Best Places to See Dahlias in the Netherlands
Everything You Need to Know About the Dutch Dahlias
The Netherlands is famous for its tulip fields, but did you know there are a lot of dahlia fields too? At the end of the summer, the Dutch countryside near Lisse bursts into color yet again. The Dutch climate, with its mild temperatures and abundant rainfall, provides ideal conditions for dahlia cultivation. The sandy, well-draining soils that the region surrounding Lisse, the Bollenstreek, is renowned for, contribute to the success of growing these flowers. In this blog post, we’re sharing everything you need to know about seeing dahlias in the Netherlands and of course that includes the best places to see these beautiful flowers.
Dahlia flowers
Dahlias are native to Mexico and Central America and belong to the same flower family as sunflowers, daisies and chrysanthemum. Dahlias come in a wide array of colors and various shapes, such as cactus-flowered, waterlily-flowered and ball-shaped varieties, which make these flowers so interesting to look at. Some varieties can even reach up to 180 cm in height, which is very impressive to see when walking through a dahlia garden.
When to see dahlias in the Netherlands
Peak blooming season for dahlias in the Netherlands is during late summer and early autumn, specifically from August until mid-October. During these months, the dahlia gardens are full of color. These months also correspond with the opening times of the dahlia gardens in the Bollenstreek. Be aware that if you visit a dahlia picking garden at the end of the season, a lot of the flowers might have already been picked.
Best Places to See Dahlias in the Netherlands
You might have heard about Lisse, a village in the province of South-Holland that is mostly known for the Keukenhof gardens and the tulip fields in the neighboring countryside. Lisse, and the neighboring villages and countryside in the Bollenstreek, is also the area where you can find dahlias in summer. While we wouldn’t recommend going to Lisse to see the tulip fields in spring (in our opinion there are much better tulip fields on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee and in the province of Flevoland), the Bollenstreek is the place to be to see dahlias.
ILoveDahlia
Our favorite place to see dahlias is the show and picking garden of ILoveDahlia. There are a lot of dahlia varieties in the garden and we loved that many of the dahlia flowers are very tall. There are paths in between the dahlias so it feels like you’re walking through a sea of flowers. Don’t forget to take plenty of photos here as this dahlia garden is very Insta-worthy.
During dahlia season, the garden is open every day (except for Sundays) for you to witness the beautiful flowers. Saturdays and Wednesday evenings are picking days. For €15 you receive a large bucket and a knife so you can cut the dahlias you love most to bring back home. You can fit in around 20 to 25 dahlia flowers in the bucket. You can keep the bucket so you can easily bring the flowers back home. Payment is possible by cash or bank transfer (for Dutchies also known as Tikkie).
In 2023, the show and picking garden of ILoveDahlia is open from the 29th of July until the 23rd of September.
Opening hours of the show garden:
Monday - Friday from 09:00 until 16:00
Picking days:
Saturdays from 10:00 until 15:00 and Wednesdays from 19:00 until 21:00
Entrance to the garden is free of charge.
A bucket filled with dahlia flowers that you can choose and cut yourself on dahlia picking days is €15.
See their website for more information and check their Instagram page @i.love.dahlia for the most recent updates on opening hours and the show garden.
The address of ILoveDahlia is Pastoorslaan 30a in Hillegom. It might be a bit tricky to find as it’s not located right next to the road. If you drive to this location on the Pastoorslaan, you’ll notice a sign with the text “Fred de Meulder Pastoorslaan 30A” and an arrow. Follow that sign and it will take you to the right location. Parking at the ILoveDahlia flower farm is free of charge.
De Tulperij
De Tulperij has a show garden and a separate picking garden where you can choose and cut dahlias yourself. The show garden is absolutely worth strolling through. It’s filled with beautiful and tall dahlia varieties and it’s perfect for taking photos. If you want to pick dahlias in the picking garden, you can ask the employees for a bucket and scissors. You can’t keep the bucket, so bring your own bucket and fill it with water if you don’t live nearby to ensure your freshly picked dahlias will survive the journey home. You pay per picked flower, but it’s not indicated on the website how much it is. We’d advise to ask in advance, so you won’t be paying too much money for your dahlia bouquet.
