Netherlands events 2027, month by month, and how we build a private day around them

Netherlands events 2027 at a glance: the year brings a few milestones and a few gaps. King’s Day falls on the King’s 60th birthday and World Port Days reaches its 50th edition; across the border, Loenhout parades for the 75th time and the Kattenstoet, held only every three years, returns to Ypres. SAIL Amsterdam waits until 2030. This calendar takes the year month by month: Dutch festivals, flower parades, carnival, King’s Day, cheese markets and Christmas markets, seasonal things to do from blossom and dahlias to pumpkin farms, and the national commemorations, with the Belgian events within a day trip from Amsterdam alongside. Each date shows its status: a plain date has been published by the organiser or an official source, anything less certain says so in words, and a usual pattern or last year’s date is never printed as a 2027 date. Last checked: 13 October 2026.

In short

• King’s Day. Tuesday 27 April, the King’s 60th birthday; the royal family celebrates in Lelystad.
• Tulip season. Keukenhof is open Thursday 18 March to Sunday 9 May, and the Bollenstreek Flower Parade runs from Noordwijk to Haarlem on Saturday 17 April.
• Alkmaar cheese market. Every Friday from Friday 26 March to Friday 24 September, 10:00 to 13:00.
• Summer flower parades. Mostly August and September. The first confirmed date is Friday 20 August (Sint Jansklooster) and the last Sunday 26 September (Winkel), with Vollenhove on Saturday 28 August and Corso Zundert on Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected). Rijnsburg usually comes earlier, on the second weekend of August.
• Christmas this winter. Valkenburg’s cave markets are open Friday 13 November to Wednesday 30 December 2026, and Brussels Winter Wonders runs Friday 27 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. We run private days to both, and a small-group Brussels day. The 2027 to 2028 dates are not yet announced.
• Not in 2027 SAIL Amsterdam (next in 2030), the Brussels Flower Carpet and ARTZUID (both 2028), and the Bosch Parade (expected 2028).
• The busiest weeks. Among them: Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May, Friday 20 to Sunday 29 August, and Friday 3 to Monday 6 September.
• Not just a tour. Pick any festival, parade or market here and we build a custom private day trip from Amsterdam around it, door to door from your accommodation, usually 8 to 12 hours, and we teach you about the event as well as showing it to you.

We go to these festivals, parades and markets on custom private days, built for your group by someone who actually lives here, and a day like that is not just a tour. We do not simply take you to the parade or the market: we teach you about it. On the road we learn about the Netherlands as a whole, its past, its present and its future. We connect the pieces of the puzzle, we laugh, we smile, the energy is high and the music is good, and then we watch one of the wonderful events this country holds every year. We arrange everything around the event, too: add a birthday or a company event, and Antonis finds the restaurant and holds the table. Each month below ends with what we run in that season.

How sure is each date in this calendar?

Short answer: every date carries one of seven statuses, shown in the Status column of the calendar tables, and the date wording itself says how sure it is.

• Confirmed The organiser or an official source has published the 2027 date. For example, the Bollenstreek Flower Parade on Saturday 17 April.
• Expected The date follows a fixed rule and carries “(expected)”. For example, Corso Zundert, Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected), held on the first Sunday of September and the day after.
• Usual pattern No 2027 date yet, so the pattern is printed, never a day. For example, the Rijnsburg Flower Parade, usually the second weekend of August, with the parade on the Saturday.
• Not yet announced No 2027 date has been published; where it helps, the most recent known date sits in brackets, for orientation only. For example, the Amsterdam Dance Event, 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 October).
• Season Nature or the harvest sets the timing, and the weather moves it. For example, the tulip fields in bloom, usually mid-April to early May, depending on the weather.
• Unpredictable Announced at short notice. For example, the titan arum blooms at Hortus botanicus Leiden, which last about two days.
• Not in 2027 No edition this year, and the next one is named. For example, SAIL Amsterdam, not held in 2027, next edition 2030 (21 to 25 August).

Where we could check the organiser’s or an official page, the event name links to it, and a travel time from Amsterdam appears only where we checked one, never as a guess.

Which weeks of 2027 are the busiest?

Short answer: the busiest stretches include the Ascension weekend, Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May; late August, Friday 20 to Sunday 29 August; and early September, Friday 3 to Monday 6 September. Carnival, King’s Day, the weekend of Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September and Leiden Relief Day on Monday 4 October are busy too.

• Carnival, Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February. Standdaarbuiten’s illuminated parade is on Saturday 6 February and the Oudenbosch parades are Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February (expected); carnival in Maastricht and Den Bosch follows, Sunday 7 to Tuesday 9 February. Trains and roads to Den Bosch are busy, and Maastricht restaurants should be booked well ahead.
• King’s Day, Tuesday 27 April. King’s Night is the evening before, Monday 26 April. Expect heavy crowds and many road and tram closures in central Amsterdam.
• Ascension weekend, Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May. The Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges is on Thursday 6 May, Beervelde Garden Days near Ghent run Friday 7 to Sunday 9 May, and National Windmill Day is Saturday 8 to Sunday 9 May (expected). Sunday 9 May is both Keukenhof’s last day and the day of the Kattenstoet in Ypres, so expect busy roads around Lisse. Gouda’s Thursday cheese market is expected to skip Ascension Day.
• Late August, Friday 20 to Sunday 29 August. The Sint Jansklooster parades on Friday 20 August; Folklore Day at the Zaanse Schans, Saturday 21 August (expected), with the Prinsengracht Concert that evening; the Barneveld Balloon Fiesta, Wednesday 25 to Saturday 28 August; Winterswijk, Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August (expected); Vollenhove on Saturday 28 August and the Giethoorn Gondola Parade the same evening, Saturday 28 August (expected); then Brabantsedag in Heeze on Sunday 29 August, and the Blankenberge Flower Parade in Belgium, Sunday 29 August (expected).
• Early September, Friday 3 to Monday 6 September. The Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels and the 50th edition of World Port Days in Rotterdam, both Friday 3 to Sunday 5 September; Eelde, Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September (expected); Beltrum on Sunday 5 September; and Corso Zundert, Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected).
• Mid-September, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September. The Bulb Region dahlia mosaics and Corso Frederiksoord on both days; Elim, Saturday 11 September (expected); the Lichtenvoorde Flower Parade and, in Belgium, the 75th Loenhout Flower Parade, both on Sunday 12 September; and Open Monuments Day, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September (expected).
• Leiden Relief Day, Monday 4 October. Leiden marks the end of the Spanish siege of 1574 with a parade and fireworks, and the funfair and market open on the days before.

For grandstand seats, tickets and booking windows around these dates, see when to book for the big dates of 2027.

Christmas 2026: when do Valkenburg and Brussels open this winter?

What’s on in the Netherlands in January 2027?

Short answer: January runs on light and film. The Amsterdam Light Festival is in its final weeks (until Sunday 17 January), I Light U lights up Utrecht (Friday 8 January to Sunday 7 February) and the International Film Festival Rotterdam runs Thursday 28 January to Sunday 7 February; in between, National Tulip Day opens the tulip season on Museumplein (Saturday 16 January). The Brussels, Bruges and Ghent Christmas markets and Valkenburg’s Christmas Town close on Sunday 3 January; Valkenburg’s cave markets close earlier, on Wednesday 30 December 2026.

The Amsterdam Light Festival runs until Sunday 17 January (from Thursday 26 November 2026). Edition 15 lines the canals and streets of the centre with light artworks by international artists: walk the route, or see it from a canal boat.

On Saturday 16 January, National Tulip Day turns Museumplein, not the Dam, into a picking garden of 200,000 tulips. From 13:00 to 17:00 anyone can pick up to 10 stems, free. The wait averages about 60 minutes, according to iamsterdam, so dress warmly. From here the tulip season runs all the way to Keukenhof’s last day, Sunday 9 May. For how a flower once caused a financial frenzy here, read our story of tulip mania.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), now in its 56th edition, runs Thursday 28 January to Sunday 7 February in cinemas and venues across central Rotterdam, about 1 h by road from Amsterdam. The focus is independent and experimental film. General ticket sale opens on Thursday 14 January at 20:00.

Across the border, Winter Glow in Bruges runs until Sunday 14 February (from Friday 20 November 2026). Once the Christmas markets close on Sunday 3 January, the city is quieter. Then, on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January, the new Winter Giant, built in an open workshop with the public and created with the French street theatre company L’Homme Debout, parades through the streets.

On Sunday 31 January the National Holocaust Remembrance is held at the Auschwitz memorial in the Wertheimpark, organised by the Nederlands Auschwitz Comité. People gather at Amsterdam City Hall from 10:00, the silent walk leaves at 10:50 and the ceremony begins at 11:30. Everyone is welcome to walk and remember, and flowers can be laid at the monument afterwards.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
Friday 11 September 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027	Yayoi Kusama retrospective, Stedelijk Museum	Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Museumplein 10	Confirmed
2027 end date not yet announced (running since October 2026; tickets on sale to Sunday 3 January)	Luminiscence Utrecht 360 degree projections, live choir	Utrecht (Jacobikerk, city centre)	Not yet announced
usually late October to late January, every evening; 2026 to 2027 dates not confirmed by the museum	Miffy light projection ‘Hier woont nijntje’	Utrecht	Usual pattern
Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 (cave Christmas markets until Wednesday 30 December 2026)	Christmas Town Valkenburg, 2026 to 2027 season	Valkenburg aan de Geul, Limburg From Amsterdam: about 2 h 30 min by road	Confirmed
Friday 20 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January	Bruges Christmas markets, 2026 to 2027 edition Part of Winter Glow, which runs to Sunday 14 February	Bruges, Markt and Simon Stevinplein, Belgium	Confirmed
until Saturday 9 January (from Wednesday 25 November 2026)	Middelburg Winter City (ice rink on the Markt)	Middelburg, Zeeland	Confirmed
Friday 27 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January	Brussels Winter Wonders (Christmas market), 2026 to 2027 edition	Brussels, city centre, Belgium	Confirmed
Sunday 29 November 2026 to Wednesday 6 January (expected)	Midwinter horn blowing Long wooden horns, Advent to Epiphany	Twente, Achterhoek and Veluwe From Amsterdam: about 1 h 15 min (Veluwe) to 2 h (Twente and Achterhoek) by road	Expected
Thursday 3 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January	Ghent Winter Festival (Christmas market), 2026 to 2027 edition	Ghent, city centre, Belgium	Confirmed
Friday 1 January	New Year’s Dive at Scheveningen Mass swim in the North Sea	Scheveningen (The Hague), South Holland From Amsterdam: about 1 h by road	Confirmed
Friday 8 January to Sunday 7 February	I Light U light art festival	Utrecht (station area)	Confirmed
Wednesday 13 January to Saturday 16 January	Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS), Groningen Emerging European music, festival and conference	Groningen	Confirmed
third Sunday of each month, from Sunday 17 January (expected)	Marksmen’s Day with cannon firing, Dutch Fortress Museum	Naarden-Vesting, North Holland	Expected

With us in January. Private days run all year. Bruges in its Winter Glow, with the Winter Giant out on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January, pairs naturally with the private Bruges day, and Rotterdam during IFFR with the private Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague day. For I Light U in Utrecht, the cannons at Naarden or anything else in the table above, tell us, and we design a custom day around it.

