Gardens of the Netherlands

(8 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Amsterdam with Keukenhof Gardens, Leiden, Delft & Gelderland

This garden tour of the Netherlands combines private touring of the country's cultural highlights and in-depth explorations of the best gardens in the Netherlands. It features visits to flower fields and bulb growers (in season), botanical gardens, castles, historic estates and top museums.

Spend your days in and around Amsterdam, one of the most charming cities in Europe. During private, insider-led touring, enjoy a private cruise through the city's famous canals; tour world-renowned museums such as the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum; and visit the most interesting neighborhoods to see our favorite markets, courtyard gardens, churches, gabled houses, canals and bridges. Tour Amsterdam's Hortus Botanicus botanical garden, or, if desired, visit an urban farming project where locals grow fresh produce. Also enjoy a private visit to a bulb-growing greenhouse (in season) to learn first-hand about the cultivation process and the Netherlands' important tulip trade. Tour historic houses and gardens that evoke the Dutch Golden Age, such as Museum Van Loon, the home of a co-founder of the Dutch East India Company, or Museum Willet-Holthuysen. Other options include visiting the Dutch Resistance Museum and other Jewish sites, seeing interesting contemporary architecture, touring a small local brewery, enjoying the Heineken Experience, shopping for antiques, and dining on culinary treats such as rijsttafel ("rice table"), an Indonesian-influenced meal of many small dishes.

One day, visit the bustling Aalsmeer flower auction, where millions of beautiful flowers are sold and shipped around the world. Continue to Haarlem, where several famous Dutch painters once lived, to visit the courtyard gardens, market square and Frans Hals Museum. Also visit Zaanse Schans, an open-air museum of windmills and traditional architecture, to visit a cheese shop, see colorful pigments being ground in a windmill, watch wooden clogs being made and sample typical Dutch baked goods. Depending on your travel dates, we will also arrange a visit to the beautiful gardens of the Keukenhof (mid-March to mid-May) to stroll among thousands of colorful tulips, hyacinths and other flowers.

Another day, take an excursion to the polders of Flevoland to see the colorful fields of bulb flowers (in season) of the Netherlands' largest flower-growing region. If desired, also visit the picturesque town and charming thatched farms of Geithoorn and enjoy a private cruse among its network of canals and under its many wooden bridges.

Next, take a private excursion to Leiden, Rembrandt's hometown, to visit highlights such as the historic center, the garden courtyards of almshouses and the Hortus Botanicus, the University of Leiden's botanical garden, which was founded in 1590 and contains plants from around the world. Continue to Delft, where influential artist Johannes Vermeer once lived. Tour the historic center's charming canals, backstreets, churches and antiques shops, and visit Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles (Royal Delft) for a private tour and a private Delft Blue painting workshop.

Another day, opt for a private excursion to the Gelderland countryside. Tour the Kroller-Muller Museum—an acclaimed art institution in the middle of a national park—and the landscaped gardens of nearby castles such as De Haar Castle, Castle-Museum Sypesteyn, or Paleis Het Loo. Other options in the area include gardens such as the private garden of Piet Oudolf and De Tuinen van Appeltern, which has over 200 model gardens. Alternatively, take an excursion to Alkmaar to tour its medieval center and visit its weekly cheese market. See nearby polders, windmills and historic harbors, as well as a garden that preserves heirloom bulbs, including tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can also arrange a variety of special interest activities in and around Amsterdam, such as attending a performance at the Concertgebouw, biking through the city or countryside, touring museums with an art expert, taking a private excursion to Haarlem, a cooking lesson at an organic farm, or visiting other cheese-producing towns such as Edam or Gouda.

This tour can easily be extended to include destinations in Belgium, Germany, France and other countries.