The Secret Gardens of Amsterdam

?In addition to the Tulip Festival events to be held this year, visitors to Amsterdam will also be able to see thirty of the most elaborate private gardens for the very first time.

Spring is the best time to visit Amsterdam to see the annual Amsterdam Tulip Festival and its many entertaining parades, traditional dance performances, traditional foods and arts and crafts fairs too. Spring is also the beginning of peak tourist season across the Netherlands as thousands of travelers go to Amsterdam to see the seven million tulips growing in the city parks, public gardens and along the city streets. The annual event is a national celebration time of Dutch heritage and culture, and the flower-filled streets are highlighted by entertaining parades, traditional dance performances and traditional food. Spring time combines the best of modern Amsterdam with sights, sounds and crafts reflecting the Holland of yesteryear.

Festival time this year in Amsterdam will include many new moving floats, marching bands, and other displays that will be part of the celebration for the first time. This year will also bring a totally new flower garden viewing opportunity in the city according to a recent press release from the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. This year during the third weekend in June, thirty of the most elaborate private gardens in Amsterdam will be opened to the public for the very first time as part of an “Open Garden Days” event.

During the rest of the year, the collection of Amsterdam’s most beautiful private gardens is completely hidden from view behind the endless rows of huge canal side buildings. Now for the first time, visitors will be able to see these hidden gems of colorful garden spaces up close during Amsterdam’s Open Garden Days. The theme for the Open Garden Days event will be ‘Coach Houses" and "Garden Houses" in a nod to the days when the city’s canal district was first conceived as a combination of stately garden homes and flowering gardens to give the populace a place to drink tea, play games and enjoy the green spaces. Visitors will be able to view the secret gardens of Amsterdam this year on June 15, 16 and 17 for the price of a $19 ticket. For more information and a description of all the gardens that can be visited, visit the website: www.opentuinendagen.nl.