What’s on in the Netherlands in February 2027?

Short answer: carnival fills Brabant and Limburg from Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February. West Brabant opens on the Saturday with Standdaarbuiten’s illuminated parade and the Oudenbosch youth parade (expected), and Maastricht and Den Bosch celebrate Sunday 7 to Tuesday 9 February. Chinese New Year in Amsterdam’s Chinatown falls on Saturday 6 February (expected). Still running from January: I Light U and IFFR until Sunday 7 February, and Winter Glow in Bruges until Sunday 14 February.

Carnival in Maastricht, Vastelaovend, runs Sunday 7 to Tuesday 9 February, about 2 h 30 min by road from Amsterdam, mostly outdoors in the old centre. The city dresses in red, yellow and green, street bands called Zate Hermeniekes play, and the main parade, the Boonte Störrem, is on Sunday 7 February. Costumes are the norm, and restaurants should be booked well ahead.

In Den Bosch, carnival turns the city into Oeteldonk, Sunday 7 to Tuesday 9 February, about 1 h 15 min by road from Amsterdam. Prince Amadeiro arrives by train at Den Bosch Central at 11:11 on Sunday 7 February. On Monday 8 February the Grote Optocht, the main parade, leaves at 12:33 and ends around 16:11 in the Marktstraat; the organiser counts about 100,000 spectators. Trains and roads are busy, so arrive early.

In West Brabant, the Oudenbosch carnival parades are on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February (expected), both at 14:00: the youth parade on the Saturday, the main parade on the Sunday. On Saturday 6 February, nearby Standdaarbuiten’s illuminated carnival parade starts at 19:30 from the Markt and lasts about two to two and a half hours. It is free to watch, and Omroep Brabant broadcasts it live.

The February Strike commemoration, Thursday 25 February (expected), takes place at the Dokwerker statue on Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in Amsterdam and remembers the strike of February 1941. Speakers address the strike and its meaning today. In 2026 the commemoration began at 16:45; the 2027 time is not yet published.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually mid-December to early March; dates of the 2026 to 2027 edition not confirmed	Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival	Biddinghuizen (Flevo Nice), Flevoland	Usual pattern
Sunday 3 January and Sunday 7 February (first Sunday of each month)	Sunday Market at Westergas Makers, designers, vintage and food	Amsterdam	Confirmed
Saturday 6 February (expected)	Chinese New Year in Amsterdam’s Chinatown	Amsterdam (Nieuwmarkt and Zeedijk)	Expected

With us in February. Maastricht’s restaurants need booking well ahead at carnival, and that is where we come in: on a private Limburg, Maastricht and Valkenburg day built around carnival Sunday, Antonis finds the restaurant and holds the table. If Oeteldonk in Den Bosch or the West Brabant parades appeal more, we build a custom day around them instead.

What’s on in the Netherlands in March 2027?

Short answer: spring opens in March. TEFAF runs in Maastricht from Saturday 13 to Thursday 18 March, and Keukenhof opens on Thursday 18 March. On the night of Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 March, the Stille Omgang, a silent Catholic procession, is walked through Amsterdam’s historic centre. The first Alkmaar cheese market is on Friday 26 March (Good Friday; Easter Sunday is 28 March), and the cherry blossom in the Amsterdamse Bos usually comes out from mid or late March. The Amsterdamse Bos is also on the way out of the city on our private countryside bike tour, which rides through the city forest into the open polders.

Keukenhof, the spring flower park in Lisse, is open Thursday 18 March to Sunday 9 May, about 35 to 45 min by road from Amsterdam. Hours are 08:00 to 19:00 every day, entry closes at 18:15, and tickets are for a fixed date and arrival time. For when the bulbs actually bloom, see the Keukenhof 2027 guide.

The Alkmaar Cheese Market runs every Friday from Friday 26 March to Friday 24 September, 10:00 to 13:00, about 40 min by road from Amsterdam. On the Waagplein, costumed cheese carriers bring the cheeses to the weigh house on barrows. In July and August there are Tuesday evening markets too, 19:00 to 21:00.

TEFAF Maastricht (The European Fine Art Fair) is at the MECC from Saturday 13 March to Thursday 18 March, about 2 h 30 min by road from Amsterdam. Over 260 dealers from some 20 countries show art, antiques and design, and the fair is open 11:00 to 19:00 every day. The visit page says 2027 tickets become available in mid-October.

In the Amsterdamse Bos in Amstelveen, the Bloesempark is in flower usually from mid or late March, depending on the weather; 400 of its Japanese cherry trees were a gift from the Japan Women’s Club in 2000. Go while you can: 2027 and 2028 are the last springs with the current trees, which will all be removed after the 2028 flowering, with new ones planted that autumn.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
from Monday 1 March (end date not published; the season usually runs until May, sometimes into June)	Fish Doorbell Watched online: ring for the fish	Utrecht (Weerdsluis lock)	Confirmed
night of Saturday 13 March to Sunday 14 March	Stille Omgang (Silent Procession), Amsterdam Silent Catholic night procession	Amsterdam, historic centre	Confirmed
Thursday 18 March to Sunday 9 May	Tulip Experience Amsterdam Show garden on a bulb farm	Noordwijkerhout (Delfweg 37)	Confirmed

With us in March. Our spring begins. From Thursday 18 March, Keukenhof’s opening day, there is the private Keukenhof day for your group only and the small-group Keukenhof and Dutch villages day for a maximum of 8 guests. From Friday 26 March the Alkmaar Fridays start, on the private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day or the small-group Alkmaar Friday. For TEFAF, we can build the fair into a private Limburg, Maastricht and Valkenburg day.

What’s on in the Netherlands in April 2027?

Short answer: April is tulip month. The tulip fields usually flower from mid-April to early May, the Bollenstreek Flower Parade is on Saturday 17 April and King’s Day on Tuesday 27 April. The Gouda cheese market runs on Thursdays from Thursday 1 April (expected), and the Tulip Festival in the Noordoostpolder from Friday 16 April to Sunday 2 May.

The Bollenstreek Flower Parade is on Saturday 17 April (festival Wednesday 14 April to Sunday 18 April): floats decorated with spring bulb flowers follow a 42 km route from Noordwijk to Haarlem. From Amsterdam it is about 45 min by road to Noordwijk (start) and about 25 min to Haarlem (finish). The Saturday route passes Lisse near Keukenhof, which is open that day.

The floats are built on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 April, and the illuminated parade is in Noordwijkerhout on the evening of Friday 16 April; its start time is not yet published.

The tulip fields around Lisse in the Bulb Region (Bollenstreek) flower after the crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths, usually mid-April to early May, depending on the weather. They are working farms, so look from the roadside and the paths and never step into the rows; staying on the path at the tulip fields explains why. For the week-by-week picture, see the Keukenhof 2027 guide.

King’s Day, the national holiday for the King’s birthday, is on Tuesday 27 April. The royal family celebrates in Lelystad, about 50 min by road from Amsterdam, in the year the King turns 60. In Amsterdam people dress in orange, the vrijmarkt turns the streets into open markets, there is music, and boats take to the canals. King’s Night parties are on the evening of Monday 26 April. Expect heavy crowds and many road and tram closures in central Amsterdam.

Across the border, Floralia Brussels, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken and the Hallerbos bluebells are in the Belgium section, and orchard blossom has its own section.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
every Thursday from Thursday 1 April to Thursday 26 August, except Ascension Day, Thursday 6 May (expected)	Gouda Cheese Market	Gouda (Markt, in front of the Waag) From Amsterdam: about 50 min by road	Expected
Thursday 1 to Friday 30 April	Tulip Festival Amsterdam Free displays in public spaces	Amsterdam, dozens of locations across the city	Confirmed
Friday 16 April to Sunday 2 May	Tulip Festival Noordoostpolder	Noordoostpolder, Flevoland	Confirmed

With us in April. Both seasons run all month: Keukenhof on the private Keukenhof day or the small-group Keukenhof and Dutch villages day, and Alkmaar’s Fridays on the private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day or the small-group Alkmaar Friday. On parade Saturday, 17 April, we can time a private Keukenhof day around the floats passing Lisse.

What’s on in the Netherlands in May 2027?

Short answer: May opens with National Remembrance Day on Tuesday 4 May (expected) and Liberation Day on Wednesday 5 May (expected). The Ascension weekend, Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May, brings the Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges, National Windmill Day (expected), the Kattenstoet in Ypres and Keukenhof’s last day; at Whitsun, the Day of the Castle runs Friday 14 to Monday 17 May, and Pinksterzaan fills the Zaanse Schans on Whit Monday, 17 May (expected). Beervelde’s spring garden days are listed under Belgium.

National Remembrance Day falls on Tuesday 4 May (expected). At 20:00 the country keeps two minutes of silence. At the National Monument on Dam Square the King and Queen lay a wreath on behalf of the Dutch people, and local commemorations are held at war memorials across the country.

The Dam Square shooting commemoration remembers the people killed on the Dam on 7 May 1945, when German soldiers fired on crowds celebrating the liberation; 2027 commemoration not yet announced (anniversary: 7 May). The memorial, 32 stones bearing the victims’ names, lies on the Dam between Damrak and Nieuwendijk and can be visited on any day.

The Rotterdam Bombing Commemoration, Friday 14 May (expected), remembers the German bombing of 14 May 1940. A morning ceremony is held from 10:00 to 10:30 at Statenweg 147, then the central ceremony from 13:00 at Zadkine’s statue The Destroyed City on Plein 1940, with two minutes of silence at 13:27 and church bells in the city centre. The municipality says everyone is welcome.

