Amsterdam — By Marianne on March 2, 2010 at 9:33 am
Filed under: day trip from amsterdam, Family Friendly, tulips

Keukenhof Flower Garden: A Kaleidoscope of Colour

Plan your trip to Keukenhof Flower Gardens now because this flower spectacle is open only two months every year – 18 March until 16 May 2010.

A team of horticulturists and a legion of gardeners work miracles. They plant by hand 80,000 tulips, 120 varieties of daffodil and numerous hyacinths, lilies and crocuses. A new round blooming behind the old one ensures flowers everywhere at all times. Plan your visit mid-season, late April – early May, and catch the tulips in full glory.

Try to arrive early before tourist groups pack the pathways. But with 15 km of walking paths, 280 benches, 15 fountains and 32 bridges, you will always find a quiet spot to enjoy the garden’s floral patterns.

WHAT: Keukenhof Flower Garden
WHERE: Stationsweg 166, Lisse (map)
WHEN: 18 March – 16 May from 08.00 – 19.30
ADMISSION: adults €14, children €7, car park €6 per vehicle

HOW TO GET THERE:
From Leiden train station take Connexxion bus 54
From Haarlem train station take Connexxion bus 50 or 51 to Lisse, from here the shuttle bus.
From Schiphol take Connexxion bus 58

WHAT TYPE OF TICKET?
The easiest way to get to the Keukenhof is by Connexxion bus on a Combi-Ticket (Connexxion bus ticket and admission). This combination ticket can be bought online or from VVV (tourist information office) at Centraal Station or Leidseplein in Amsterdam. You can also buy this ticket at Schiphol Airport from Holland Tourist or Schiphol Plaza, and at Leiden from the GWK Travelex at the Train Station.
Savings on this Combi ticket are negligible but it reduces queuing time. As this is one single transaction, it also cuts costs of credit card charges.

JOIN ME ON A PHOTO TOUR OF THE KEUKENHOF.
I took these photographs last year while I ambled along the pathways bordered by tapestries of red, yellow and blue, orange, pink, purple and any other bright colour you can imagine.

Keukenhof flower garden is ablaze with the hues of millions of tulips and attracts almost the same number of visitors during the two months that the park is open. Sunny daffodils mix with pastel pink hyacinths.

Great drifts of dazzlingly coloured tulips bloom from mid-April to mid-May. Each spring Keukenhof explodes into a rainbow of colours.

Benches everywhere to sit down. Marvel at the colour spectacle. The heady scent of hyacinths lingers. Late spring becomes a kaleidoscope of colour when millions of bulb explode into bloom.

Impeccably kept gardens with fountains, ponds, a windmill and a petting zoo attract tourists and locals alike. Take in the views of Keukenhof’s surroundings. The tulip fields form long strips of colour in the landscape.