Every April, something lovely happens in Amsterdam. Hundreds of thousands of tulips pop up across the city, scattered across streets, squares, bridges, shopping areas, and gardens. This is the Tulp Festival (Tulip Festival), and 2026 marks its 12th edition. The idea behind it is to bring more tulips into the city. It’s the season of tulip fields and the famous Keukenhof Garden, but why not admire some tulips right here in Amsterdam, on your way to work, or when you’re running in the park? Garden designer Saskia Albrecht founded the festival with the motto “a tulip for every citizen of Amsterdam”, and that’s the feeling you get from seeing these tulips in your daily walks. They add to the tulips and various spring flowers planted by residents, which are now in full bloom and catch your eye on every possible street.
Since April started, I have already stumbled upon many tulip planters while walking in Amsterdam. Yesterday, though, I planned a visit to Vondelpark, especially to see the floating tulips. I spent quite some time watching them, as they are a pretty view that I wanted to commit to memory (and to capture with my camera lens).
What is the Tulp Festival?
The Tulp Festival is not a ticketed event or a single location you visit. It’s a city-wide treasure hunt. Throughout April, tulips in large planters, tubs, and flower beds show up at various locations across Amsterdam. You’ll find them in the most expected places (Vondelpark, Museumplein, the Rijksmuseum gardens) and in spots that might surprise you, like shopping centres in Nieuw-West, alongside bridges, or Stadscentrum Osdorpplein.
The whole thing is free, and you just walk (or cycle) around and enjoy it. You can plan a route if you want to see more, or go to the closest location. Find all the locations and information about the tulips at each spot on the Tulp Festival website (they’re arranged by district) and on this map (in Dutch).
Don’t confuse this festival with the Tulip Festival tickets that you can find online. These are tickets including a visit to the Keukenhof Gardens or Tulip Experience, a canal cruise and a digital guide. Useful, but they have no connection with the free Tulip festival happening in the city.
When: 1–30 April 2026
Where: various locations. If you’re in Amsterdam this month, just keep your eyes open. The tulips are everywhere.
Using biological bulbs for the first time
This year, the festival will feature organic tulips for the first time. Fully organic bulb cultivation is still developing and there aren’t enough varieties available yet to supply the entire festival. But this year, around 50,000 organic tulips are on display in Nieuw-West’s streets and shopping centres, and floating in the Vondelpark pond.
The festival works with a supplier from North Holland who sources bulbs from certified growers in the region. The tulips are grown sustainably from dry bulb to flowering in trays and tubs, with no pesticides during the growing process, no heating or cooling (so no energy consumption), and the tulips never come into contact with soil or groundwater. After the festival, everything gets composted. It’s a thoughtful approach, and it’s good to see it expanding year after year.
Have you seen them yet?
Stay tuned for more and follow Amsterdamian on Instagram and Facebook for more stories about life in the Netherlands. Please share this post if you liked it!
Check out my photo book: Amsterdam Through the Seasons!
Love what you’re reading? Support my work with a small donation.
