On 27 April, The Netherlands celebrates King Willem Alexander’s birthday with festive music, street parties, flea markets, and fun fairs throughout the country. On this day you will see the town fully in orange and the locals wear orange clothing and accessories as well! This day is a national holiday in the Netherlands, so everyone can enjoy the fun in town! Actually, the celebrations commence on King’s Day eve (also called King’s Night). This is where the music, the alcohol, and all the orange (wigs) will flow for the next 24 hours.
King’s Day was previously celebrated as ‘Queen’s Day’ on 30 April. This year will be the King’s 6th successive year on the throne since his mother Beatrix’s abdication. Don’t make the mistake of celebrating it on 30 April! Every year we have to disappoint tourists dressed up in orange that came here to celebrate with the locals.
Not only the nation will celebrate King’s Day, but the royal family will also be in a cheerful mood and visit some cities that day. This year they will visit Amersfoort to party! If you are lucky, you even get to shake their hands.
In every city, you can find flea market infestation. This is a nice opportunity to get rid of all your old stuff like clothes, toys, and some kitchenware. Don’t expect that there will be huge sales since the majority of the people are just passing by (just like window-shopping).
Around King’s Day, you may undoubtedly find many orange-colored products in shops. Especially the pastries, the ‘tompouce’ will be in orange mostly. It is a pastry product which has two layers of puff pastry filled with pastry cream. The top layer has a sweet icing. It is quite tricky to eat those without destroying the whole piece, but it’s super delicious!!
As a local guide in the Netherlands, I am proud to share this with the community and to show them a different side of The Netherlands when it is in a fully celebratory mood! Hope you will experience this day somewhere in the future when you visit The Netherlands! See you!