The Procession of the Holy Blood, recognised by Unesco as intangible heritage, passes through Bruges on Thursday 6 May, Ascension Day. It starts at 14:30 at the Dijver and takes about an hour and a half to pass any point on the route. Grandstand seats cost €10 or €15 and go on sale on Sunday 28 February.

On Sunday 9 May, Ypres in Belgium holds the Kattenstoet (Festival of the Cats), a parade that comes round only every three years, with toy cats thrown from the belfry. It starts at 15:00, watching from the streets is free, and there is a Saturday programme the day before.

National Windmill Day, Saturday 8 to Sunday 9 May (expected), opens hundreds of windmills and watermills, many normally closed, with millers at work. Mills only turn with enough wind, so keep a backup plan. From Amsterdam: Zaanse Schans about 25 min, Schermer about 35 min, Kinderdijk about 1 h 15 min by road. Sunday 9 May is also Keukenhof’s last day, so expect busy roads around Lisse.

On Whit Monday, Monday 17 May (expected), Pinksterzaan turns the Zaanse Schans and the Zaans Museum into a free festival from 11:30: a small market with regional products and craftwork, live music, street theatre, traditional crafts and workshops for children. It celebrates freedom on the spot where the Spanish Schans, a fort from 1574, once stood.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
Wednesday 5 May (expected)	Liberation Day Liberation Festivals in 14 cities	Nationwide, including Haarlem From Amsterdam: Haarlem about 25 min; Wageningen about 1 h 15 min by road	Expected
Friday 14 to Monday 17 May	Day of the Castle Castles and estates open to visitors	Nationwide	Confirmed
Monday 17 May (expected)	Pinksterzaan Free Whit Monday festival with a market	Zaanse Schans From Amsterdam: about 25 min by road	Expected
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 30 May to 7 June)	Rotterdam Rooftop Days Rooftop festival: tours, films, performances	Rotterdam	Not yet announced

With us in May. Until Keukenhof closes on Sunday 9 May, we run the private Keukenhof day and the small-group Keukenhof and Dutch villages day, and the Alkmaar cheese market Fridays continue on the private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day and the small-group Alkmaar Friday.

Ascension puts Bruges and Ypres in one long weekend. Our private Bruges day can be timed for the procession on Thursday 6 May, with grandstand seats reserved once sales open. For Ypres and the Kattenstoet, we design a custom day. Windmill Day and Pinksterzaan both pair with the private Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Giethoorn day (see also Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam).

What’s on in the Netherlands in June 2027?

Short answer: June starts with cheese and ends with motorbikes. Grass Cheese Day in Woerden is on Saturday 5 June (expected) and Kaeskoppenstad in Alkmaar is usually a weekend in early June. Mid-month brings Oerol on Terschelling (Friday 11 to Sunday 20 June), the Westland Floating Flower Parade (Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June) and Pinkpop (Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June), and the Dutch TT in Assen (Friday 25 to Sunday 27 June) closes it. The Holland Festival (Thursday 3 to Sunday 27 June) and Open Garden Days (usually a Friday to Sunday in the second half of June) run alongside, and strawberry and cherry picking usually begin this month too.

The Westland Floating Flower Parade (Varend Corso), Friday 18 June to Sunday 20 June, sends boats dressed with flowers, plants and vegetables through the Westland, Midden-Delfland, Maassluis, Delft and Rijswijk. The 2027 route for each day is not yet published, so check it before choosing a viewing point.

At Open Garden Days Amsterdam, private gardens behind the canal houses open on one ticket, right in the city. The gardens open for three days, usually a Friday to Sunday in the second half of June; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 19 to 21 June). In 2026 they were open 10:00 to 17:00, with tickets through the Museum Van Loon webshop.

Grass Cheese Day in Woerden is on Saturday 5 June (expected): the market master opens it at 11:00, tasting starts at 13:00, and the year’s first grass cheeses and a 125 kg cheese are auctioned for charity. Kaeskoppenstad (Alkmaar in 1573) is usually a weekend in early June; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 6 and 7 June). Hundreds of volunteers turn Alkmaar’s old town back into the city of 1573; in 2026 entry was paid.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
Thursday 3 to Sunday 27 June	Holland Festival International performing arts festival	Amsterdam	Confirmed
Friday 11 to Sunday 20 June	Oerol Festival Ferries from Harlingen; book accommodation early	Terschelling (Friesland)	Confirmed
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June	Pinkpop Music festival over three days	Landgraaf (Limburg)	Confirmed
2027 date not yet announced (2026: 20 June)	Flag Day Scheveningen (new herring festival)	Scheveningen, The Hague From Amsterdam: about 55 min to 1 h by road	Not yet announced
Friday 25 to Sunday 27 June (MotoGP race on Sunday 27 June)	Dutch TT Assen (MotoGP Grand Prix of the Netherlands)	Assen (Drenthe)	Confirmed

With us in June. Alkmaar’s cheese Fridays carry on through June, as a private day or the small-group Friday. The Westland parade’s route takes in Delft, one of the three cities on the private Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague day. For Grass Cheese Day in Woerden or Kaeskoppenstad in Alkmaar, tell us which one and we build a custom day around it. In Amsterdam itself, Open Garden Days open gardens in the canal belt, the same part of the city the private city bike tour rides through.

What’s on in the Netherlands in July 2027?

Short answer: Deventer op Stelten (Friday 2 to Sunday 4 July), then North Sea Jazz (Friday 9 to Sunday 11 July) and the Leiden Rembrandt Days (Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 July) on the same weekend, the Ghent Festivities (Friday 16 to Sunday 25 July), the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen (Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 July) and the skûtsje races in Friesland from Saturday 24 July. Pride Amsterdam starts on Saturday 31 July and is covered under August.

The Edam Cheese Market on the Jan Nieuwenhuizenplein keeps a simple summer rhythm: usually Wednesday mornings in July and August, 10:30 to 12:30; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 1 July to 19 August). A bell opens and closes each market morning.

The North Sea Jazz Festival, Friday 9 to Sunday 11 July, takes over Rotterdam Ahoy, about 1 h by road from Amsterdam. Tickets are mobile only and sold through the official site, and the programme runs late into the night.

The same weekend, the Leiden Rembrandt Days, Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 July, turn Leiden’s Pieters and Academie quarters into Rembrandt’s 17th century, with actors and street scenes.

Across the border, the Ghent Festivities (Gentse Feesten), Friday 16 July to Sunday 25 July, spread over several squares and stages in central Ghent for ten days. Belgium’s National Day, 21 July, falls on the Wednesday.

At the International Four Days Marches Nijmegen, Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 July, walkers cover 30, 40 or 50 km a day. Nijmegen is about 1 h 30 min by road from Amsterdam, and spectators need no ticket.

In Friesland, the skûtsjes, historic flat-bottomed sailing barges, race town by town in the Skûtsjesilen: SKS championship Saturday 24 July to Friday 6 August; IFKS championship Saturday 7 August to Saturday 14 August. The SKS championship, listed intangible heritage, opens in Grou on Saturday 24 July, races at Stavoren on Saturday 31 July and ends in Sneek on Friday 6 August; the IFKS final is in Lemmer.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
Friday 2 to Sunday 4 July	Deventer op Stelten (street theatre festival)	Deventer (Overijssel)	Confirmed
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 July)	Ommegang of Brussels Historical pageant recreating the 1549 celebration	Brussels, Sablon and Grand-Place, Belgium	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: preview Saturday 4 July, main day Sunday 12 July)	FIER Haarlem city festival	Haarlem	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Sunday 12 July and Sunday 2 August)	Living Statues Festival Noordwijk	Noordwijk aan Zee	Not yet announced
usually two Saturday evenings, one in mid July and one in mid August; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 18 July and 15 August)	Cirque des Dunes, Noordwijk Free evening of street theatre	Noordwijk aan Zee	Usual pattern
usually the last weekend of July, with the parade on the Saturday; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Friday 24 and Saturday 25 July)	Rotterdam Summer Carnival street parade	Rotterdam	Usual pattern
2027 dates not yet announced (2026 included Saturday 25 July)	Steam tram evening drinks ride (Borrel Expres), Hoorn to Medemblik	Hoorn to Medemblik	Not yet announced
usually a weekend in July; 2027 dates not yet announced	Pole Sitting Contest, Lambertschaag No fixed finish time	Lambertschaag (Medemblik, West Friesland)	Usual pattern
no fixed dates; weather-dependent beach sessions between Thursday 1 July and Monday 20 September, each announced three days ahead	Strandbeest beach sessions (Theo Jansen) Wind-powered walking skeletons	Beach location announced with each session; Strandbeest Playground in The Hague	Season

With us in July. Summer Fridays still mean Alkmaar, as a private day or the small-group Friday. Edam’s Wednesday market morning, Ghent in full Gentse Feesten, the Four Days Marches in Nijmegen or the skûtsjes in Friesland: name one and we design a custom day around it. Edam is also on the small-group Edam, Volendam and Giethoorn day, but that one keeps its published schedule rather than following the market. For a long summer day on two wheels, the Waterland Expedition rides 60 to 70 km, flat the whole way, out to Volendam and Marken and home along the dike.

What’s on in the Netherlands in August 2027?

Short answer: Pride Amsterdam and the Canal Parade (Saturday 31 July to Sunday 8 August; Canal Parade Saturday 7 August), Sneek Week (Friday 6 to Thursday 12 August) and the Grachtenfestival (Friday 13 to Sunday 22 August) open the month. Then comes one of the busiest stretches of the year: the Sint Jansklooster dahlia parades on Friday 20 August; Folklore Day at the Zaanse Schans, Saturday 21 August (expected), with the Prinsengracht Concert that evening; the Barneveld Balloon Fiesta (Wednesday 25 to Saturday 28 August); the Vollenhove Flower Parade on Saturday 28 August, with the Giethoorn Gondola Parade expected the same evening; and Brabantsedag on Sunday 29 August. The heather is in bloom usually late July to early September, depending on the weather.

Three changes to know about. SAIL Amsterdam is not held in 2027, next edition 2030 (21 to 25 August). In Brussels, Flowertime at Brussels Town Hall (August, exact days not yet announced) takes the place of the Flower Carpet: see events not happening in 2027. And there is no longer an Uitmarkt in Amsterdam: its successor, DE OPENING, has not yet named its 2027 host city.