There’s a store and a café in the greenhouse at De Tulperij. The store offers Dutch souvenirs and regional products, such as tulip beer and Delft Blue ceramics. You can also buy tulip bulbs here. You can get drinks, cakes and snacks at the café. The café also offers an outdoor seating area next to the dahlia garden, which is the perfect place to enjoy a drink or snack. As we visited on a warm summer’s day we enjoyed a refreshing ice cream on their terrace.
Next to the outdoor seating area, there are a few fun photo spots, such as a bike with the garden in the background and a mirror where you can take an Instagrammable selfie. We loved this fun addition to the dahlia garden.
Besides the show and picking garden, De Tulperij also offers dahlia excursions which allow you to learn more about the dahlia flowers. Check this website for more information about the excursion and the availability. The dahlia excursion is €6,95 per person.
In 2023, the picking garden is open from the 12th of August until the 13th of October. The show garden is open from the 12th of August until the 1st of October.
Opening hours:
Tuesday - Sunday from 09:30 until 17:00. Closed on Mondays.
Entrance to De Tulperij flower farm is free of charge. You can park your car in front of or close to the entrance of De Tulperij. Parking at is also free of charge.
Keukenhof Castle
Keukenhof Castle is a beautiful castle in Lisse, close to the Keukenhof gardens. While the castle itself isn’t open to public visits, you can freely roam around the estate. From mid-July until mid-October the estate is filled with 150 different varieties of dahlia flowers.
You can find the dahlias just west of the castle and in Frederik’s Hof. We specifically loved the dahlias next to the castle, as seeing the dahlia flowers with the castle in the background simply is a stunning sight.
At Restaurant de Hofboerderij, you can enjoy a typical Dutch lunch or drinks and bites. The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 until 17:00. The restaurant is located in the estate, just south of the castle.
Opening hours of the Keukenhof Castle estate:
Daily form 08:30 until 19:30
Entrance and parking to the estate is free of charge. You can park your car here.
Please bear in mind that the Keukenhof gardens aren’t open during dahlia season.
More places to see dahlias in the Bollenstreek
Other places in the Bollenstreek to see dahlias that we haven’t visited are the Tulip Barn and FAM Flower Farm.
The Tulip Barn usually is open on the weekends in September from 10:00 until 17:00. The Tulip Barn has a dahlia show garden and a sunflower picking garden. At the greenhouse you can enjoy a (hot) drink and a snack. There’s also a store that sells a variety of flower and tulip bulbs. The exact opening dates and times for 2023 aren’t announced yet. Check this website for more information. Entrance to the Tulip Barn is free of charge.
The FAM Flower Farm offers a different kind of concept than the locations mentioned before. For €45 per person, you can access the dahlia fields of FAM Flower Farm for a limited duration of 1,5 hour. The visit includes coffee, tea, stroopwafels and a bunch of dahlias. The visit mostly revolves around taking photos. There are different photo spots as well as fun accessories and props available such as bikes and baskets for your photos. You can find more information about visiting the FAM Flower Farm on this website.
Even though the FAM Flower Farm visit might sound as a good option as it revolves around taking photos, we think it’s way too overpriced. De Tulperij offers fun accessories and props for your photos too and since dahlia season isn’t that well-known, the gardens with free entrance are never too crowded. If you ask us, you can better save your pennies and head to the dahlia farms with free entrance instead. They offer exactly the same as the FAM Flower Farm, but for free.
How to get to the dahlia fields and gardens
The easiest way to get to the Dahlia Fields in the Bollenstreek is by car. As dahlia season isn’t as popular and crowded as tulip season, it’s easy to find a parking place for your car and the locations we’ve been to all offer free parking. From Amsterdam, it’s around a 40-minute drive to the Bollenstreek and the listed dahlia farms. From Rotterdam, it’s around a 50-minute drive to these dahlia gardens.
Another option is getting to the dahlia fields by bike. If you don’t have your own bike you can rent one, for instance at Rent-a-Bike van Dam in Noordwijkerhout. From Noordwijkerhout it’s a 35-minute bike ride to the ILoveDahlia flower farm in Hillegom, a 18-minute bike ride to De Tulperij in Voorhout and a 20-minute bike ride to Keukenhof Castle in Lisse.
We hope this blog post has inspired you to plan a visit to the beautiful dahlia fields in the Netherlands. If you’re lucky to visit the dahlia fields on a sunny day, it’s the perfect summer activity in the Netherlands. Have you heard of dahlia season in the Netherlands before or is this the first time? Let us know in the comments below!
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