Where To See Tulips in the Netherlands

When it comes to spring tulips, Keukenhof Gardens is Holland’s headliner. This English-style garden is one of the largest in Europe, where 7 million flower bulbs wow visitors with their colors each year.

Located southwest of Amsterdam, reach the park by train or car. Just be prepared for crowds since this destination gets more than 1.5 million visitors during the weeks of peak bloom. This is why taking a skip-the-line guided tour of the gardens may be the best way to enjoy the flowers.

Keukenhof Gardens is located within the municipality of Lisse, but this famous park isn’t the only spot for admiring tulips. Countless fields of cultivated tulips bound for flower markets across the globe span the area, creating long ribbons of color that make for unforgettable photographs.

Take the train to Lisse, then bike or hike through the countryside to admire the striking tulip farms. The city of Lisse has also long been associated with the country’s tulip industry, and is home to the Black Tulip Museum (Museum de Zwarte Tulp) which is dedicated to the history of tulip cultivation in the Netherlands.

You don’t have to head out to the countryside to admire the national flower of the Netherlands. There are plenty of tulip opportunities right in the capital city, starting from its famous floating Flower Market (known locally as the Bloemenmarkt), open Monday to Saturday along the Singel Canal in the old town.

Amsterdam also hosts the Tulip Festival each April, a massive celebration of the iconic flower when the entire city is blanketed in cheerful blooms. The festival publishes a map for each edition so you can walk or cycle to marvel at flower displays in parks, gardens, and courtyards.

Related: 11 Colorful Tulip Tours from Amsterdam

The municipality of Noordoostpolder sits in the Flevoland province, a lowland area that was only reclaimed from the waters of the Zuiderzee in the mid-20th century. This fertile landmass today is blanketed in bright fields of tulips and other cultivated flowers, making it a top destination for tulip biking and hiking excursions.

In the spring, many Noordoostpolder flower farms also open to the public to offer guided tours of their fields, an excellent way to learn more about the Netherlands' important flower industry.

Like the Keukenhof Gardens and the city of Lisse, the postcard-perfect plains of Noordwijkerhout sit in the Dune and Bulb Region, a stretch of fertile coastal lowlands between the cities of Leiden and Haarlem.

The entire area is known for its vast fields of tulips, but the chocolate-box village of Noordwijkerhout is a standout for the picturesque fields that surround the old town. Exploring the area by bike or electric car to admire the eye-catching flower fields, rolling dunes, and placid coastline of North Holland is highly recommended.

Set about an hour north of the capital city of Amsterdam, the northern tip of the North Holland (Noord-Holland) province is a fabulous destination for tulip spotting that flies under the radar of most tourists. The sandy dune soil between Petten, Den Helder, Nieuwe Niedorp, and Wieringerwerf is ideal for flower farming, and this spot is said to be home to the largest continuous area covered by tulip fields in the Netherlands. And, because the area is farther from the capital city and takes more time and effort to reach, it sees only a fraction of the tourists that overrun the tulip fields south of Amsterdam come spring.

Set on the coastline directly north of Amsterdam, West-Friesland borders with the Noord-Holland) tulip fields, making for a colorful day of tulip spotting in two distinct areas.

Take in the expanse of tulip fields by bike or car, then visit the pretty historical towns of Hoorn and Medemblik and bask on one of the many beaches in the coastal area for a day of flowers and fun without the crowds.

In the far southern reaches of the Netherlands, the little-known tulip fields of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in the province of Zeeland are said to rival those of the famed Dune and Bulb Region.

Best for travelers combining a tulip trip with jaunts to Belgium or France, these jewel-toned flower fields are particularly striking around the towns Hulst and Terneuzen. The fields are close together, so ideal for a walking or cycling excursion—and, like their counterparts in North Holland, you’ll encounter very few crowds.