Every August flower parade, including Rijnsburg, Leersum, Winterswijk, Rekken, Varsseveld and Blankenberge, is in the flower parade table.

Pride Amsterdam and the Canal Parade (Saturday 31 July to Sunday 8 August; Canal Parade Saturday 7 August) is a nine-day LGBTIQ+ festival across the city, with the Canal Parade of decorated boats at its centre. Central Amsterdam is very crowded on Canal Parade day.

The history behind Amsterdam’s liberal reputation is the theme of the small-group Liberal Amsterdam walking tour, in English with max 8 guests, and of the private history and WWII walk for your own group.

The Sint Jansklooster Flower Parade in Overijssel (Friday 20 to Saturday 21 August; parades on Friday 20 August) shows its dahlia floats in an afternoon parade, 14:00 to 16:00, and an illuminated evening parade, 20:30 to 22:30, with a corso festival on Saturday from 12:00 to 17:00. Tickets go through the organiser’s booking system.

Saturday 21 August should bring folk by day and classical music by night. Folklore Day at the Zaanse Schans, Saturday 21 August (expected), brings folk music, dance and regional costume; entry is free, and in 2026 the programme started at 09:30. That evening the Prinsengracht Concert is played on the water of the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam: free from the quays and bridges, while boat places need registration. In 2026 the main programme began at 21:20 in front of Hotel Pulitzer.

Saturday 28 August brings one confirmed parade and one expected parade to the same corner of Overijssel. The Vollenhove Flower Parade, about 1 h 15 min by road from Amsterdam, sends its floats out in the afternoon and again in the evening, with a youth parade in the morning. Its 2027 programme and tickets follow in 2027; in 2026 the youth parade was at 10:00, the afternoon parade at 14:00 and the evening parade at 20:30, with a Food and Flowers Festival from 11:30 to 21:30.

The same evening, in the same municipality, the Giethoorn Gondola Parade, Saturday 28 August (expected), carries illuminated handmade gondolas along the village canal, a tradition dating from 1930. Music and entertainment boats pass first, and the national heritage register cites about 10,000 to 15,000 spectators.

The film's on-screen text

1. How many flowers?
2. About 2 million dahlias on 12 floats. Corso Vollenhove, the Netherlands. Figures: the organisers.
3. Half a year of work. For one day.
4. An American saw it on social media and booked a holiday. Source: Corso Vollenhove.
5. Want to see it for real?
6. For any themed event in the Netherlands, ask us for a custom tour.

Ask for a custom tour

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually late July to early September, depending on the weather	Heather in bloom	Heathlands across the Netherlands	Season
Friday 6 to Thursday 12 August	Sneek Week sailing regatta	Sneek (Friesland)	Confirmed
Friday 13 to Sunday 22 August	Grachtenfestival (Canal Festival) Classical music and jazz	Amsterdam	Confirmed
championships usually in August; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Frisian Championship Saturday 15 August, Dutch Championship Saturday 29 August)	Fierljeppen (canal pole vaulting) championships	Friesland, Holland and Utrecht	Usual pattern
Wednesday 25 to Saturday 28 August	Barneveld Balloon Fiesta	Barneveld (Gelderland)	Confirmed
2027 dates and host city not yet announced (2026: 28 to 30 August, Eindhoven)	DE OPENING, national opening of the cultural season (successor to the Uitmarkt)	Host city not yet announced (2026: Eindhoven)	Not yet announced
Sunday 29 August	Brabantsedag parade, Heeze Theatrical parade with staged floats	Heeze (North Brabant)	Confirmed

With us in August. The Alkmaar Fridays run on into September, as a private day or the small-group Friday, and on Folklore Day the private Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Giethoorn day finds the Zaanse Schans full of folk music, dance and regional costume.

Saturday 28 August shows what a custom day can be. Vollenhove’s floats sit at the centre, and around them we can add a birthday, a company event or a dinner: we reserve tickets where the event sells them, and Antonis finds the restaurant and holds the table. Any parade in this calendar works the same way (see how we build a day around an event and how to add an occasion).

Giethoorn is on two of our private days, the private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day and the private Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Giethoorn day. A custom day may be able to take in Vollenhove and the gondolas, but that depends on 2027 programmes not yet published.

What’s on in the Netherlands in September 2027?

Short answer: September is dahlia month, but beer and ships open it. The Belgian Beer Weekend, Friday 3 to Sunday 5 September, and the 50th World Port Days in Rotterdam run over the same three days, and Corso Zundert follows on Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected). On Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September five dahlia events share one weekend (Elim’s date is expected), with Open Monuments Day expected on the same days. Prinsjesdag is on Tuesday 21 September (expected), and the last Alkmaar cheese market of the season on Friday 24 September.

At the Corso Zundert flower parade, Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected), twenty hamlets compete with large floats, each covered in up to half a million dahlias. In 2026 the parade started at 13:30 on the Sunday, and on the Monday the floats were on show on the Molenstraat from 09:00 to 22:00, with lighting, movement and music. Route and grandstand tickets are sold in advance; children aged 12 and under went free in 2026. Zundert, about 1 h 30 min by road from Amsterdam, is also Vincent van Gogh’s birthplace.

On the Grand-Place in Brussels, the Belgian Beer Weekend, Friday 3 to Sunday 5 September, has Belgian breweries serving their beers, at a festival organised by the Belgian brewers’ association. Entry was free in past editions; you pay for the tastings, and the 2027 hours are not yet published.

World Port Days Rotterdam, Friday 3 September to Sunday 5 September, reaches its 50th edition in 2027: three days of ships on the water and harbour shows. The 2027 programme is not yet published.

On Prinsjesdag (State Opening of Parliament), Tuesday 21 September (expected), the parliamentary year opens in The Hague, about 50 min to 1 h by road from Amsterdam, with the King’s Speech from the Throne and the royal carriage procession. Spectators line the route from early morning; expect security measures and road closures in the centre.

In the Achterhoek, about 1 h 45 min by road from Amsterdam, the Lichtenvoorde Flower Parade sets off at 14:00 on Sunday 12 September, with 18 dahlia floats and dozens of children’s entries.

On Saturday 18 September, near Ede, the Airborne Landings and Commemoration, Ginkelse Heide remembers the airborne landings of 1944. Visitors are admitted to the heath from 09:00. In 2026 paratroopers from several NATO countries jumped, and the commemoration at the Airborne Monument followed the first landing.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September (expected)	Open Monuments Day (Heritage Days)	Nationwide, including Amsterdam	Expected
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September)	Maker Days Eindhoven (with the Maker Parade) Festival of making and technology	Eindhoven	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Sunday 13 September)	Living Statues Festival Breda Living statues on five squares	Breda	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Saturday 19 to Monday 21 September)	Tiel Fruit Festival (formerly the Fruitcorso) Fruit festival, no parade	Tiel, Betuwe	Not yet announced
usually a Friday to Sunday in late September; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September)	Brandersfeesten Schiedam Live music, markets and street theatre	Schiedam (historic centre)	Usual pattern
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September)	Scheveningen International Kite Festival Kite flyers from many countries	The Hague (Scheveningen beach)	Not yet announced

With us in September: the Alkmaar Fridays run until Friday 24 September, on the private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day or the small-group Alkmaar Friday. Make Corso Zundert, the Beer Weekend or one of the dahlia parades the heart of a custom day: we reserve tickets where the event sells them, and Antonis finds the restaurant and holds the table. Rotterdam’s World Port Days and The Hague’s Prinsjesdag both happen in cities on the private Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague day, so either can be built into it.

What’s on in the Netherlands in October 2027?

Short answer: Leiden Relief Day is on Monday 4 October, while Amsterdam Dance Event and Dutch Design Week have not announced their 2027 dates. Pumpkin farms and the Kasterlee pumpkin weekends, Halloween, the dahlia gardens, which run until about mid-October, and Beervelde’s autumn garden days each have their own section.

On Monday 4 October, Leiden, about 45 min by road from Amsterdam (off-peak), celebrates Leiden Relief Day (3 October Festival), which marks the end of the Spanish siege of 1574. In 2027, 3 October falls on a Sunday, so the main day is the Monday. From 07:30 that morning, herring and white bread are handed out to Leiden residents and people born in Leiden who signed up in advance; the Grote Optocht parade starts at 13:00 and the fireworks are at 23:30. The funfair and market open on the days before, and the traditional dish is hutspot, a mash of potato, carrot and onion.

The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 October), brings electronic music to venues across Amsterdam at night, with a daytime industry programme alongside. The 2026 programme lists more than 1,200 events across the city, and each club night sells its own tickets.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Saturday 17 to Sunday 25 October)	Dutch Design Week Exhibitions, talks and graduation shows	Eindhoven From Amsterdam: about 1 h 30 min by road	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Friday 2 and Saturday 3 October)	PINT Bockbierfestival (bock beer festival), Amsterdam	Amsterdam	Not yet announced

With us in October: the month suits one private day built around a single thing, such as Leiden’s festival, a pumpkin farm near Amsterdam or one of Kasterlee’s October pumpkin weekends in Belgium. Choose yours, and we design a custom day around it, door to door from your Amsterdam accommodation.

If Dutch Design Week is what brings you, the same question of what comes next can be walked in Amsterdam: the private Green City walk goes to the corner of the city where it tests the future, and the rest is on our sustainable tours page. For the background, read Amsterdam as a green city, why Dutch sustainability is a survival skill, not a trend, and why we refused to go quiet about sustainability.

What’s on in the Netherlands in November 2027?

Short answer: almost every November date is still a pattern. GLOW Eindhoven usually runs eight evenings in the first half of the month, St Martin’s Parade in Utrecht is usually a Saturday evening in early November, Sinterklaas usually arrives on a Saturday in mid-November and in Amsterdam the day after, and the Amsterdam Light Festival usually opens in late November. Two dates are expected: the start of the carnival season, Thursday 11 November (expected), and the midwinter horn blowing season, Sunday 28 November to Thursday 6 January 2028 (expected). The Christmas markets are in December.

Sinterklaas (St Nicholas) arrives twice. The National Arrival of Sinterklaas is usually a Saturday in mid-November, in a different town each year; 2027 date and town not yet announced (2026: Saturday 14 November, Grave). It is broadcast live on television; the quays are crowded hours in advance, and the wait is outdoors.

