Tulip Museum in Amsterdam
Amsterdam Tulips history
The Tulip Museum in Amsterdam sits along the Prinsengracht canal, very close to Anne Frank House and is part of the Jordaan District, a very pretty part of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam and tulips are inextricably linked through history. There are multiple tulip festivals and there is also a National Tulip Day held at the start of each year around mid-January.
In the Spring, Amsterdam comes into bloom with tulips appearing everywhere. Nearby Keukenhof Gardens opens its doors attracting millions of visitors.
The Tulip Museum is not quite on this grand scale. It lives within a lovely canal house on the Prinsengracht Canal and offers a more detailed look into the history of the tulip and Amsterdam.
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Tulip Museum in Amsterdam Tickets
The Amsterdam Tulip Museum does not offer online tickets, perhaps reflecting its size and ability to have no more than 25 visitors at any one time.
You turn up on the door and pay €5 to get in. If you are a student it will cost you €3 and if you are a family of 3 or more (2 adults and children under 16 years of age) it costs €10.
If you have an I Amsterdam City Card, then entry is free. The I Amsterdam City Card gives you access to multiple major museums and attractions throughout Amsterdam. The Tulip Musuem is one of the smaller museums included that help make the card an attractive proposition.
This museum is also included on another popular tourist pass, the Go City Amsterdam Pass.
Amsterdam Tulip Museum Opening times
The Tulip Museum opens its doors at 10am until 6pm daily.
It is closed on Kings Day (27 April) and Christmas Day (25 December).
Tulip Museum in Amsterdam Experience
As you wander around Amsterdam, you will see tulips everywhere. Very much like the clogs and Dutch cheese, they are a symbol of Amsterdam and the Netherlands.
The tulip museum looks like a shop as you enter, which it is. This shop can be perused without paying for entry into the museum itself. If you decide to go into the museum, you buy your tickets and then gain access to six tulip focussed rooms.
The six tulip rooms
These six rooms walk you through the history of the tulip in Amsterdam right up to modern times. There are photos, videos, artefacts and interactive displays. They try to keep kids interested by using colourful graphics and fairytale style storytelling.
Each room is different and focusses on: An introduction to the tulip, wild tulips, tulips, the Ottoman Empire and how the flower got to the Netherlands, the tulip trade, growing tulips, and modern tulip growing over a whole year.
Tulipmania
A special exhibition features the famous tulipmania that gripped Amsterdam and caused a monumental market crash, alongside an exploration of the Dutch Golden Age.
How long does it take to visit the Tulip Museum
As with any museum it depends on your interest level. A true horticulturalist might find themselves exploring the world of tulips for around an hour, but on average it’s around 20-30 minutes.
It’s a nice break from the bigger museums with a focus on just one thing, a bit like the Amsterdam Cheese Museum, which is virtually next door. A short informative visit with a really nice shop for gifts.
Anne Frank House is also close by along the Prinsengracht Canal. This can be quite a moving experience and the Tulip Museum with its exploration of beauty and the natural world can be a good place to come to afterwards.
Amsterdam Tulip Museum Shop
As mentioned, you can just visit the shop without going into the museum. This is worthwhile in itself, as the shop has some very nice tulip related merchandise. Tulips are a beautiful flower and lend themselves very nicely to all sort of products. You can find vases, art, jewellery, books and all sorts of trinkets. They have Delft hand painted tiles too which is a nice souvenir, plus you can buy high quality bulbs and seeds (though you should check the rules on bringing back any type of flower bulb or seed from a foreign country due to the potential of invasive species or pests).
Where is Tulip Museum in Amsterdam
You can easily walk to the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam from Central Station in about 15-20 minutes. Tram 13 will get you there in 10-minutes.
If you are visiting Anne Frank House then the tulip museum is very close by.
Prinsengracht 116, 1015 EA Amsterdam.
Tulip events in Amsterdam
You will find tulips everywhere all year round, they are an icon of Amsterdam.
In Spring the full tulip experience envelopes Amsterdam. This is when the tulips come into bloom and it would be hard to walk down any street and not see tulips.
Keukenhof Gardens opens up in Spring and is a huge draw for visitors to Amsterdam. There are many specialist tours running to Keukenhof from the end of March, April and May.
Additional to Keukenhof are the tulip fields which have swathes of tulips dancing in the breeze in Spring. There is a huge flower festival that runs from 1 April until 30 April and covers the entirety of Amsterdam.
National Tulip Day is held on 20 January 2024 with its heart in Dam Square. Here you will find a tulip garden filled with 200,000 tulips and once open, visitors get to pick a tulip to take home. This day marks the start of the tulip season each year.
A huge flower parade runs from 17-20 April 2024.
Amsterdam Flower Market is open all year round and you can buy bulbs, seeds and flowers here.
As you can see Amsterdam and tulips are inextricably linked, so whatever time you visit you can find a tulip related experience to enjoy. The Tulip Museum in Amsterdam is a very worthwhile museum to enjoy all year round.
