Everything You Need To Know About Amsterdams Kings Day

The twenty-seventh of April marks King’s Day in the Netherlands. The national holiday is held on King Willem-Alexander’s birthday and was originally devised to promote national unity by honouring the Dutch royal family. Celebrations see over 700,000 visitors descend on Amsterdam, turning the city into a massive carnival.

Start the party on King’s Night

Amsterdam’s clubs, bars and music venues host night-time events on 26 April – King’s Day Eve – which generally continue until the early morning (if they end at all). These parties are usually promoted as King’s Night and often coincide with the next day’s festivities. Due to the large number of events happening on the 26th, it’s always worth planning ahead by checking the venue websites and social-media accounts for updates.

People take to the streets – and canals – for King’s Day

Pack your best orange apparel

Join the street party

Central Amsterdam is swarming with cyclists and pedestrians on any given day, but King’s Day sees the streets truly inundated, resulting in a city-wide street party. Most workers are given 27 April off, meaning that the majority of Amsterdammers spend the entire day enjoying the celebrations. In addition to impromptu festivities, larger, organised events also take place, including open-air concerts at Rembrantplein and Museumplein.

On King’s Day the whole city becomes a party

Sit canal-side and watch King’s Day boat parades

The party isn’t just reserved for the streets – Amsterdam’s canals fill with boats over King’s Day, allowing the party to spill over onto the city’s waterways. Although these aquatic parades aren’t actually coordinated by the municipality, they are superbly entertaining. The largest concentration of boats usually channels along Prinsengracht, and camping out by this canal is always rewarding.

By land, by canal, the party will come to you

Find some second-hand souvenirs at the Vrijmarkt

Another tradition on King’s Day is decluttering. Small market stalls where people sell second-hand goods pepper the streets. In fact, 27 April is the only time of the year when street vending is permitted without a licence, and during the holiday Amsterdam becomes an enormous flea market, commonly called de Vrijmarkt. The offerings can be hit-and-miss, but if you’re in the mood to hunt for bargains or hidden antiques, the stalls are worth a visit. One of the largest gatherings of vendors takes place near Vondelpark every year, and marketplaces specially designed for children can be found throughout the city as well. Be sure to bring cash as some of these vendors will not be able to accept other forms of payment.

A flea market in the old town of Amsterdam on King’s Day

Enjoy Amsterdam’s street food

Some Vrijmarkt vendors also sell home-made food, but the tompouce reigns supreme when it comes to King’s Day treats – the holiday sees a 600 percent increase in sales of the cream-filled cakes. In honour of the holiday tompouces are coated with orange icing and sold all over the city. If you have a more savoury palate, keep an eye out for vendors selling Dutch fries, bitterballen and kibbeling. Whatever you do, don’t rely on supermarkets for your beverages though; many markets have restrictions on how much beer they can sell customers and often run out. Luckily, many of the city’s bars open their street-side entrances as makeshift beer tents where you can buy a variety of tipples.

Vendors sell street food during King’s Day

People relax in Vondelpark during King’s Day

This is an update of an article with additional reporting by Chloe-Rose Crabtree

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.