while leaving. So if you want to visit the gardens on the day of the parade you should preferable arrive before 9.00 am and leave before 17.00 pm to avoid the traffic.

Time needed inside the garden

Keukenhof is a good one-day or a half-day sighting stop, depending on the availability of time. If you are short on time, then try to reach there early to avoid crowd and be able to visit every corner. Minimum time needed here is about 4 hours with consideration that you do not loss time on clicking photos.

This place offers various activities, events, shows and other entertainments, making it a perfect picnic spot to spend a complete day enjoying with your family.

You can stroll around different themed areas and explore the unique beauty of each variants. In Keukenhof, the gardens are very well organised and precisely divided into different zones, each complimenting a different trend and theme.

Oranje Nassau Pavilion offers flower decoration shows every week, which is a 15 mins show, explaining and demonstrating flower décor and bouquet decoration.

Beatrix Pavilion is a huge Orchids and Anthurium indoor display zone. You will find an array of orchids from big to small, with all fancy colors you can name. You can even buy Orchids from here, if you wish.

Willem-Alexander Pavilion is another indoor passage of Panache display of Tulips, Lilies, Dahlias and succulents. Modelled in an outstanding portrays giving a perfect photo booth to the tourists to say cheese and pout!

Learn more about Tulips, its history, cultivations, breeds, species and all you need to know about the Tulips, at the Juliana Pavilion.

Wind-Mill is standing right next to a canal at one end of the garden which helps you get an indoor and outdoor view of the garden. As Holland is incomplete with the windmills, so is the Keukenhof, it gives the garden ethnicity and of course the view is breath taking. The canal is adjacent to the Tulip fields which can also be visited by the tourist either by boat or a bicycle.

Visit the Fields

If you think the garden is not enough and you still have plenty of time, then do not miss on the boat ride or the bicycle ride, whichever is your preference.

You can explore the breath-taking, colourful surroundings of Keukenhof over a bicycle on the bicycle tracks, entering the flower fields is prohibited. The bikes can be rented at the main entrance for about 10€ for 3 hours.

Take a boat ride to explore the bulb fields surrounding Keukenhof in their `whisper boats´. It is about 45 mins boat ride and costs 8€. The tickets are sold at a shop next to the windmill.

2019—Flower Power, the strength of flowers

Keukenhof has stunningly designed an inspirational garden featuring beautiful, colourful Tulips in the latest trends. 2019´s theme is Flower Power to inspire, connect people from across the globe who come together to celebrate Tulips. The garden showcases a beautiful display with its abundant variety of flowers to depict the Power of the Flowers, a great theme for celebrating the 70^th anniversary of Keukenhof.

A glimpse in the World renowned Tulip garden

Here is an on-going event within the Oranje Nassau Pavilion(an indoor hall with numerous flower decor masterpieces), demonstrating a beautiful flower bouquet decoration in detail. Also talking about the Tulips and its cultivation.

Activities for Children

Keukenhof is a perfect picnic spot for a family outing, as it has many activities for kids and meanwhile you can relax or sip on some beverages. Large playgrounds, exciting maze, scavenger hunts, petting farms and more, is the way to get your kids busy.

Toilets and Food Joints

There are plenty of toilets available within the premises and are well scattered over this huge area, to avoid crowding or queuing up.

There are again plenty of options for food and drinks, these garden offers small stalls selling burgers, wraps, sandwiches, currywurst, ice-creams etc with to go option and have it at your own spot. There are also cafes and restaurants with covered sitting arrangements offering snacks, confectioneries, tea, coffee, cold drinks etc. The options can be limited for some but certainly enough to suffice your hunger.

If you plan on a whole day trip to Keukenhof, then you can also consider to get your own meal, drinks, fruits, energy bars, sandwiches, salads, tea etc. along and have it under the shadow of the trees with natural floral beauty all around.

Infant Strollers and wheelchairs:

This place is stroller and wheelchair friendly. So, you can easily access all the areas in the park without any worry.

Souvenirs and more

Keukenhof has several shops offering a range of bulbs for you to take home, also there are other souvenirs like Holland magnets, windmills, shot glasses, wooden shoes etc. Take them home as a token of good memories and well spent time in Holland.

Tickets and Parking

The tickets can be convenient purchased online, to avoid the hassle of standing in the que. The ticket is worth 17€ at their official website: www.keukenhof.nl

You can also consider buying a combi ticket online of Entrance + Parking (17€ + 6€). There is ample of parking available for everyone. There is also a separate parking lot for the Buses coming in for tourism with big groups.

Where exactly is the Tulip garden?

How to get there?

This place is well visited by a car. But there are also public buses (858) running quite frequently (every 10mins) from the Schiphol Airport (where you also have an option to drop your luggage for the day and pick up on your return at a minimal cost) and it reaches the garden in 30 mins.

Suggestions

Try reaching there as early as possible to avoid crowd, the park gets busier as the day passes. Click pictures but do not be too engrossed, to spend quality time with your loved ones, appreciate the beauty of the unique collection and the efforts of maintaining the park. Collect the Free Park Map at the entrance gate, and don´t miss out any sections. The stuff is very welcoming and friendly, so be kind in return by not littering the premise.

My Personal Gallery

“I love tulips better than any other spring flower; they are the embodiment of alert cheerfulness and tidy grace, and next to a hyacinth look like a wholesome, freshly tubbed young girl beside a stout lady whose every movement weighs down the air with patchouli. Their faint, delicate scent is refinement itself; and is there anything in the world more charming than the sprightly way they hold up their little faces to the sun. I have heard them called bold and flaunting, but to me they seem modest grace itself, only always on the alert to enjoy life as much as they can and not be afraid of looking the sun or anything else above them in the face.”

Elizabeth,Her German Garden

Hope the information helped and you had a great time at the Tulip garden! Share you experience with us by leaving a comment.

Author: Kinnari

Welcome! I am Kinnari, a 20 something Engineer from Pune, India. Presently residing in Germany, which got me an opportunity to explore the world around me! Staying far from my family also got me a chance to step into the kitchen and put my apron on! Altogether a big opportunity to share my experiences with you!