The Arrival of Sinterklaas in Amsterdam is usually a Sunday in mid-November, the day after the national arrival; 2027 date not yet announced (2026: Sunday 15 November). His steamboat sails along the Amstel from the Omval to the Scheepvaartmuseum, where he receives the city key, then he rides on horseback to Leidseplein. It is free; the 2026 arrival runs from 10:00 to 15:30.

Eindhoven sets out light art along an evening walking loop of about 5 km through its centre for the GLOW Eindhoven light festival, usually eight evenings, Saturday to Saturday, in the first half of November; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 7 to 14 November). The city is about 1 h 30 min by road from Amsterdam; start soon after dark.

Back in Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Light Festival (Edition 16, 2027 to 2028) places light artworks by international artists along the canals and streets of the centre, lit only after dark. Dates: usually late November to mid-January 2028; Edition 16 dates not yet announced (Edition 15: 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027). Walking the route is free; December weekends book up first for the canal cruises. To see it from the water with only your own group, ask about our private canal cruise.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
2027 date not yet announced (2026: Saturday 7 November)	Museum Night Amsterdam Many museums open late, one ticket	Amsterdam	Not yet announced
usually a Saturday evening in early November, before St Martin’s Day; 2027 date not yet announced (2026: Saturday 7 November)	St Martin’s Parade Utrecht Evening lantern parade	Utrecht	Usual pattern
Thursday 11 November (expected)	Start of the carnival season (11 November)	Maastricht; also other towns in Limburg and North Brabant From Amsterdam: about 2 h 30 min by road	Expected
Sunday 28 November to Thursday 6 January 2028 (expected)	Midwinter horn blowing season (Twente, Achterhoek and Veluwe)	Twente, the Achterhoek and the Veluwe	Expected

With us in November: Valkenburg’s cave markets usually open in mid-November (2027 dates not yet announced), and the private Valkenburg Christmas cave markets day is built around them. All our Christmas days are together on Christmas markets from Amsterdam, and December below has the details.

What’s on in the Netherlands in December 2027, and when do the Christmas markets open?

Short answer: on 13 October 2026 none of the 2027 to 2028 Christmas market seasons had been announced, so no market here has a 2027 date yet; most usually open between mid-November and early December. The one confirmed date is Gouda by Candlelight, on Friday 10 December. Oliebollen, deep-fried dough balls, are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve, Friday 31 December.

Down in Limburg, Christmas Town Valkenburg (cave Christmas markets) holds its markets inside two marl caves, the Gemeentegrot and the Fluweelengrot. Its season is usually mid-November to early January 2028; 2027 to 2028 dates not yet announced (2026 to 2027 season: 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027). Entry is by online ticket for a set date and time slot, and the organiser suggests about 1.5 hours per cave. In the 2026 season the cave markets close on 30 December, before the town season ends. Valkenburg is about 2 h 30 min by road from Amsterdam and about 15 km from Maastricht, whose Magical Maastricht market is in the table below.

Across the border, Brussels Winter Wonders (Christmas market) spreads Christmas markets, shows, attractions and light displays across central Brussels, usually late November to early January 2028; 2027 to 2028 dates not yet announced (2026 to 2027: 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027).

In Amsterdam itself, the Christmas Village, Museumplein is a free market with more than 50 stands, open daily. Dates: usually most of December; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 3 to 27 December). Whether an ice rink returns in 2027 is not confirmed. The city’s other markets are in our article on the Amsterdam Christmas markets.

On Friday 10 December, candles shine in the windows of Gouda’s historic centre for Gouda by Candlelight. A daytime programme runs for all ages, and the main moment is the ceremony at the Christmas tree on the Markt at 19:00 (2026 programme). The renovation of the town hall may change its candlelit windows.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually late November to early January; 2027 to 2028 dates not yet announced	Bruges Christmas markets (Winter Glow), 2027 to 2028 edition	Bruges, Markt and Simon Stevinplein, Belgium	Usual pattern
usually late November to late December; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 27 November to 27 December)	Magical Maastricht Christmas market, ice rink, Ferris wheel	Maastricht, Limburg From Amsterdam: about 2 h 30 min by road	Usual pattern
usually most of December, before Christmas; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 3 to 23 December)	Royal Christmas Fair, The Hague Chalets and choirs on the Lange Voorhout	The Hague	Usual pattern
usually early December to the end of the Christmas school holidays; 2027 to 2028 dates not yet announced	Ghent Winter Festival (Christmas market), 2027 to 2028 edition	Ghent, city centre, Belgium	Usual pattern
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: December market 10 to 13 December; December Days programme 10 December 2026 to 3 January 2027)	Dordrecht December Days and December Market	Dordrecht, South Holland From Amsterdam: about 1 h 15 min by road	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Saturday 12 December)	Santa Máxima motorcycle Santa rides Charity ride, no fixed spectator point	Several provinces; not Amsterdam	Not yet announced
usually one weekend in mid-December; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December)	Dickens Festival Deventer Bergkwartier staged as 19th century England	Deventer, Overijssel From Amsterdam: about 1 h 20 min by road	Usual pattern
street stalls in winter; traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve, Friday 31 December	Oliebollen season Deep-fried dough balls	Nationwide, street stalls in towns and cities	Season
2027 programme not yet announced (recent years: evening show on 31 December)	New Year’s Eve on Museumplein, Amsterdam	Amsterdam	Not yet announced

With us in December: the Christmas season in full (2027 dates not yet announced). The private Brussels Christmas day is your group only, door to door from your Amsterdam accommodation, guided in English or Greek. The small-group Brussels Christmas day runs in the December season, max 8, in English, meeting in front of Amsterdam Centraal. On the private Valkenburg Christmas cave markets day we reserve your cave time slot ahead. The Hague’s Royal Christmas Fair can become a stop on the private Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague day, and all our Christmas days are together on Christmas markets from Amsterdam.

Which flower parades (bloemencorso) run in the Netherlands in 2027?

Short answer: two parades in spring, then a summer corso season that runs into late September. The Bollenstreek Flower Parade is on Saturday 17 April, and the Westland Floating Flower Parade sails Friday 18 June to Sunday 20 June. The summer season’s first confirmed date is Sint Jansklooster, Friday 20 August, and its last is Winkel, Sunday 26 September.

A bloemencorso is a parade of floats covered in flowers. In most late-summer corsos the flower is the dahlia (Rijnsburg, in August, uses many kinds of flowers), and the floats are built by local teams and volunteers. The numbers give a sense of the work: in Zundert, twenty hamlets compete, each with a float covered in up to half a million dahlias; in Lichtenvoorde, each float uses between 100,000 and 300,000; and Loenhout’s organiser counts more than 4 million dahlias across its floats.

The fullest corso weekend is Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September: Frederiksoord on both days, Elim on the Saturday (expected), Lichtenvoorde and Loenhout on the Sunday, and the dahlia mosaics in the Bulb Region (Bollenstreek) all weekend.

The table runs in date order. A parade known only by its month sits at the end of that month.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually the second weekend of August, with the parade on the Saturday; 2027 date not yet announced (2026: Saturday 8 August)	Rijnsburg Flower Parade	Rijnsburg, Katwijk and Noordwijk From Amsterdam: about 45 min by road	Usual pattern
Friday 20 to Saturday 21 August; parades on Friday 20 August	Sint Jansklooster Flower Parade Details in August	Sint Jansklooster (Overijssel)	Confirmed
usually the third weekend of August; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 15 and 16 August)	Leersum Flower Parade	Leersum (Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Utrecht)	Usual pattern
Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 August	Rekken Flower Parade (Rekkens Volksfeest)	Rekken (Achterhoek, Gelderland)	Confirmed
Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August (expected)	Winterswijk Flower Parade (Volksfeest) Both mornings, with bands	Winterswijk (Achterhoek, Gelderland)	Expected
Saturday 28 August	Vollenhove Flower Parade Details in August	Vollenhove (Steenwijkerland, Overijssel) From Amsterdam: about 1 h 15 min by road	Confirmed
Sunday 29 August (expected)	Blankenberge Flower Parade	Blankenberge, Belgian coast, Belgium	Expected
2027 dates not yet announced (the parade runs on the Thursday and Saturday of the Varsseveld fair, usually in August)	Varsseveld Flower Parade	Varsseveld (Achterhoek, Gelderland)	Not yet announced
Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September (expected)	Eelde Flower Parade	Eelde (Drenthe, near Groningen)	Expected
Sunday 5 September	Beltrum Flower Parade (Festunique) With street theatre and live music	Beltrum (Achterhoek, Gelderland)	Confirmed
Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected)	Corso Zundert flower parade Details in September	Zundert (North Brabant) From Amsterdam: about 1 h 30 min by road	Expected
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September	Corso Frederiksoord Illuminated evening parade too	Frederiksoord (Drenthe)	Confirmed
Saturday 11 September (expected)	Elim Flower Parade	Elim (Drenthe)	Expected
Sunday 12 September	Lichtenvoorde Flower Parade Details in September	Lichtenvoorde (Achterhoek, Gelderland) From Amsterdam: about 1 h 45 min by road	Confirmed
Sunday 12 September	Loenhout Flower Parade Details under Belgium	Loenhout (Wuustwezel), north of Antwerp, Belgium	Confirmed
usually a Friday to Sunday festival in mid-September, parade on the Sunday; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 18 to 20 September)	Corso Valkenswaard Dahlia parade, free to visit	Valkenswaard (North Brabant, near Eindhoven)	Usual pattern
usually two evenings on the third weekend of September; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September)	Gondola Parade on Wheels, Drogeham	Drogeham (Friesland)	Usual pattern
Saturday 18 September	Voorthuizen Flower Parade (Floralia) Built by more than 1,000 volunteers	Voorthuizen (Veluwe, Gelderland)	Confirmed
Sunday 19 September (expected)	Zundert Children’s Flower Parade More than 200 floats	Zundert (North Brabant)	Expected
Sunday 26 September	Winkel Flower Parade	Winkel (Hollands Kroon, North Holland)	Confirmed
2027 dates not yet announced (held in September during Hillegom’s festival week)	Hillegom Dahlia Parade	Hillegom (Bulb Region)	Not yet announced

Any of these parades can be the centre of a private day, with the tickets, the restaurant and the timing arranged around it: here is how we build one.

Is there a flower parade in the Netherlands in August 2027?

