What It’s Like Visiting Tulip Experience Amsterdam

This spring I have been on a mission to see as many tulip gardens and experiences as possible, for another guide that I am writing. During this mission, I visited Tulip Experience Amsterdam for the first time, and was so impressed that I decided I needed to write a guide all about this particular attraction for anyone else who’s looking to get photos with tulips. So read on to find out everything you need to know about Tulip Experience Amsterdam and why you should visit!

What is Tulip Experience Amsterdam?

Tulip Experience Amsterdam is an attraction that’s part museum and part tulip show garden – with lots of props for visitors to take photos among the flowers. As more and more visitors to the Netherlands want to experience wandering among tulip fields, a number of these show gardens have popped up to meet the demand and take some of the pressure off farmers, who don’t usually want hordes of people tramping through their flower fields.

So instead of trying to find a field to take photos, you can go to one of these show gardens, pay a small fee and take all the photos your heart desires, without damaging the livelihood of local tulip farmers. While there are quite a few options in the bulb region near Keukenhof, I personally think that Tulip Experience Amsterdam is the best.

Where is Tulip Experience Amsterdam?

Well first off, it’s not actually in Amsterdam… I assume they named it “Tulip Experience Amsterdam” so that if people are searching on Google where to have a ‘tulip experience Amsterdam’ then their business will show up. But Tulip Experience Amsterdam is actually located in Noordwijkerhout – which is sort of above and in between Hillegom and Lisse – in the Bollenstreek (bulb region) not far from Keukenhof, and is about a 45-minute drive from the centre of Amsterdam.

What to Do at Tulip Experience Amsterdam

Of course, taking photos among the flowers is the number one activity at Tulip Experience Amsterdam, and probably the main reason you even want to go, but there are actually quite a few fun things to do here beyond just that!

The Museum

When you enter Tulip Experience Amsterdam you first find the museum section, which is held inside a big warehouse. This is a fascinating introduction to the history of tulip propagation in the Netherlands, with interesting displays about how tulips used to be farmed alongside info on how things are done today.

Besides even the historical aspect, I didn’t really know all that much about tulip farming, so I was fascinated to discover that tulip bulbs are peeled before being sold. Of course, back in the day, they had to be peeled by hand, although today there are machines that do it. Also, everything is written in both Dutch and English.

Along with the informational displays and historical timeline, there’s even a cute little movie theatre for you to watch a short movie about tulips in the Netherlands. Since none of the other tulip experiences I visited contain a museum, I was very impressed that Tulip Experience Amsterdam provides visitors with such a comprehensive overview of the tulip industry before they even go outside into the fields.

The Flower Field

After walking through the museum section you come to a doorway leading back outside to the main attraction: the flower field! This is where thousands of tulips (and daffodils) have been planted with lots of props and photo ops set up so that visitors can get the most beautiful photos among the blooms.

We visited a little early in the season, so not all the rows of tulips were in bloom yet, but there were lots of daffodils out and I assume that the plantings are staggered like at Keukenhof, so there’s always something in bloom no matter when in the season you visit. Tulip Experience Amsterdam was also a little less busy than the other places we visited on this day, although of course, I can’t guarantee that for your visit!

Along with all the cute props for photos I also enjoyed seeing the different games and activities provided for children, like the tulip twister a bit above and a tulip version of tic-tac-toe which I didn’t get a photo of as it was being used. There were also little wheelbarrows all over the place which I saw many a child having fun pushing around.

The Restaurant

On the other side of the door that leads to the flower field is a little restaurant area, which has a cute building facade that’s been constructed within the warehouse where Tulip Experience Amsterdam is located. Here you can sit down for a whole meal or just a snack and/or a drink before or after your time out in the fields. This hotel facade is actually a replica of Hotel de Witte Swaan (The White Swan Hotel) which stood in the nearby town of Lisse between 1544 and 1971. While it was sadly demolished, I think it’s quite cool that you can enjoy a replica of it here!

The ‘Market’

In this part of the warehouse, there’s also a little ‘market’ area, with stalls selling all sorts of tulip and Dutch-themed souvenirs and art. Unfortunately, the only photo I took here was blurry (whoops!) but on the wall facing the stalls, there was also a series of gorgeous paintings featuring the flower parade which goes through the region every year (which is another experience on my bucket list for next year).

The Picking Garden

The final section of Tulip Experience Amsterdam is a ‘picking garden,’ which is actually just a series of crates where each visitor can pick their own tulips, with the bulbs still attached! Each adult is entitled to five tulips with their entrance ticket (or three for children) so we were able to take ten tulip plants home with us. Since we’re hopefully getting our backyard re-paved this year we actually gave the tulips to Dennis’s parents. They planted them in their backyard and they are now in bloom a week later! There’s also a cute little plane here if you want one last photo opportunity before you leave…

Getting to Tulip Experience Amsterdam

Unfortunately, it isn’t all that easy to get to Tulip Experience Amsterdam by public transport, so the easiest way to visit is by driving. They have a free car park out the front. Alternatively, if you are visiting Keukenhof Gardens, then you could use the bus to get to the main entrance of Keukenhof where you can hire bikes and ride the rest of the way to Tulip Experience Amsterdam as there are clear bike paths all the way there (and it probably wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes).

And if you don’t have a car or just don’t want to ride a bike, there are also some tours from Amsterdam which will take you to Tulip Experience Amsterdam, usually included with a tour to Keukenhof Gardens, so you could visit both in one day!

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Have you visited Tulip Experience Amsterdam or an alternative tulip photo place nearby? Let me know about it in the comments or pin one of these if you want to see Tulip Experience Amsterdam for yourself!