Can anyone tell me when the tullips bloom & <BR>are there any festivals?

Nancy, <BR>The Keukenhof Gardens with its tulips, hyacinths and daffodils in radiant with color from late March until mid May. There's a mill at the northern end of the Gardens that offers a spectacular view of the tulip fields. <BR> <BR>There's a procession of floral floats from Haarlem to Noordwijk on the last or next to last Saturday in April. There's an historical festival on April 1 in Brielle, a small town on the island of Voorne just west of Rotterdam. The festival commemorates the landing of William the Silent's forces in his battle against the occupying Spanish in 1572. Interesting bit of history, here. There's a related historical festival in Leyden in the fall. The city was under siege in 1573 by the Spanish. William's army opened the dikes and flooded the area around Leyden, then boarded flat bottomed boats and sailed into battle against the Spanish infantry and cavalry. The Spaniards, waist deep in water, quickly fell victim to William's maritime army.

Nancy, <BR>Next time, I think that I will aim for the middle of April, if seeing the flowers is my priority. This year I visited Keukenhof and area the week of <BR>10 May and it was way past prime. Granted there was a record-setting heat wave at the time, but the fields were about 90% clipped and they were dead-heading like crazy at Keukenhof. I love the Netherlands in any season, but for the tulips try April.

Here's what the Michelin Green Guide to the Netherlands says: <BR> <BR>mid-March: crocuses <BR>late March: daffodils <BR>mid-April: hyacinths and early tulips <BR>late April: tulips at peak <BR> <BR>Of course, as Paul pointed out, it also depends on the weather. <BR>

<BR>We arrived on April 25 and saw Kukenhof on the 26th. The weather was cool, misty, cloudy and the garden and fields around were at their peak. We came back around that same area on May 8 after he turned very warm. As some one else said, fields were mostly clipped by then with little to see so I am sure Kukenhof was clipped too. I admit we were just lucky since we picked the date by chance several months ahead of time. Who knows if any year will be an early, medium or late spring. Just kind of aim for the middle as we did and trust to luck. The auction at Alsmeer I am sure is wonderful any time so if you miss the fields, hopefully not, at least you could see the auction.

Thank you everyone! I was having trouble finding this information for some reason. (Operator error probably!) We will be going to Germany in mid April & plan to hit the Netherlands almost right after we land to start our visit!