King's Day: How to join Amsterdam's biggest party

King's Day celebrations make the end of April a fun and lively time to be in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities. Our Amsterdam expert Rodney Bolt, has tips on where to go to enjoy the day.

What it all means

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands celebrates his birthday on King’s Day, April 27. The day is a public holiday, and people nationwide join in the festivities.

In Amsterdam, the day is also seen as a gay festival, perhaps because under the previous Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix, it was known as Queen’s Day. What’s an apostrophe between friends?

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What to do

The day is celebrated with street parties all over the country, and most cafes and many restaurants will set up tables on the pavement outside their doors. It is also marked with something quintessentially Dutch - a nationwide flea market.

People empty their attics and set up stalls on the street, selling anything you can imagine. Or they provide services (cakes and drinks, massage, make-up - anything they can turn their hands to). Children will also put on side-shows or have a go at busking.

Prices are low, and some people donate their earnings to a favourite charity. More recently, however, things have become increasingly commercial with real traders and fast-food vendors joining in.

Where to go

Amsterdam is the focus of the celebrations and gets very crowded, especially along the main canals and city squares, with sometimes up to three million people in a city with a population of 750,000.

The Vondelpark is usually devoted to acts and stalls for children, while the Zeedijk (near Centraal Station) and Reguliersdwarsstraat, and a stretch along the Amstel River, are given over to huge gay street parties.

My personal favourite spots are a little south of the centre, along Apollolaan and around Sarphatipark, where there is still something of the traditional non-commercial atmosphere (and as Apollolaan is in a posh area of town, there are quite some bargains to be had from the emptied attics).

Getting there

Return fares to Amsterdam with easyJet, heading out on April 26 and coming back on April 28, cost from £173. 

British Airways has fares from £139 return, for travel on the same days. 

Vueling, Iberia, Air France, Austrian Airlines, KLM and Lufthansa also fly from UK airports to the Dutch city. 

Travellers in the north might consider taking the ferry from Newcastle. See www.dfdsseaways.co.uk. 

If you are in Amsterdam to celebrate King’s Day, it is best to avoid arriving on the day itself, as the crowds make travelling around the city a nightmare at best, impossible at worst.

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Where to stay

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The Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, with theatrical interiors and a vibrant bar, has rooms from April 26-28 from €302 (£239) per night, excluding city tax of five per cent, and breakfast.

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The Hotel V Frederiksplein, situated midway between the city centre and the more traditional festivities in the south, has rooms from April 26-28 from an average of €145 (£115) per night, excluding city tax of five per cent, but including breakfast.

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Volkshotel – hip, good value, and within walking distance of the doings – has rooms from April 26-28 from €114 (£90) a night, excluding city tax of five per cent and breakfast.