What are the events in Amsterdam worth visiting?
Amsterdam, the capital of my home country The Netherlands, is a very popular tourist destination. With its multicultural population, beautiful architecture and lovely canals, it’s a great city to just stroll around in.
And with several world-famous museums, lovely parks, great restaurants, good shopping and a wide selection of hotels it really has something to offer to everyone.
Amsterdam is also a city with a lot going on: numerous very popular, and some even world-famous events take place in Amsterdam every year.
So, in this article I want to share with you some of the biggest events in Amsterdam in 2025 that are well worth coming to the city for!
10 of the Best Annual Events in Amsterdam
1. Light Festival – Amsterdam City Center
When: End of November until late January
The Amsterdam Light Festival is an annual light art festival in Amsterdam.
Artists, architects and (light) designers from all over the world bring their light artworks and installations alive during the festival. The artworks are placed alongside two routes. Each route has its own theme and set of artworks.
We suggest admiring this spectacle at night, as light sculptures are put in place at different locations throughout the city center. You can walk this route or buy tickets for a tour by boat.
For more information: Amsterdamlightfestival.com
Also Read: One of the Best Tours in Amsterdam: an Amsterdam Canal Cruise & Food Tour
2. Christmas Markets – Throughout Amsterdam
When: Late November until early January
If you’re looking to do some Christmas shopping, are craving a hot chocolate, or are up for some ice skating, the Christmas markets are the place to be!
Amsterdam hosts various Christmas markets throughout the city, several ice rinks, and even an ice sculpture festival!
For more information about the different Christmas markets and Christmas events in Amsterdam: IAmsterdam.com
Tip: If you love Christmas markets, you should definitely go to Germany and check out the Christmas market in Trier!
Also Read: Unique Christmas Traditions Around the World
3. Tulip Day – Picking Garden on Dam Square
When: January 16th 2027
Tulip day? Yes, it’s real! the Dutch are known worldwide for their tulips and Tulip Day is a major event in Amsterdam!
Every year, on the third Saturday of January, Dutch tulip growers build a huge garden with approximately 200,000 tulips on Dam Square.
The biggest garden of Amsterdam transforms Dam Square into a sea of color, where thousands of people come to pick a free bouquet of flowers.
This is the official kick-off of tulip season in The Netherlands.
In addition to the garden, the tulip growers organize countless surprises and promotions.
For more information: TulipFestivalAmsterdam.com
4. Chinese New Year – Zeedijk
When: February 6, 2027
Chinese New Year is a big celebration in Amsterdam every year.
It takes place near Nieuwmarkt (China Town) and is quite a show.
With fireworks, dragon dances, and delicious food it’s well worth a visit!
For more information: IAmsterdam.com
5. Amsterdam Gay Pride – Throughout Amsterdam
When: Late July until early August
The Amsterdam Gay Pride is probably the event in Amsterdam that is most well-known internationally.
The festival attracts several hundred thousand visitors each year and is one of the biggest annual events in the Netherlands.
The event usually spans a week with various activities to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.
There are many street parties and the whole event is very inclusive, visited by many people from all walks of life.
The highlight of the festival is the Canal Parade, a parade of boats of large variety on the first Saturday of August.
For more information: Pride.Amsterdam
6. King’s Day – Throughout Amsterdam
When: April 27th
This is one of the main festivals in Amsterdam and one many Dutch people look forward to all year.
Every year about a million people spill into the streets and onto the canals of Amsterdam, largely dressed in orange, making this one of the world’s biggest street parties.
King’s Day is a national holiday during which Dutch people celebrate King Willem Alexander’s birthday.
Throughout Amsterdam (and many other Dutch cities) you will find live music, street vendors, outdoor bars and A LOT of people out to party!
Tip: Be careful that you don’t get the dates mixed up with the previous celebration of Queen’s Day (April 30).
For more information check out this local’s guide to King’s Day in Amsterdam.
7. Vondelpark Open-Air Theater
When: Early May until late September
Vondelpark is the famous park in the center of Amsterdam. In summer it’s a hotspot for both tourists and locals to walk, cycle or just relax on the grass with some food and a drink.
Also Read: Dutch Food You Should Try – Including Dutch Snacks for a Perfect Picnic
In the middle of this park you find the open-air theater. During this event the Vondelpark Theater is used for all sorts of (free) shows for all ages.
For more information and upcoming shows (only in Dutch): Openluchttheater.nl
8. The Open Garden Days – Throughout Amsterdam
When: Third weekend of June
Hidden behind the stately façades of the houses along Amsterdam’s canals lie some of the city’s best-kept secrets: pristine private gardens.
During this annual event around 30 gardens are opened to the public.
You do need to buy a ticket, but this will give you access to all participating gardens. Optionally you can catch a special canal boat that will take you from one garden to another.
