King’s Day in Amsterdam: all you need to know for 2022

We can finally celebrate King’s Day, after two years without (official) parties! But what’s going on in Amsterdam on April 27? 🧡

Of course, Amsterdam is going to have its own festivities so here’s what you should know if you’re planning on celebrating in the Dutch capital. 👑

What is King’s Day?

We’ll forgive you if you haven’t had a chance to celebrate King’s Day in the Netherlands because of the coronavirus pandemic. But, we wonder how you could miss this famous and chaotic holiday. 🤨

READ MORE | 8 things you should know about King’s Day in the Netherlands

King’s Day celebrates the current ruling monarch’s birthday. In this case, the entire Netherlands throws a huge birthday party for King Willem-Alexander, whose birthday is on April 27.

So given the chance to let loose, the Netherlands celebrates like crazy. Even if they aren’t the biggest fans of the monarchy. 🤷🏻

King’s Night in Amsterdam

Dutchies start the festivities on April 26 with countless King’s Night parties in and around the city, says Het Parool.

There is a free party on Westergasterrein starting at 4 PM, Koningsplein and Vijzelstraat feature live music from 7 PM until 12 AM. Leidsestraat will be closed off to cars starting at 6 PM because the bars in the city centre will be (extra) busy in the early evening.

The main event: King’s Day parties

There’s a good chance the music and festivities will carry through the night and into King’s Day. Amsterdam is very well known for its open stages throughout all its neighbourhoods. 🎶

You can visit Westerstraat in de Jordaan, Amstelveld, Leidseplein, Nieuwmarkt, and Rembrandtplein for open stages with live music. 🎤

Spui, Regulierdswartsstraat, and Marie Heinekenplein are also accessible to partygoers from 12 PM to 8 PM and are completely free! 😍

There are also parties on the outskirts of Amsterdam, including Loveland van Oranje in the Meerpark, Orange Blossom in the Olympic Stadium, and the Kingsland Festival near RAI.

Travelling during King’s Day in Amsterdam

The municipality closes most of Amsterdam’s city centre to traffic on April 27. You can still access the city by car through a few open roads and parking is free — but the municipality strongly recommends arriving by train. 🚄

The NS runs on a special King’s Day timetable with some extra trains. Amsterdam RAI and Amsterdam Science Park stations are closed all day because of festivals and parties in the area.

Metros run their normal route on King’s Day using the Saturday timetable. RAI station is closed so metros 50 and 51 won’t stop there. Some tram lines will be merged on April 26 and 27, and you can check which metros, buses and trams run where. 🚃

Flea markets on King’s Day in Amsterdam

The municipality will allow flea markets across the city. Anyone can settle down anywhere in the city and sell all their unwanted goods from 6 AM to 8 PM, except in Dam Square.

There are dozens of markets to check out across the city’s many parks and squares. Let’s just hope the weather holds up and come through for the country’s biggest party.

How are you planning on spending King’s Day this year? Tell us in the comments!

Feature Image:Depositphotos
Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Third culture kid Katrien has been working as a writer and editor at DutchReview for over two years, originally moving to the Netherlands as a tween. Equipped with a Bachelor’s in communication and media and a Master’s in political communication, she’s here to stay for her passion for writing, whether it’s current Dutch affairs, the energy market, or universities. Just like the Dutch, Katrien lives by her agenda and enjoys the occasional frietje met mayo — she just wishes she could grow tall, too.

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