As predicted, Scott and I left it until our last week in Amsterdam to cram in every touristy thing we had yet to do. This included Keukenhof Gardens, one of the world’s largest flower gardens, open only during spring, and famous for its incredible amount of tulips.
I’ll be honest, I usually find botanical gardens to be a snoozefest. Once you’ve seen one pretty flower, you’ve seen them all IMHO. And when I saw the price tag for Keukenhof (it’s €16 for entry, and an extra €8 for the bus to get there from the airport), I paled a little at the thought that it might be a waste of money. Not to mention the fact that when we arrived, the entrance was reminiscent of a theme park, with large entrance gates and a big musical accordion playing for your entertainment.
However, the fact that it was like a theme park actually worked in its favour.
The place was HUGE (a lot bigger than I had expected it to be) and included several indoor pavilions with themed tulip displays, a handful of cafes and eateries (the food is airport quality at best, and overpriced – but would you expect anything less from a tourist attraction?), a maze, a petting zoo (supposedly for the young ones, I guess, but that didn’t stop us jumping in with the baby goats and rabbits…), fountains and a playground.
Despite being crazily-busy – it’s always busy due to the fact it’s only open for two months a a year – the gardens still managed to feel peaceful and relaxing and it definitely didn’t hurt that it was a nice sunny day. I never once felt the usual boredom of botanical gardens of the past and I’d say that it was definitely worth the entry fee for the amount of upkeep the gardens require alone.
The only thing I didn’t like about our visit was the number of ignorant fellow tourists who would wade into the flowers and squish them, just so they could get a decent selfie shot. Grrrr.
Anyhoo, here’s just a few of my favourite shots from the day, showing some of the amazing colours you’re treated to at Keukenhof. Enjoy!
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