Short answer: yes. Eight usually do, seven in the Netherlands and Blankenberge just across the border in Belgium. All of them are in the table above; here they are by how firm the date is.

• Confirmed Sint Jansklooster, with its parades on Friday 20 August; Rekken, Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 August; and Vollenhove on Saturday 28 August.
• Expected Winterswijk, Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August (expected), and Blankenberge, Sunday 29 August (expected).
• Usual pattern Rijnsburg, usually the second weekend of August; and Leersum, usually the third weekend of August.
• Not yet announced Varsseveld, which parades on the Thursday and Saturday of the village fair, usually in August.

Where can you see dahlias in bloom in 2027?

Short answer: in the Bulb Region around Lisse, the same land that carries the tulips in spring, usually early August to mid-October. Add the dahlia garden at Keukenhof Castle, usually mid-July to early October, and the one in Rekken, in the Achterhoek.

Dahlia Mosaics weekend in the Bulb Region, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September. Local groups make mosaics from dahlias and show them in village centres across Hillegom, Lisse, Teylingen and Noordwijk. It is free, and you see them on a walk through the centres or by bike. It falls on the same weekend as the corsos in Frederiksoord, Elim, Lichtenvoorde and Loenhout.

Three planning notes. The castle’s dahlia garden sits next to the Keukenhof park, which itself opens only in spring. In 2025 the estate closed from 28 July to 5 August for Castlefest, so check for a similar closure. And at I Love Dahlia, a bucket of dahlias to pick is booked online, while a simple visit needs no booking.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually mid-July to early October	Dahlia garden at Keukenhof Castle	Lisse (Bulb Region)	Season
usually late July to about 10 October	Dahlia garden in Rekken	Rekken (Achterhoek, Gelderland)	Season
usually early August to mid-October (2026: 1 August to 11 October)	Dahlia Festival: show gardens of the Bulb Region	Lisse, Voorhout, Noordwijkerhout, Hillegom and De Zilk	Season
usually 1 August to mid-October (2026: 1 August to 11 October)	Dahlia season at De Tulperij	Voorhout (Bulb Region)	Season
usually mid-August to late September	I Love Dahlia show and picking garden	Noordwijkerhout	Season
2027 dates not yet announced (usually the first half of September)	Open days of local dahlia societies	Amersfoort, Haastrecht, Zwolle, Vught, Oss, Eindhoven, Veldhoven, Schijndel	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 28 August)	Holland Dahlia Event (Dahlia Days at Keukenhof Castle)	Lisse (Keukenhof Castle) and Bulb Region gardens	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (usually early to mid-September; venue changes every year)	Dutch National Dahlia Growing Championship	Venue changes every year	Not yet announced
usually a weekend in mid-September; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 19 and 20 September)	Floralia Nieuwe Niedorp Village festival with dahlia mosaics	Nieuwe Niedorp (North Holland)	Usual pattern

If you would like the Bulb Region in dahlia colour, tell us, and we design a late-summer private day around it as a custom tour.

Where can you see orchard blossom in 2027?

Short answer: Haspengouw in Belgian Limburg usually blossoms first, from late March to late April, then the Betuwe, usually April to late May, and South Limburg, usually April and May. All of it depends on the weather. Nearer Amsterdam, the cherry trees of the Amsterdamse Bos usually flower from mid or late March, depending on the weather; you will find them under March.

Betuwe Blossom Walk, Saturday 10 April. The walk starts at Fruitmasters in Geldermalsen, with routes of 9, 15, 27 and 40 km. Tens of thousands of walkers take part, and registration with a ticket is required.

Orchard blossom in Haspengouw, usually late March to late April, about four weeks (plum and early cherry first, apple last). The Bloesemmeter on the Sint-Truiden tourism site reports the bloom from mid-March, and pop-up blossom bars open in season. The Blessing of the Blossoms, usually a Sunday in late April, is in the table below.

Orchard blossom in South Limburg, usually April and May, depending on the weather. Seven blossom walking and cycling routes run through the high-stem orchards, mainly around Mesch and Eijsden-Margraten.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually April to late May, depending on the weather	Orchard blossom in the Betuwe	Tricht, Beesd, Buren, Tiel	Season
usually a Sunday in late April; 2027 date not yet announced (2025: Sunday 27 April)	Blessing of the Blossoms, Sint-Truiden	Sint-Truiden (church of Guvelingen), Belgium	Usual pattern

In blossom season, pair South Limburg’s orchards with the private Limburg, Maastricht and Valkenburg day.

Where can you pick your own fruit and flowers in 2027?

Short answer: strawberries usually June to July, cherries usually mid-June to late July, blueberries usually July to mid or late August, and apples and pears usually from late August into October. Flowers run from spring into autumn. And Amsterdam has its own orchard.

Fruittuin van West, usually mid-June to mid-October; what can be picked changes through the season, and a daily page on its site shows what is ripe. It is an organic farm and orchard in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, about 8 km from the centre, open Tuesday to Sunday 10:30 to 18:00, and entry to the orchard, shop and café is free.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually tulips in spring and summer flowers from summer into autumn; exact weeks vary by garden and weather	Pick-your-own flower gardens (tulips and summer flowers)	Hillegom, Bakkum, Nes aan de Amstel, Abbenes	Season
usually June to July, some varieties into September or October	Strawberry picking near Amsterdam	Abbenes, Amsterdam, Warmenhuizen	Season
usually cherries from June to July and apples from late September to late October, when there is a harvest	Streeckerij de Betuwe (cherries, plums and apples)	Wadenoijen (near Tiel)	Season
usually mid-June to late July	Cherry picking in the Betuwe and Kromme Rijn	Wadenoijen, Bunnik	Season
usually July to mid or late August	Blueberry picking	Ermelo, Elburg, Amsterdam	Season
weekends in July; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 July)	Soft Fruit Open Days (De Fruitigste Kleinfruitdagen) None in North Holland in 2026	Fruit farms across the Netherlands	Usual pattern
usually July for soft fruit and from mid-September for apples and pears	Fruitkwekerij ’t Keetje (pick-your-own fruit)	Lutjebroek (West Friesland)	Season
weekends from late August to early October; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 29 August to 4 October)	Apple and Pear Open Days (De Fruitigste Hardfruitdagen) None in North Holland in 2026	Fruit farms across the Netherlands	Usual pattern
usually early September to late October; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 5 September to 25 October)	Apple and pear picking at De Olmenhorst, with harvest festival weekends	Lisserbroek (Haarlemmermeer)	Usual pattern
two weekends in September or October; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 September); cherry picking days in June and July	Apple picking days at Boerderij Nieuw Slagmaat	Bunnik (Kromme Rijn, Utrecht)	Usual pattern
usually September to mid-October, mostly on Saturdays, varying by farm	Apple picking days in Haspengouw	Sint-Truiden (Haspengouw), Belgium	Season
2027 date not yet announced	Autumn Festival at Boerenerf Spaarnwoude	Velsen-Zuid (Spaarnwoude)	Not yet announced

Where can you find pumpkin farms and pumpkin festivals in 2027?

Short answer: the pumpkin farms north and west of Amsterdam, in Noordbeemster, Opperdoes, Warmenhuizen and Lisse, open from about September. In October, Kasterlee in Belgium has a pumpkin event almost every weekend.

Here is Kasterlee’s October, in the province of Antwerp, weekend by weekend:

• The Belgian Giant Pumpkin Weighing Championship, Saturday 2 October (expected): free, 13:00 to 17:00.
• The harvest festival at De Pompoenerie, the next day, Sunday 3 October (expected).
• The Belgian Pumpkin Catapult Championship in Vorsel, Sunday 10 October (expected).
• The Kasterlee Pumpkin Market, Sunday 17 October (expected), with more than 100 stalls in the centre.
• The Kasterlee Pumpkin Regatta in Lichtaart, Sunday 24 October (expected), which is exactly what it sounds like: teams paddle hollowed-out giant pumpkins across the water.

Monique’s Pumpkin Factory, Lisse, usually mid September to mid October, until sold out (2026: opened Monday 14 September). It is open daily 08:00 to 20:00 in season, with up to 50 kinds of home-grown pumpkins. They are already harvested, so there is no picking your own, and payment is cash or Tikkie (the Dutch payment-request app) only, so bring cash.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually August to December; Halloween day on a Saturday in late October, 2027 date not yet announced (2026: Saturday 24 October)	De Pompoenwinkel pumpkin shop and garden, Noord-Beveland	Geersdijk, Noord-Beveland (Zeeland)	Season
usually from September, with the first varieties from about mid August; harvest runs through October	Pompoenenboerderij Bos pumpkin farm Pumpkins to carve at home	Opperdoes (North Holland)	Season
usually 1 September to 11 November; carving workshops usually 1 October to 11 November	De Marlequi pumpkin yard and carving workshops	Warmenhuizen (North Holland)	Season
usually September to early November	Pompoenboerderij Bregman pumpkin farm	Noordbeemster (North Holland)	Season
usually the third weekend of September; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 19 and 20 September)	Fair de Marlequi pumpkin fair	Warmenhuizen (North Holland)	Usual pattern
2027 date and venue not yet announced (2026: Saturday 19 September, Breda)	Dutch Giant Pumpkin Championship	Venue announced each year	Not yet announced
usually late September to the start of November; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 25 September to 1 November)	Pumpkimania at Groot-Bijgaarden Castle Sculptures covered in thousands of pumpkins	Groot-Bijgaarden, near Brussels, Belgium	Usual pattern
usually throughout October	Pumpkins and Halloween at Pluktuin Amstelveen Children’s party bookable only in October	Nes aan de Amstel (Amstelveen)	Season
usually the autumn school holiday week in October; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 17 to 25 October)	Pumpkin Days at Museum Klok & Peel, Asten	Asten (North Brabant)	Usual pattern
2027 date not yet announced (2026: Saturday 24 October)	Pumpkin hollowing at Fruittuin van West	Amsterdam (Nieuw-West)	Not yet announced
usually the weekend before Halloween; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 24 and 25 October)	Pumpkin carving days at Puur van ’t Land	Bunnik (Utrecht)	Usual pattern

If your family is planning a private day in October, ask for a pumpkin farm as part of a custom tour: you get an honest yes or no before you commit to anything.

Which Halloween events are on in 2027?

Short answer: the theme parks usually run Halloween from early October into early November, and no 2027 dates are announced yet.

