If you love parties, you need to visit Amsterdam during their Kings Day celebration. Last year, my husband and I were in The Netherlands for the best National Holiday party in the world.
In this guide I’ll be sharing everything I wish I knew before I attended by first Kings Day Amsterdam celebration including tips like what to expect, what to wear and how to get around this street party.
Kings Day Is A Dutch National Holiday Celebrating The Royal Family
Known as Koningsdag in Dutch, Kings Day is a nationwide celebration of King Willem-Alexander’s birthday on April 27th.
Queens Day used to be celebrated on April 30th before Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne.
Pretty much every city takes place in the festivities, but the Amsterdam King’s Day is by far the largest and most fun party to visit for tourists.
Yes, You Need To Wear Orange
Ok, it’s not like a bouncer will come to kick you out of city centre if you aren’t wearing orange, but it’s the color of the Dutch and everyone at the festival will be wearing orange. You should wear orange.
You don’t want to miss out. My husband and I bought cheap orange shirts off Amazon and packed them before we left for Europe. I wore this orange tank top and it was so easy to pack in my suitcase without taking up a lot of room.
If you need to buy something in a pinch, there will be tons of clothing stores and markets in Amsterdam City you can pick something up.
Why orange you ask? Orange has been associated with the Netherlands dating back to the 16th Century when William Orange led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. He became a national hero, and the color orange became a symbol of the fight for Dutch independence.
While it’s not used in the Dutch flag, it’s worn to sporting matches and for holidays like Kings Day.
The Party Spans The Entire City But Most Fun Events Are In Jordaan Neighborhood
When I say the entire city parties, I mean it. I was worried I wouldn’t know where to go in Amsterdam for King’s Day but it was easy to find the main party.
Since we were standing in Nord, we took a train to Amsterdam Centraal Train Station and then just walked over to Jordaan and wandered around the canals all afternoon, stopping to listen to music or grab drinks along the water to watch the party boats pass on by.
I personally think some of the prettiest areas of Amsterdam is in Jordaan so it was fun getting lost in the crowd and celebrating next to all the pretty canals full of spring flowers and Dutch tulips.
People Will Start Partying The Day Before And Just Keep Going On Kings Day
My friend who lives in Amsterdam told me it’s common for people to start celebrating the night before King’s Day and just keep the part going the next morning.
Bascially, prepare for rowdy behavior the entire weekend. You can still easily do tourist sightseeing the day before or after King’s Day but don’t expect to play tourist on April 27th. The whole city is wearing orange and getting drunk.
Which brings me to my next tip…
Book A Hotel Outside The City Centre Party Zone So You Can Sleep
With the help of a fellow American friend who lives in Amsterdam, we booked a hotel in the Nord region of Amsterdam well away from the crazy parties of city centre. We’re people who like to be able to retreat to a calm hotel room sleep instead of being kept awake until the wee hours of the morning by concerts and street parties.
Bunk Hotel is in an old church and just 1 train stop ride from Central Station, so it wasn’t a hassle at all to anchor ourselves there and take the train to downtown. I loved having a peaceful place to retreat to after a busy day around people.
Bring Cash To Buy Street Drinks And Shop The Free Market
Vrijmarkt is a giant flea market that spans the city, it’s basically the time of year when people do a garage sale. It starts early usually around 7am and peaks around 11am. Expect shops to be closed up by the early afternoon when the real party starts.
Bring cash and be prepared to barter for your items! If this interests you, I would go right away in the morning and then bring back your items to your hotel so you can be hands free later to party and drink.
Speaking of drinks, bring extra cash in case you want to buy drinks on the street. Some people don’t sell clothes and homeware, but instead have bake sale-style tables set up on the street to sell beer and drinks. We had to use them a few times when the line to get into bars was too long.
Buy Beer & Drinks Ahead Of Time To Carry Around With You
In hindsight, I wish my husband and I had bought a 6 pack of beer to carry around with us, since it was challenging to find drinks since bar lines were really long.
We did end up buying drinks from street vendors but it would have been just easier to go to a market the day before and grab a six pack and keep it in the hotel fridge.
Catch Free Concerts & Shows Hosted Across The City
King’s Da is so much more than just drinking beer, wearing orange and walking around the canals. There’s endless free concerts, shows,theme parties and late night parties at clubs all around the city.
A large stage will be set up in Jordaan with live music throughout the day, but you can head to the tourism board site to get a full list of the events happening this year.
Book A Boat To Party From The Water
Locals with boats are basically socially contracted to let all their friends use their boat for King’s Day parties. While there’s always boats in the waters of Amsterdam, the canals will be packed with small boats that turn into floating clubs.
I loved sitting on the edge of the canals, drinking beer and watching boat after boat go by filled with people in orange blasting music and partying.
Next time I visit Holland, though, I want to book a seat on this King’s Day party boat. Many local boat operators halt normal tours on Kings Day and sell party tickets. This would be so fun to do and a great way to meet other people!
Learn The Netherlands’ Eurovision Song Entry
My husband and I were in Europe to go see Eurovision 2024 live in Sweden. We decided to tack on Amsterdam to the start of our trip to catch the Dutch tulips but the whole point of our trip was to see who would win Eurovision in a few weeks.
One of my core memories was sitting on the edge of a canal in Jordaan and watching this party boat float by blasting Joost Klein’s Europapa song on repeat. He represented Holland in Eurovision in 2024 and was one of my favorite songs of the year, so of course I had to sing along. A guy on the boat noticed and we had a great little moment where we sang the song to each other.
I imagine this isn’t an isolated event and it’s common to hear locals playing Netherlands’s Eurovision song of the year as the song contest takes place just a few weeks after King’s Day. So, listen to it and learn the lyrics so when you hear it being played you can sing along and join the fun.
This year, 2025, Claude Kiambe will be representing The Netherlands.
Kick Off Celebrations At A Coffee Shop
I can’t type out the exact name of this plant since Google doesn’t like it, but if you like to smoke green things, you’ll love starting the day at a Coffee Shop in Amsterdam.
This is what they call green plant clubs where you can go and smoke. Cafes is where you find actual coffee.
Bring cash and be prepared to buy something additional inside such as a small coffee or drink, as many Coffee Shops require additional purchases beyond just the plant. Personally, we found it a very nice experience to start the day here before entering the crowds.
Public Transportation Will Be Slow
The buses and trains will be operational despite it being a national holiday! But they will be slow, especially if the train or bus is going through Jordaan or other neighborhoods with lots of street parties.
We tried taking a train out of the party zone when we were tired at the end of the night and it was so slow through the crowds, we just ended up walking a mile further out. So, wear comfy shoes and expect to walk a little in you’re downtown.
So, is Kings Day worth it? 100%. I would fly back to the Netherlands every year for Kings Day in Amsterdam if I could. I had so much fun, it was such a unique experience and I felt safe the entire time.
I couldn’t find many travel trips dedicated to all the things to expect during King’s Day so I hoped my ultimate mega guide with travel tips help you feel more prepared for this
