Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in the Netherlands
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival's website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism site for the Netherlands.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout the Netherlands. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2018
October 17–21: Amsterdam Dance Event (electronic music)
October 21: Amsterdam Marathon
October 29–November 4: Crossing Border Festival, The Hague (books, music, spoken word; much of it in English)
November 14–25: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
November 18: Sinterklaas Procession, Amsterdam (when Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet arrive from Spain)
December 5: St. Nicholas' Eve (Sinterklaasavond, when Dutch children get their presents from Sinterklaas)
December 25: Christmas (Kerstmis; closures)
December 26: "Second Day" of Christmas (Tweede Kerstdag; closures)
2019
January 1: New Year's Day (closures; icewater swims across the Netherlands, most notably in Scheveningen)
January 19: National Tulip Day, Amsterdam (official start of tulip season; tulips fill Dam Square and are free for the picking in the afternoon)
February–March: Carnival (Mardi Gras) celebrations in various towns, mostly in the south
March 21–May 19: Keukenhof flower show, near Lisse (huge gardens in bloom)
April 4–8: KunstRAI Art Amsterdam (contemporary-art exhibition)
April 6–7: Rotterdam Marathon
April 13: Bloemencorso (25-mile flower parade from Noordwijk to Haarlem)
April 21–22: Easter Sunday and Monday (closures)
April 27: King's Day (Koningsdag, King Willem-Alexander's birthday; party in the streets of Amsterdam and elsewhere)
May 4: Remembrance of WWII Dead (Dodenherdenking; laying of wreaths and two-minute silence)
May 5: Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag; closures; Liberation Festival in Amsterdam with live music)
May 30: Ascension Day (closures)
June: Holland Arts Festival, Amsterdam (concerts, theater, etc.)
June 8–10: Pinkpop, near Maastricht (rock festival)
June 9–10: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
Mid-June (10 days): Festival Classique, Scheveningen
June 22: Grachtenloop run around canals, Haarlem
June 30: Parkpop music festival, The Hague
Late June (5 days): International Chamber Music Festival, Utrecht
Early July (5 days): Amsterdam Roots Festival (ethnic food, music, world culture)
July 12–14: North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam
July 27–August 4: Amsterdam Gay Pride
August 9–10 & 16–17 (likely): International Fireworks Festival, Scheveningen
August 9–18 (likely): Grachtenfestival (music and festivities on Prinsengracht barges, Amsterdam)
August 14–17 (likely): Haarlem Jazz (free jazz festival on Grote Markt)
August 14–24 (likely): Pluk de Nacht (outdoor film festival on the site of an old harbor in Amsterdam)
August 15: Assumption Day (closures)
August 22–24 (likely): Jazz in the Canal (Jazz in de Gracht), The Hague
August 23–25 (likely): Jordaan Festival, Amsterdam (neighborhood street party)
September (first week): Flower parade on canals, from Aalsmeer to Amsterdam
September 7–8: Open Monumentendag (normally closed historical sites open and free to the public
October 8–9: Yom Kippur (some closures of Jewish-history sights, including Anne Frank House and Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam)