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
2022
July 26–30: Rotterdam Unlimited (street festival with live performances)
July 30–August 7: Amsterdam Pride
August 12–13 & 19–20: International Fireworks Festival, Scheveningen
August 12–21: Grachtenfestival (music and festivities on Prinsengracht barges, Amsterdam)
August 12–28: De Parade Theatre Festival, Amsterdam (outdoor theater with some "language no problem" performances for non-Dutch speakers); also held earlier in the year in four other Dutch cities
August 15: Assumption Day (closures)
August 17–21: Haarlem Jazz (free jazz festival on Grote Markt)
August 17–27: Pluk de Nacht (outdoor film festival on the site of an old harbor in Amsterdam)
August 26–28: Uitmarkt, Amsterdam (performances, book market, and kid-friendly activities)
September (first week): Flower parade on canals, from Aalsmeer to Amsterdam
September 10–11: Open Monumentendag (normally closed historical sites open and free to the public)
October 4–5: Yom Kippur (some closures of Jewish-history sights, including Anne Frank House and Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam)
October 16: Amsterdam Marathon
October 19–23: Amsterdam Dance Event (electronic music)
November 2–5: Crossing Border Festival, The Hague (books, music, spoken word; much of it in English)
November 5: Museum Night Amsterdam
November 13: Sinterklaas Procession, Amsterdam (when Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet arrive from Spain)
November 19–28: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
December 1–January 22: Amsterdam Light Festival
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)
2023
January 1: New Year's Day (closures; icewater swims across the Netherlands, most notably in Scheveningen)
January 14: National Tulip Day, Amsterdam (official start of tulip season; tulips fill Dam Square and are free for the picking in the afternoon)
Through January 22: Amsterdam Light Festival
January 26–29: Jumping Amsterdam (international equestrian competition)
February–March: Carnival (Mardi Gras) celebrations in various towns, mostly in the south
March 23–May 14: Keukenhof flower show, near Lisse (huge gardens in bloom)
April 9–10: Easter Sunday and Monday (closures)
April 15–16: Rotterdam Marathon
April 19–23: Bloemencorso (25-mile flower parade from Noordwijk to Haarlem)
April 27: King's Day (Koningsdag, King Willem-Alexander's birthday; party in the streets of Amsterdam and elsewhere)
May 3–7: KunstRAI Art Amsterdam (contemporary-art exhibition)
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 18: Ascension Day (closures)
May 28 & 29: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
June: Holland Arts Festival, Amsterdam (concerts, theater, etc.)
June 11 (likely): Parkpop music festival, The Hague
June 15–18: Festival Classique, Scheveningen
June 16–18 (likely): Pinkpop, near Maastricht (rock festival)
June 23 (likely): Grachtenloop run around canals, Haarlem
June 27–July 2 (likely): Amsterdam Roots Festival (ethnic food, music, world culture)
July 7–9: North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam
August 15: Assumption Day (closures)
August 24–26 (likely): Jazz in the Canal (Jazz in de Gracht), The Hague