Halloween Fright Nights at Walibi Holland, in Biddinghuizen (Flevoland), usually weekends from early October plus the autumn holiday, into early November; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 3 October to 1 November). This one is not for young children: the advisory age is 16, though there is no minimum age. During the 2026 Fright Nights the park is open 10:00 to 23:00, and separate Spooky Days for ages 6 to 12 run on other dates.

The Efteling does not run a Halloween event; in autumn it runs its regular programme.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually selected days from early October to early November; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026 Halloween Nights: 3 October to 7 November)	Halloween Days and Halloween Nights at Toverland	Sevenum (Limburg)	Usual pattern
usually October, ending 31 October; 2027 dates not yet announced	Halloween at the Amsterdam Dungeon	Amsterdam	Usual pattern
usually October weekends and the autumn holiday; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: weekends from 10 October, daily 19 to 25 October, and 31 October to 1 November)	Duistere Dagen (Halloween) at Drievliet	The Hague	Usual pattern
usually mid October to mid November on selected days; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 10 October to 15 November)	Halloween at Bobbejaanland	Lichtaart (Kasterlee), Belgium	Usual pattern
2027 dates not yet announced	Halloween at Plopsaland Belgium (formerly Plopsaland De Panne)	De Panne, Belgium	Not yet announced
2027 dates not yet announced (none in the 2026 programme)	Halloween evening tours at Muiderslot	Muiden	Not yet announced

Age and costume rules differ: Toverland’s Halloween Nights have an advisory age of 12; at Drievliet, children up to 12 may come in costume and visitors aged 12 and over may not; at Bobbejaanland, adults may not come in costume or masked; and the Amsterdam Dungeon’s After Dark tour is 18+ and in English only. Muiderslot’s 2026 programme has no Halloween tours.

When does the titan arum flower in the Netherlands and Belgium?

Short answer: nobody can say in advance. Blooms are announced at short notice and last about two to three days. Four gardens have had recent blooms: Hortus botanicus Leiden, Rotterdam Zoo (Blijdorp), Meise Botanic Garden north of Brussels and the Ghent University Botanical Garden (GUM).

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
unpredictable; blooms are announced at short notice and last about two days (recent: titan arum twice in summer 2022, A. gigas February 2023, A. decus-silvae 2021 and October 2026)	Titan arum and Amorphophallus blooms at Hortus botanicus Leiden	Leiden	Unpredictable
unpredictable; announced at short notice, each bloom lasts up to about 72 hours (recent: 2023 and July 2026)	Titan arum bloom at Rotterdam Zoo (Blijdorp)	Rotterdam	Unpredictable
unpredictable; announced at short notice, each bloom lasts 48 to 72 hours (recent: August 2024, April 2025, May 2026)	Titan arum blooms at Meise Botanic Garden	Meise, north of Brussels, Belgium	Unpredictable
unpredictable; announced at short notice, each bloom lasts under 72 hours (recent: 2023, August 2024, 28 June 2026)	Titan arum blooms at Ghent University Botanical Garden (GUM)	Ghent, Belgium	Unpredictable

The way to catch one is to follow the gardens’ own channels: Leiden ran a livestream of a giant arum bloom in October 2026. Treat a bloom as a last-minute addition when you are already nearby, not as a reason to plan a trip.

What’s on in Belgium in 2027?

Short answer: the Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges on Thursday 6 May, the Kattenstoet (Festival of the Cats) in Ypres on Sunday 9 May, the Ghent Festivities (Gentse Feesten) from Friday 16 July to Sunday 25 July, and the Belgian Beer Weekend on the Grand-Place in Brussels, Friday 3 to Sunday 5 September. Belgium also has a flower year of its own, with the 75th Loenhout Flower Parade on Sunday 12 September.

Loenhout’s entry is below; the rest sit in their months:

• January. Winter Glow in Bruges, until Sunday 14 February (from Friday 20 November 2026), with the Winter Giant parading on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January, and the Christmas markets of Brussels, Bruges and Ghent until Sunday 3 January.
• May. The Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges and the Kattenstoet in Ypres.
• July. The Ghent Festivities (Gentse Feesten), and the Ommegang of Brussels, 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 July).
• September. The Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels.
• December. The Christmas markets of Brussels, Bruges and Ghent, 2027 to 2028 dates not yet announced.
• Elsewhere in this guide. Kasterlee’s pumpkin events through October and Pumpkimania at Groot-Bijgaarden Castle, Halloween at Bobbejaanland and Plopsaland De Panne, the Haspengouw blossom and its apple picking days, the titan arum blooms at Meise and Ghent, and the Blankenberge Flower Parade, Sunday 29 August (expected), in the flower parade table.

Which flower events are on in Belgium in 2027?

Short answer: in spring, the Hallerbos bluebells, Floralia Brussels and the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, usually from April; Flowertime in Brussels Town Hall in August; and Loenhout’s 75th flower parade on Sunday 12 September.

Loenhout Flower Parade (75th edition), Sunday 12 September. The parade winds through Loenhout (Wuustwezel), north of Antwerp, and the organiser counts more than 4 million dahlias across the floats. Parade times for 2027 are not yet published, and it falls on the same day as Lichtenvoorde’s parade.

Flowertime at Brussels Town Hall, August, exact days not yet announced; past editions ran over the 15 August holiday (2025: 13 to 17 August). Around thirty floral artists decorate the rooms of the Town Hall on the Grand-Place. It runs in the years between Flower Carpets, and there is no Flower Carpet in 2027.

In the Hallerbos, a forest at Halle south of Brussels, the wild bluebells flower usually around mid-April, depending on the weather (2026 bluebell festival period: 4 April to 3 May). Special traffic rules apply around the forest in that period.

Dates (2027)	Event	Where	Status
usually early April to early May; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 3 April to 3 May)	Floralia Brussels More than a million spring bulbs	Groot-Bijgaarden (Dilbeek), west of Brussels, Belgium	Usual pattern
usually mid-April to early May; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 17 April to 10 May)	Royal Greenhouses of Laeken (annual spring opening) By reservation	Laeken, Brussels, Belgium	Usual pattern
Friday 7 to Sunday 9 May	Beervelde Garden Days (spring) Plant and garden fair	Beervelde (Lochristi), near Ghent, Belgium	Confirmed
usually a Friday to Sunday in mid-October; 2027 dates not yet announced (2026: 9 to 11 October)	Beervelde Garden Days (autumn) Plant and garden fair	Beervelde (Lochristi), near Ghent, Belgium	Usual pattern
no 2027 edition announced; held irregularly (previous editions 2016 and 25 to 27 August 2023)	Ambrosiana flower festival, Lochristi Flower carpets in the village centre	Lochristi, near Ghent, Belgium	Not yet announced

For anything in Bruges, from Winter Glow to the Procession of the Holy Blood, start with the private Bruges day. For the Kattenstoet in Ypres, Loenhout’s parade or anywhere else in Belgium, tell us the idea and we design a custom tour around it.

Which events are not happening in 2027?

Short answer: SAIL Amsterdam, the Brussels Flower Carpet, ARTZUID, the Bosch Parade, the Ghent Floralies, the Kromme Rijn Harvest Festival and Luminiscence in Delft have no 2027 edition. Check this list before you build a trip around one of them.

Event	Where	Why not in 2027	Next edition
SAIL Amsterdam With the Pieremachocheltocht boat parade	Amsterdam (the IJ and port area)	Usually held every five years	2030 (21 to 25 August)
Brussels Flower Carpet	Brussels, Grand-Place, Belgium	Laid every two years around 15 August	2028 August 2027: Flowertime in the Town Hall
ARTZUID Amsterdam Sculpture Biennale	Amsterdam Zuid (Apollolaan and Minervalaan)	Not held in 2027	2028 (May to September)
Bosch Parade	’s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), on the river Dommel	Biennial	Expected 2028
Ghent Floralies	Ghent, Belgium	Every four years; 2026 was the 37th	2030
Kromme Rijn Harvest Festival	Cothen (Utrecht province)	Biennial	Expected 2028
Luminiscence (Delft)	Delft (Oude Kerk)	The Delft run has ended	Now in Utrecht’s Jacobikerk

Can you see a Dutch festival or parade on a private day trip from Amsterdam?

Short answer: yes. A private day trip runs door to door from your Amsterdam accommodation, by hybrid car or minivan, for your group only, any group size. It is guided in English or Greek and usually lasts 8 to 12 hours.

Any festival, parade or market in this calendar can be the heart of a custom tour, and we arrange everything around it. It is not just a tour; it is an experience of its own. We do not simply take you to the parade or the event: we teach you about it, and along the way we connect the pieces of the puzzle. We learn, we laugh, we smile, and then we watch one of the wonderful events the Netherlands holds every year. The day is full: full of conversation, full of music, full of enthusiasm, and full of what there is to know about the places we stop at and the places we pass through.

On private tours the guiding runs throughout, including on the road, and that is where the talk turns to the Netherlands: its past, its present and its future, with humour. As Antonis says, it is a country unlike any other in the world.

Antonis Iliadis is a licensed guide, a Greek-born Amsterdam local, VOG screened (the Dutch certificate of conduct) and first aid certified, with the papers on our safety standards page. The guiding is live, never a recording, and the thinking behind it is on our philosophy page. For ideas by region, browse our day trips from Amsterdam or all private tours.

How do we build a private day around an event?

In four steps:

1. You tell us the idea. Who is coming, roughly when, and what would make the day matter. A rough brief is plenty.
2. We send you the day, designed. The route, the stops, the timing and why each choice is there. It is free and yours to keep whether we go ahead or not.
3. We refine it together. Add a stop, drop one, shift the pace.
4. You say yes, and only then is it locked in. Antonis runs the day, or hands you to a guide he trusts and has personally briefed, and stays reachable the whole time.

Take a flower parade. The Vollenhove Flower Parade is on Saturday 28 August, with the Giethoorn Gondola Parade expected the same evening in the same municipality, and you can see Vollenhove in the video in the August section. Around a day like that we can add a birthday or a company event, with the restaurant found, the table held and tickets reserved where the event sells them. The same works for any other festival, parade or market in this calendar.

A free plan first. No payment until you say yes. Antonis replies within 24 hours, often much faster on WhatsApp. There is no fixed price list because there is no fixed tour, and a clear quote comes with the plan.

