Festivals in the Netherlands: March – April – May edition

In student cities full of life like Leiden and The Hague there is always something coming up. However, sometimes the nicest events are not that easy to find and it can happen to miss them out! Here some of the best ones, but honestly, there’s plenty so feel free to check websites like www.yellowtipi.nl  or allevents.in and share with us your recommendations

MARCH

Yes, March already begun with amazing carnival festivities in some parts of the Netherlands. However, some really nice festivals are yet to come! For example, in Leiden,  the RGB festival  and the Puur festival . These are two different occasions: the RGB festival is a 10 days event that takes place in several locations in Leiden – the program in detail is already online-, it’s quite expensive but the Passepartout  (85 euros) gives you access to everything. The Puur winter festival is less expensive (19 euros) but it lasts only one weekend.

Not so fond of music? Then you may be interested in the Gin Festival in Leiden ! Also, for those of you always looking for good food, you may want to know that from next week to the end of March it will be National Restaurant Week ! During this week you can have delicious meals in many good restaurants with amazing discounts (up to 50%!).

APRIL

When we talk about April it’s impossible not to think of King’s Day! This is a national festivity celebrated all over the Netherlands so every city has its own festival. Of course, we would advise you to check out the ones in Leiden, The Hague, and Amsterdam (here info on all the King’s day festivals!).

However, April is not only King’s Day!

For example (it’s not a festival but it’s impossible not to mention it) from the 12th to the 13th of April the world’s largest photography competition starts in Amsterdam with the World Press Photo exhibition! After the 13th the exhibition will start a tour in other 45 countries so don’t miss it!

Picture from https://www.haarlemupdates.nl

Finally, here’s a real treat. On the 13th of April, the traditional Flower Parade (Bloemencorso) from Noordwijk to Haarlem will take place! Gigantic dolls made with flowers will be transported in a procession on floats, accompanied by music and dances.

MAY

In May it’s time for jazz! Both in Leiden and in the Hague some amazing jazz festivals will take place. 

Finally, you really don’t want to miss the incredible The Hague festival  with more than 200 events at the same time. The event takes place on the 5th of May and it’s also called  Liberation Festival, as it celebrates the liberation of the Netherlands in WWII. On the same day, very popular events will take place also in Haarlem, Wageningen  and of course Amsterdam!

Will you attend some of these events? Do you  have others to share?

Let us know in the comment below!