It has become a tradition. On the third Saturday of January we’re throwing a spring party! In a central location a tulip garden in Amsterdam is especially created for this occasion. There’s more than one reason why you should not miss this colorful event.
Article updated october 2021
Dam Square: Rembrandt’s One-Day Canvas
I call it the canvas of Rembrandt. The tulip garden in Amsterdam is a work of art created in front of the royal palace on Dam square. Located on a ten minutes walk from the Amsterdam Central Station this square is easily reachable and the perfect place for this visual spectacle. Within hours you’ll see the grey, empty square, turn into a masterpiece of 200.000 tulips, each with their own vibrant color.
Pick Free Tulips
There is a line for the tulip garden in Amsterdam. When it’s freezing or raining heavily the line might be shorter, but there always is a line. And there’s a good reason for that. This pop up tulip field is a picking garden. You can pick your own tulips for free. It’s your once in a year chance to pick tulips in the Dutch capital, so if you’re around do not miss it!
Tulips Spring Flowers?
Now for me, picking tulips in Amsterdam is unique, picking them in January is weird. On my Keukenhof flower fields bike tours in spring I take my participants to special places in the bulb flower region where they can pick the most exotic tulips that grow in full soil. I always though tulips were spring flowers 😀 !
National Tulip Day
Unlike today, a few years ago tulips weren’t available all year through. The TPN, the organisation consisting of over 500 tulip growers was looking for a spectacular way to promote tulips. They launched the National Tulip Day with the picking garden as a kick-off of the fresh cut tulip season. Since 2012 on every third Saturday of January they use their own grown tulips and create this huge tulip garden in Amsterdam. In 2020 National Tulip Day, organised by VLAM, is also celebrated in Antwerp, Belgium. The funny part is that although we celebrate the start of the cut tulip, you can pick them with the bulb!
Tulips from Amsterdam
The tulip garden in Amsterdam is probably the most colorful event of January and really lifts up the spirit. If this beautiful flower field doesn’t work, the atmosphere, music, food & drinks will definitely do the job. Ah, and if you go, try memorizing the lines of the typical Dutch song: ‘Tulpen uit Amsterdam’ and sing them out loud on the Dam Square.
Practical info
What: A huge tulip picking garden for National Tulip Day
Where: Dam Square, Amsterdam & Koningin Astridplein, Antwerp
When: Saturday 15 January 2022
Opening hours: 1 PM till the last tulips are picked ( be fast)
Bags are provided, bring your camera & your smile!
Have a colorful day!
Recommended tours
You might also like:
Amsterdam Keukenhof Alternative Day Program
Tips for a Day Out in the Tulip Fields
2022 Flower festival Keukenhof info & tips on how to avoid the crowd
