Tulips everywhere in Keukenhof gardens
Written by Amanda Kendle
Every time spring starts there’s one place that jumps out from my travel memories: the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. It’s the ultimate place for tulip fanatics, and for some reason I’ve inherited an obsessive love of tulips from my mother.
A couple of springs ago I got myself organised to visit Keukenhof during their peak season, and they’ve just opened for the year again so you’d better get planning. For 2009 the season runs from March 19 (Queen Beatrix opened the park last week) until May 21 – obviously the season is similar every year. This year looks quite special though as it’s the 60th anniversary.
The website makes the (somewhat outrageous-sounding) claim that Keukenhof is the “most photographed spot in the world”, but as I look back through how many photos I took there, perhaps it’s not such an unreasonable claim. The park is not enormous, but there are numerous different gardens and I remember turning every corner and finding flower arrangements that were even more beautiful than the last ones, hence the need for endless photos.
You make a day trip to Keukenhof from many parts of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, but it’s closest to the small town of Lisse. If possible, I think it’s worth having a car while you’re on a trip there, because there are also endless and vast fields of tulips flowering in the areas nearby, and I stopped to take even more photos there. Entry tickets cost €13.50 and considering you can easily spend the best part of a day there (especially if you take a picnic or eat there), and remembering that the park only really operates two months a year, it seems a reasonable price.
We visited Keukenhof a few years ago and it was pretty specatular but not sure about it being the most photographed spot in the world either Amanda.
My mother 88 keeps talking about tulips and Keukenhof .. so she remembers & it obviously resonates in her mind .. I’ve never been .. but perhaps next year .. I’ll make a visit .. once I’ve seen my Ma through her last days ..
Thanks for the post Amanda .. your picture looks fabulous ..
Hilary: Positive Letters
Hi I visited Keukenhof a while back and indeed it was an unforgettable moment. The garden was neatly arranged and there were tulips in different colours! If you are lucky you could catch the famous rare black tulip (turned out to be a dark purple or something)….
If I am not mistaken it used to be the kitchen or a back yard of Princess Jacoba from Holland. perhaps somebody could translate the meaning of the word ‘Keukenhof’ :)
I would love to visit again soon.
Thanks !
Marlene – thanks for telling us about your visit to Keukenhof. I’ll email my Dutch friend, the Happy Hotelier to ask him for a translation.
i love this post so much…this is a lovely picture and i wish i could be there someday…
riby – good to hear that you enjoyed this post about Keukenhof, I hope that you will manage to visit soon.
Here is the illuminating reply from the Happy Hotelier,
http://www.happyhotelier.com/
re the translation of Keukenhof,
“Keuken is kitchen and hof is garden or park. Hope that helps:-) Actually it
is named after the mansion with that name, but the mansion is outside the
park. Recently my wife attended a key note about the history of the Mansion which is quite intriguing. The family who owned the mansion has still a
member living in it. They had to buy back the interior (furniture and a
china collection with a huge value) from the housekeper of a deceased
member of the family who allegedly “inherited” or been “bequeathed…”
(hope this is the correct term) the interior …
[...] may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Amanda Kenalde recently wrote about the Tulips everywhere in the Keukenhof Gardens for the Europe a la Carte Blog. However after my visit at the end of April 2009 to the formal [...]