The programme adapts to your needs and to the weather. Water is provided on every trip, and child seats are available on request. Guests with a stick, walker or wheelchair are welcome on a private day if they can stand and walk a short distance with help, so ask first. When you have a date in mind, send us your idea.

Can you add a birthday, a company day or a dinner to the event?

Short answer: yes. Anything arranged for the occasion sits on top of the day.

A birthday, an anniversary, a honeymoon. Antonis finds the restaurant and holds the table, reserves entries and tickets ahead, and keeps the surprise. Tell us early enough and we can arrange a photographer for the day. If your idea is not on this page, say it anyway: you get an honest yes or no before you commit to anything.

For company evenings, team days, birthdays and galas in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, see private events: the plan is free and yours to keep, two rounds of revisions are included, and nothing is locked until you approve. If you are buying for an organisation, with a headcount and a sign-off to manage, or planning for clients as a travel advisor, start at the groups and partnerships page. Schools and universities building a programme around an event can start with school trips in the Netherlands or faculty-led programmes.

Which events already have a seasonal day, private or small group?

Short answer: three seasons have their own days (the Keukenhof season, the Alkmaar Fridays and Christmas), and our private regional days run all year.

• Keukenhof season, Thursday 18 March to Sunday 9 May. The private Keukenhof day, or the small-group Keukenhof and Dutch villages day.
• Alkmaar cheese market, every Friday from Friday 26 March to Friday 24 September. The private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day, or the small-group Alkmaar Friday.
• Christmas season, 2027 dates not yet announced. The private Brussels Christmas day and the private Valkenburg Christmas cave markets day, or the small-group Brussels Christmas day in December.
• All year, private. Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Giethoorn; Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague; Limburg, Maastricht and Valkenburg; Bruges.
• Another small-group day. Edam, Volendam and Giethoorn.

Small-group days share seats, run in English only with max 8 guests, travel by car or minivan and meet in front of Amsterdam Centraal. They run as published and are not rebuilt around one party, while a private day moves with your date. Why we keep them small has its own article. The small-group departures page brings them together.

When should you book for the big dates of 2027?

Short answer: as soon as your date is fixed. Several events sell tickets for a set date or time slot, and the busiest weeks of 2027 book up first.

Event	What to book	When or how
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)	Festival tickets	General sale on Thursday 14 January at 20:00
Carnival in Maastricht	Restaurant table	Well ahead
TEFAF Maastricht	Tickets	Visit page: 2027 tickets from mid-October
Keukenhof	Entry	Tickets for a fixed date and arrival time
Procession of the Holy Blood	Grandstand seats, €10 or €15 €8.50 or €13: groups over 20, seniors, under 16s	On sale on Sunday 28 February
Kattenstoet (Festival of the Cats)	No ticket needed to watch from the streets	Free from the streets on Sunday 9 May
Oerol Festival	Accommodation on Terschelling	Early, the organiser advises
Sint Jansklooster Flower Parade	Parade tickets	The organiser’s booking system
Vollenhove Flower Parade	Day programme and tickets	Published in 2027
Brabantsedag parade, Heeze	Tickets	The organiser’s webshop
Corso Zundert flower parade	Route and grandstand tickets	Sold in advance
Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE)	Club nights	Each sells its own; 2027 dates not yet announced
Christmas Town Valkenburg (cave Christmas markets)	Ticket with a set date and time slot	Online; the organiser advises weekdays
Amsterdam Light Festival	Canal cruise	December weekends book up first Edition 15: bookings opened 1 October 2026

If you want a private day on one of these dates, send us the date as early as you can. Availability is the real limit on a custom day, not the design work.

Antonis’s own line is simple: “Tell me what you are curious about. I design the day around it.” Pick a parade, a festival or a market from this calendar, tell us who is coming and what would make the day matter, and begin with custom tours, or see private events for an occasion or a company day.

What guests write after their days is on our reviews page, and every tour we run is on all tours. To ask something first, the contact page has the ways to reach us.

EcoEcho is rated 5.0 on Google and Tripadvisor, 4.97 on GetYourGuide.

Questions people ask

When is the flower parade in the Netherlands in 2027?

In 2027 the Bollenstreek Flower Parade runs from Noordwijk to Haarlem on Saturday 17 April, and the Westland Floating Flower Parade sails from Friday 18 June to Sunday 20 June. The late-summer parades follow, from August to late September. Rijnsburg usually parades on the second weekend of August (2027 date not yet announced); the first confirmed date is Sint Jansklooster (parades on Friday 20 August), then Vollenhove on Saturday 28 August, Corso Zundert on Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected), Lichtenvoorde on Sunday 12 September, and finally Winkel on Sunday 26 September, the latest confirmed date.

Is there a flower parade in the Netherlands in August or September 2027?

Yes, several. In August, confirmed: Sint Jansklooster, with parades on Friday 20 August; Rekken, Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 August; and Vollenhove on Saturday 28 August. Also Winterswijk, Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August (expected), and across the border Blankenberge in Belgium, Sunday 29 August (expected). With 2027 dates not yet announced: Rijnsburg, usually the second weekend of August; Leersum, usually the third weekend of August; and Varsseveld, during its village fair, usually in August. September has more: Eelde, Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September (expected); Beltrum, Sunday 5 September; Corso Zundert, Sunday 5 and Monday 6 September (expected); Frederiksoord, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September; Elim, Saturday 11 September (expected); Lichtenvoorde and, in Belgium, Loenhout, Sunday 12 September; Voorthuizen, Saturday 18 September; the Zundert Children's Flower Parade, Sunday 19 September (expected); and Winkel, Sunday 26 September. With 2027 dates not yet announced: Corso Valkenswaard, usually a Friday to Sunday festival in mid-September with the parade on the Sunday, and the Hillegom Dahlia Parade, held in September during Hillegom's festival week.

When is King's Day 2027, and where will the royal family celebrate it?

King's Day is on Tuesday 27 April, the King's 60th birthday, and the royal family celebrates in Lelystad, about 50 min by road from Amsterdam. King's Night is the evening before, Monday 26 April. In Amsterdam people dress in orange, the vrijmarkt turns the streets into open markets, there is music, and boats take to the canals. Expect heavy crowds and many road and tram closures in central Amsterdam.

When is festival season in the Netherlands in 2027?

All year, with a different mood in each season. Winter has carnival, Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February. Spring belongs to the tulips: Keukenhof is open Thursday 18 March to Sunday 9 May, the Bollenstreek Flower Parade is on Saturday 17 April, and King's Day follows on Tuesday 27 April; our Keukenhof 2027 guide covers that season in detail. Summer brings Oerol on Terschelling (Friday 11 to Sunday 20 June) and Pride Amsterdam (Saturday 31 July to Sunday 8 August; Canal Parade Saturday 7 August), and the flower parades run from August into late September. In November and December the light festivals and the Christmas markets usually take over; their 2027 dates are not yet announced.

When is the Alkmaar cheese market season in 2027?

The market runs every Friday from Friday 26 March to Friday 24 September, 10:00 to 13:00, about 40 min by road from Amsterdam. The first market falls on Good Friday. In July and August there are also Tuesday evening markets from 19:00 to 21:00. To see it with a guide, choose the private Alkmaar and Giethoorn day, or the small-group Alkmaar Friday.

Is SAIL Amsterdam or the Brussels Flower Carpet happening in 2027?

No. SAIL Amsterdam is usually held every five years, and its next edition is 2030 (21 to 25 August). The Brussels Flower Carpet returns in 2028; in August 2027, Flowertime brings floral artists into the rooms of Brussels Town Hall instead (exact days not yet announced). ARTZUID and the Bosch Parade also skip 2027, and so do the Ghent Floralies and the Kromme Rijn Harvest Festival, while Luminiscence's Delft run has ended (the show is now in Utrecht's Jacobikerk).

What are the busiest weeks to visit the Netherlands in 2027?

Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May (the Ascension weekend), Friday 20 to Sunday 29 August, and Friday 3 to Monday 6 September. The May weekend brings the Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges, National Windmill Day (expected), Keukenhof's last day and the Kattenstoet in Ypres. Late August has the dahlia parades, Folklore Day (expected), the Prinsengracht Concert, the Barneveld Balloon Fiesta, Vollenhove and the Giethoorn Gondola Parade (expected), then Brabantsedag. Early September has the Belgian Beer Weekend, World Port Days and Corso Zundert (expected). Add carnival, Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February; King's Day, Tuesday 27 April; the weekend of Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September; and Leiden Relief Day, Monday 4 October.

When do the Christmas markets open in 2027?

As of 13 October 2026, no 2027 to 2028 Christmas market dates had been announced. The usual patterns are these: Christmas Town Valkenburg, with its cave markets, usually mid-November to early January 2028; Brussels Winter Wonders, usually late November to early January 2028; and the Christmas Village on Museumplein, usually most of December. Gouda by Candlelight is confirmed for Friday 10 December. With a guide: the private Brussels Christmas day or the private Valkenburg Christmas cave markets day, or the small-group Brussels Christmas day.

Are Dutch festivals and parades free to watch?

Many are free: the Kattenstoet in Ypres, Belgium (from the streets), the illuminated carnival parade in Standdaarbuiten, Folklore Day at the Zaanse Schans, the Prinsengracht Concert (from the quays and bridges), National Tulip Day and the Bulb Region dahlia mosaics. Others sell seats or entry: grandstand seats for the Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges, Belgium, cost €10 or €15, Corso Zundert sells route and grandstand tickets, and Keukenhof tickets are for a fixed date and arrival time.

When should you book for big dates such as Corso Zundert or the Procession of the Holy Blood?

Grandstand seats for the Procession of the Holy Blood go on sale on Sunday 28 February. Corso Zundert sells route and grandstand tickets in advance. Keukenhof tickets are for a fixed date and arrival time, and Valkenburg's cave markets sell online tickets with a time slot. For a private day, book fixed high-season dates as early as possible: availability is the real limit on a custom day, not the design work.

Can you visit a Dutch festival as a day trip from Amsterdam?

Yes, on a private day built around it. A private day runs door to door from your Amsterdam accommodation, by hybrid car or minivan, for your group only, any group size, guided in English or Greek, and usually lasts 8 to 12 hours. A birthday or a company event can sit on top of the day: Antonis finds the restaurant and holds the table, and reserves entries and tickets ahead where the event sells them. You get a free plan first, a reply within 24 hours, and nothing is locked until you say yes. Start with custom tours, or see private events for a company day.