On Queens Day get set for Amsterdam’s craziest street party!
From early in the morning something strange happens in Amsterdam on April 30 which is celebrated as Queens Day in honor of the Dutch Queen mother’s birthday.
For a start, everything and everyone seems to be in orange. And by mid-morning, the canals are filled with boats of all shapes and sizes packed with party-goers jammed in a bow-to-stern chaos of huge proportions.
It is Mardi Gras meets Notting Hill and quite probably the biggest street party you will experience in Europe – all in the cause of celebrating the birthday of Holland’s old Queen Juliana. For a city famed for its medieval grandeur, style and culture, April 30 is one day in the year when everyone simply goes wild.
Eurolines, the international scheduled coach operator, part of National Express, is offering to get you to the party and a taste of the excitement with return fares from only £40 (including £3 booking fee).
“We start early and head out into the streets at about 10â€, says Lesley McKie who has partied in Amsterdam several times, “but already the streets are packed with stalls and crazy entertainers. It is just mad and it carries on all day.â€
By early afternoon there are so many little boats in the canals that you can almost walk across them. With trading laws suspended for the day, the streets are lined with stalls selling all sorts of bric-a-brac and everything from food and drink to handicrafts. Bands and music systems blast out their music and fire crackers fill the air with orange smoke.
Visitors can join in. Better still, arrive in something orange and you can pass as a local. You will be swept along by the sheer fun of the spectacle and might find yourself invited onto a boat to weave your way along the crowded Kaizersgracht or grabbed to join a snake of revellers lurching through the cobbled streets.
Eurolines’ five scheduled services to Amsterdam every day make it one of the easiest cities to enjoy for an inexpensive short break. It is possible to take a three night stay costing as little as £140 if visitors share with friends. It might even cost less if you want to stay in one of the hostels dotted around the city (from under £15).
Dutch invite the Brits to Party!
On Saturday April 26, 2008, KLM, “The Royal Dutch Airlineâ€, will organise the extremely popular Holland House event in celebration of the event.
In 2007 over 20,000 people visited the event on the South Bank. The orange fun starts on Friday April 25 at 22.30 where Club Holland will kick off the activities at SeOne, London Bridge with the help of Dutch super DJs Erike and Don Diablo. On Saturday April 26 family activities will start at 12:00 and finish at 21.30 at Bernie Spain Gardens, adjacent to Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank near Waterloo Bridge. For further information visit www.holland.com & www.hollandclubbing.com
Chitra Mogul
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026