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
2015
January 1: New Year’s Day (closures)
January 17: 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 20–May 17: Keukenhof flower show, near Lisse (huge gardens in bloom)
April 5–6: Easter Sunday and Monday (closures)
April 12: Rotterdam Marathon
April 25: 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)
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 14: Ascension Day (closures)
May 24–25: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
May 27–31: Art Amsterdam (contemporary-art exhibition)
June: Holland Arts Festival, Amsterdam (concerts, theater, etc.)
June: The Hague Festivals (three weeks of music festivals: Festival Classique, Parkpop, and The Hague jazz)
June 12–14: Pinkpop, near Maastricht (rock festival)
Late June: Grachtenloop run around canals, Haarlem
Early July: Amsterdam Roots Festival (ethnic food, music, world culture)
July 10–12: North Sea Jazz Festival, The Hague
July 31–August 2: Amsterdam Gay Pride
Early August: Pluk de Nacht (outdoor film festival on the site of an old harbor in Amsterdam)
August 14–23: Grachtenfestival (music and other festivities on Prinsengracht barges, Amsterdam)
August 15: Assumption Day (closures)
August 19–22: Haarlem Jazz (free jazz festival held on Grote Markt)
August 19–23: SAIL Amsterdam (tall ships and other historic boats)
September (first week): Flower parade on canals, from Aalsmeer to Amsterdam
September 11–13 (likely): Jordaan Festival, Amsterdam (neighborhood street party)
September 12–13: Open Monumentendag (normally closed historical sites open and free to the public)
September 22–23: Yom Kippur (some closures of Jewish-history sights, including Anne Frank House and Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam)
October 18: Amsterdam Marathon
November 13–16: Crossing Border Festival, The Hague (books, music, spoken word; much of it in English)
November 15: Sinterklaas Procession, Amsterdam (when Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet arrive from Spain)
November 18 –29 (likely): International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
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)