Address
Stationsweg 166A
2161 AM Lisse
Netherlands
Directions: Google Maps
Support
Phone: +31 252 465 555 (general)
Phone: +31 107 516 400 (tickets)
Email: info@keukenhof.nl
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About Keukenhof
Netherlands, the largest exporter of flower bulbs in the world, especially tulips is home to Keukenhof, a botanical garden in the city of Lisse, in South Holland. Originally, a hunting ground in the 1400s, the garden name originates from the Dutch word Keukenhof, meaning Kitchen garden, or the garden of herbs. One of the top tourist attractions in the Netherlands, Keukenhof is a photographer’s paradise, blooming with lilies, roses, and 800 different varieties of tulips, during the peak season.
Established in 1857, the Keukenhof garden hosted the first flower exhibit in 1949, and the tradition continues to this day, attracting nearly 1 million visitors every year for the flower show. Keukenhof botanical garden hosts the largest lily show in the world, at the start of the blooming season for 10 days, and is officially the largest flower garden in the world. The garden popularly known as the Garden of Europe, sprawls over 79 acres of land, with planting beds for 7 million flower bulbs. Initially the garden hosted flower shows to exhibit the different hybrids of flowers, and to boost the economy of Dutch exporters, and later gained global recognition.
Every year, Keukenhof garden opens to the public only for 8 weeks from March – May, and the peak time is during April, attracting large numbers of visitors from all over the world. Competition for the best flower of the year, talk shows, selling of samples and sale of flowers by exporters are regular yearly events, during the flower exhibit. Additionally every year Keukenhof garden, represents a theme based flower exhibit, like the Golden Age, Holland, Vincent Van Gogh to name a few, and the events also revolve around the central theme.
All year round maintenance of the Keukenhof garden is essential for hosting the flower exhibit shows on time, and preparations start right away from autumn, by planting new flower bulbs. The bulbs take about 3 months to grow, and bloom during the flowering season, and at the end of the season, the bulbs are dug out and used as fodder for animals. Around 30 gardeners work all round the year to maintain and plant the flower bulbs, and the flowers are labelled, so visitors can easily identify the name of the flower and the worker, to buy samples for export.
Other interesting features of the Keukenhof flower exhibit are the spring meadows, the garden maze, the 7 inspiration gardens, the Japanese and English landscape, and the 30 flower and plant shows. The flower exhibit will mark the 71st edition of Keukenhof in 2020, tickets for the upcoming flower exhibit are available on the website, and the season starts from 21st March 2020 – 10th May 2020.
Opening times of the Keukenhof garden is from 8:00am – 6.30pm, and includes Sundays and holidays. The least crowded times are before 10:30am and after 4:00pm, and the entrance tickets for adults cost €17.50 (online), and €19.00 (office), and €9.00 for children (4-17), and free for children below three. Coach parking is free, and car parking is available for a fee. For complaints or queries on tickets, events, cancellation, photography, parking, or others, reach the Keukenhof garden support.
