Set the Mood ‘Tulip Mania’ was an economic frenzy in 17thC Holland that resulted in the world’s first great financial bubble bursting. Think Bitcoin with flowers, notional values versus actual. All crazy, until you stand here in Keukenhof gardens amongst 7m tulips and then it doesn’t seem quite so ridiculous. There are 79 acres of bulb fields, tulip mosaics, pavilions and orangeries and every Spring they put on the most outrageous, colourful, camp performance that shakes away the winter blues and trumpets the rites of Spring.
We have climbed to the top of a working windmill and, looking over the gardens, the landscape shimmies and dances like a Van Gogh painting. A spring weekend in the flower capital of the world is food and drink for the soul.
Guilty Pleasure There are 100 Royal flower providers that donate bulbs every year to keep the Keukenhof stocked and, as you pass their displays, you can scan a code with your smart phone and order bulbs to be delivered to your home next week. Create your own pride flag of colour in the luxury of your own home. They can be expensive, but to hammer our financial metaphor, you are investing in futures.
Oh, and lest you think the only thing to do at Keukenhof is gawk at the tulips, I’d be remiss for not mentioning the excellent snacking possibilities, namely a plate of piping-hot poffertjes, mini pancakes made with buckwheat flour served with powdered sugar and a splash of Advocaat. Heavenly.
Insider Intel’ Just outside the main gates of the Keukenhof you can rent traditional Dutch bikes and disappear for the afternoon into the flower farms and canal paths and dykes of South Haarlem. Three hours of healthy fun costs €15. If your budget is more fulsome you can cover the same ground in a ten minute helicopter ride costing €130. (vandam5001.cyclerent.com/ )
Glitches The Anne Frank House gets 3,500 visitors a day. The Rijksmuseum gets 6,000 a day. Keukenhof gets a whopping 26,000 a day. That is a lot of tourists and, with the age profile on the older side, nothing moves fast. Try to get there by 8 in the morning and down to the windmill before lunch and you will be ahead of the posse.
Get me there Just 35 minutes from Schiphol Airport to Keukenhof on the 858 express coach. Flights from Cork/Dublin to Amsterdam €45 each way via aerlingus.com
Top tip If you have had your fill of tourists it may be a bit of a schlep back to an expensive Amsterdam hotel. Instead head to Bloemendaal aan Zee, between Haarlem and Amsterdam, a stretch of sandy coastline with an especially vibrant local atmosphere. You can rent luxury beach huts, close to funky bars and restaurants, for half the price of a city hotel. (www.qurios.com/parks/park-bloemendaal-aan-zee )
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