Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in the Netherlands
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival's website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism site for the Netherlands.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout the Netherlands. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2024
November 28–January 19, 2025: Amsterdam Light Festival
December 25: Christmas (Kerstmis; closures)
December 26: "Second Day" of Christmas (Tweede Kerstdag; closures)
2025
January 1: New Year's Day (closures; icewater swims across the Netherlands, most notably in Scheveningen)
Through January 19: Amsterdam Light Festival
January 18: National Tulip Day, Amsterdam (official start of tulip season; tulips fill Dam Square and are free for the picking in the afternoon)
January 23–26: Jumping Amsterdam (international equestrian competition)
February–March: Carnival (Mardi Gras) celebrations in various towns, mostly in the south
March 20–May 11: Keukenhof flower show, near Lisse (huge gardens in bloom)
April 9–13: Bloemencorso (25-mile flower parade from Noordwijk to Haarlem)
April 12–13: Rotterdam Marathon
April 20 & 21: Easter Sunday and Monday (closures)
April 26: King's Day (observed) (Koningsdag, King Willem-Alexander's birthday; party in the streets of Amsterdam and elsewhere)
April 30–May 4: KunstRAI Art Amsterdam (contemporary-art exhibition)
May 4: Remembrance of WWII Dead (Dodenherdenking; laying of wreaths and two-minute silence)
May 5: Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag; closures; Liberation Festival in Amsterdam with live music)
May 29: Ascension (closures)
June: Holland Arts Festival, Amsterdam (concerts, theater, etc.)
June 8 & 9: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
June 20: Grachtenloop run around canals, Haarlem
June 20–22: Pinkpop, near Maastricht (rock festival)
June 22 (likely): Amsterdam Roots Festival (ethnic food, music, world culture)
July 11–13: North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam
July 25–26: Rotterdam Unlimited (street festival with live performances)
July 26–August 3: Amsterdam Pride
July 26–August 10: De Parade Theatre Festival, Amsterdam (outdoor theater with some "language no problem" performances for non-Dutch speakers); also held earlier in the year in four other Dutch cities
August 1–9 (likely): Pluk de Nacht Utrecht (outdoor film festival on the site of an old harbor)
Two weekends in August (iffy): HALO International Fireworks Festival, Scheveningen
August 14–16: Haarlem Jazz & More (free jazz festival on Grote Markt)
August 15: Assumption (closures)
August 15–24: Grachtenfestival (music and festivities on Prinsengracht barges, Amsterdam)
August 20–24: SAIL Amsterdam (historic ships sail into the city; performances and concerts)
August 20–30 (likely): Pluk de Nacht Amsterdam (outdoor film festival on the site of an old harbor)
August 28–30 (likely): Jazz in the Canal (Jazz in de Gracht), The Hague
September (first week): Flower parade on canals, from Aalsmeer to Amsterdam
September 13–14 (likely): Open Monumentendag (normally closed historical sites open and free to the public)
October 1–2: Yom Kippur (some closures of Jewish-history sights, including Anne Frank House and Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam)
October 19: Amsterdam Marathon
October 22–26: Amsterdam Dance Event (electronic music)
October 29–November 1 (likely): Crossing Border Festival, The Hague (books, music, spoken word; much of it in English)
November 1: Museum Night Amsterdam
November 12–23 (likely): International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
November 16 (likely): Sinterklaas Procession, Amsterdam (when Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet arrive from Spain)
November 27–January 18, 2026 (likely): Amsterdam Light Festival
December 5: St. Nicholas' Eve (Sinterklaasavond, when Dutch children get their presents from Sinterklaas)
December 25: Christmas (Kerstmis; closures)
December 26: "Second Day" of Christmas (Tweede Kerstdag; closures)