Holland comprises the two western provinces of The Netherlands (the world’s largest exporter of flowers); North and South Holland. These two areas include the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Delft, Leiden and Haarlem. The time to go is April when millions of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils blanket the Dutch landscapes. Regions in highlight the most infamous blossom towns of Lisse, Alkmaare and Hoorn.
Astute travelers begin in Lisse (next door to Amsterdam), the most famous town for Spring bloom. The Keukenhof Park (in Dutch: Kitchen Court), also known as the Garden of Europe is situated in South Holland between the towns of Hillegom and Lisse, southwest of Amsterdam, and is the world’s largest flower garden with 7,000,000 (seven million) flower bulbs planted annually. Started in 1949 by then-mayor of Lisse, the park is an exhibit where growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe can show off their hybrids.
Keukenhof Park is open annually from the last week of March to mid-May but the best time to view the tulips is mid-April, depending on the weather. Two-hour daily tours in Dutch, English, Spanish, French, German, Swedish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese give a history of the flowers along with tons of useful information.
Keukenhof Park website.
See Dailymail.co.uk for ariel photographs of technicolour patchwork tulips fields in The Netherlands.
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