For more information: Opentuinendagen.nl
9. Sail Amsterdam
When: August 20th-24th, 2025
This isn’t an annual event, as it takes place every five years. But it still really deserves to be on this list and is going to be one of the best events in Amsterdam in 2025.
For six days Amsterdam becomes an exhibit of historical ships.
You can get a great view when you exit Amsterdam Central Station towards the IJ-side. Around 20 large ships will sail through the Amsterdam harbor, along with many other smaller sailboats and motorboats.
For more information: Sail Amsterdam
10. Heritage Day (Open Monumentendag) – Throughout The Netherlands
When: The second weekend of September
For two days during this event, monumental buildings in Amsterdam are open to the public.
This is the only chance you get to take a look inside luxury canal houses, castles, palaces, old farmhouses and even forgotten factories.
Around 4,000 historical buildings and sites are accessible during this event, throughout the Netherlands.
For more information: Openmonumentendag.nl
Final Thoughts About Events and Festivals in Amsterdam
So yes, there are some really great events in Amsterdam! And if you don’t have fixed dates to visit Amsterdam I’d definitely recommend planning your visit around one of these events.
Do keep in mind that the city gets really busy around most of these festivals. So if you plan to stay in Amsterdam, book your accommodation early!
If you don’t know where to stay yet, check out this list of cool hotels in Amsterdam for some inspiration.
Also Read:
- Amsterdam Travel Tips From a Local
- Planning a Perfect Weekend in Amsterdam
- Amsterdam Food Tour and Canal Cruise
- 10 Towns Worth Visiting in The Netherlands That Aren’t Amsterdam
- Interview About Life in Amsterdam as an Expat
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This list of annual events in Amsterdam was created with the kind help of Perfect Visit. Perfect Visit offers serviced apartments in Amsterdam and wants to make sure that your stay is perfect.
Wow this is so cool! I had no idea about all the cool festivals in Amsterdam. We definitely want to visit and it’s nice to see the best times to visit according to what’s going on. It looks so beautiful and fun, you must be having a fantstic time!! Hope to visit soon
Could Amsterdam look more fun!? I have friends who have attended King’s Day and it has been on my bucket list ever since seeing their pictures! From what I remember they were floating down a canal on a house boat. It look like so much fun! I better get there before I’m too old to hang! I’m also interested in the Christmas markets since my Instagram is loaded with pictures of them! They look wonderful! 🙂
I love Amsterdam, i have been a couple of times and always find there is so much to do. Kings Day sounds like it is a lot of fun!
I have been lucky to have been able to take part in quite a few of those events. I loved the light festivals. Those art installations are so unique. And kings day is just a complete overdose of orange and overall a crazy day in my opinion. I only wish I had seen the Amsterdam Sail event while I was there, but who knows, 2020 is another chance.
Tulip day and Festival of Lights sound like our cup of tea!! This article makes me want to go to Amsterdam even more than ever! So awesome 🙂
All of these events look so incredible that it seems it would ideal spend a whole year there! It´s so interesting to me that barely a month after the Christmas displays appear, Spring seems to be welcomed with Tuilp Day. Never a dull moment! The sailing event looks especially beautiful and interesting.
Third week of January or 3rd weekend of June, I have to remember these dates when planning to Amsterdam. Thanks for summarizing in this post the annual events that takes place in this charming city… A great help and tip when exploring Amsterdam.
I’ve been to Amsterdam twice and seemed to miss all of these ? The light festival looks amazing!
I’m anxious to visit Amsterdam. Would love to be there in the spring for the tulips. This is an interesting list and a lot to consider when visiting especially the gardens. Will pin this for my future visit, Thanks!
Now that is some great festivals, anything with lights and tulips are always a favourite. Nothing beats the colour it brings, so spectacular. I think my favourite would definitely be the sailing festival, that looks hot. 2020 may have a booking to Amsterdam.
Although I’ve been to Amsterdam three times, I’ve never heard of any of these festivals.The first one looks the most interesting to me. Hopefully I’ll make my return before the decade is over! Amsterdam was the first European city I’ve ever seen.
This is really useful as we will be travelling to Amsterdam next summer! Will definitely be bookmarking this page for future reference, as there are some things on this list we would never have known! Thanks for this great list 🙂
Great post. I´ve never heard from this annual events. Amsterdam is really a interesting place to visit. I must go there more times!
The historical ship festival is interesting. I think I will have to plan a trip to Amsterdam around that time! Thanks for sharing this!
Amsterdam is always high on my travel list. Hoping to get there sometime. Nice info regarding the festivals in this lively city.
Amsterdam is definitely on my bucket list and I would want to visit it someday. I enjoyed reading your article. Thank you for sharing this article.
What a great collection! I was in Amsterdam last week and was lucky enough to catch one of the Christmas markets. They even had an indoor ice-skating rink. Thanks for the list as I will bookmark it for future reference. Especially love the sailing and tulip events.