King's Day Amsterdam — The Insider Survival Guide

April 27. The entire country turns orange. The canals fill with boats blasting music. Streets become flea markets. Strangers become best friends. It is, without any exaggeration, the wildest day of the year in the Netherlands — and Amsterdam is ground zero.

I've done eight King's Days here. The first one nearly broke me. Here's everything I wish someone had told me before I walked into that beautiful chaos.

What Actually Happens

King's Day (Koningsdag) celebrates the King's birthday. But really it's a national excuse to party in the street, sell your old stuff on the sidewalk, drink beer at 9 AM, and wear orange everything. The whole city shuts down to traffic and becomes one massive open-air festival.

Key things happening simultaneously:

• Vrijmarkt (free market): Anyone can sell anything on the street. This is the biggest citywide flea market you've ever seen. Kids sell old toys, adults sell vinyl records, people sell homemade cakes. It's chaos in the best way.
• Canal parties: Boats cruise the canals with DJs and sound systems. The bridges are packed with people dancing and watching. Prinsengracht and Herengracht are the main routes.
• Street parties: Music stages pop up in squares and parks. Vondelpark has a massive area for kids and families. Jordaan goes full-on with traditional Dutch music. Rembrandtplein has DJs.
• Everyone is outside. Everyone. The entire city. 1+ million people.

Where to Go (and Where Not To)

The Good Spots:

Jordaan is the place to be for traditional King's Day. Narrow streets, live music on every corner, locals singing Dutch classics. It's packed but the vibe is genuinely warm. Go early — by noon you can barely move.

Vondelpark if you have kids or want a mellower vibe. The Vrijmarkt here is more family-oriented. Kids selling lemonade and performing little shows. It's wholesome.

The canals — just pick a bridge and post up. Bring drinks. The boat parade is incredible. Best viewing: any bridge along Prinsengracht between Westerkerk and Leidseplein.

Westerpark for the cooler, less mainstream scene. Music festivals, food trucks, young crowd.

What to Skip:

Dam Square. It's the most crowded spot in the city and the least interesting. Just a mass of people standing around. Go literally anywhere else.

Leidseplein gets so packed it stops being fun. Unless you want to be shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of people who can't move in any direction.

The Practical Stuff

Wear orange. Anything. A shirt, a hat, a feather boa, face paint. It doesn't matter what — just orange. You'll feel wildly out of place without it. I saw a guy wearing an orange garbage bag once. It worked.

Bring cash. The Vrijmarkt is all cash. ATMs run out. Get cash the day before. Seriously — by 11 AM on King's Day, every ATM in Centrum is empty.

Start early. The energy is completely different at 9 AM versus 2 PM. At 9 AM, it's cheerful, manageable, people are setting up their stalls, you can actually walk. By 2 PM, it's a wall of people and beer. Both are good, but the morning is more enjoyable.

Eat before you go out. Or grab food from stalls early. By afternoon, food stalls run out of stock. The frites and the oliebollen go first.

Bathrooms. This is the real survival tip. Public bathrooms don't exist in sufficient numbers for a million people. Cafes are packed. The city puts up extra facilities but they're not enough. Go whenever you see one available. Plan around this.

Transportation: Forget it. No trams. No buses. No bikes (you'll lose it). Walk. The metro runs but stations near the center are jammed.

The Boat Situation

If you know someone with a boat, congratulations — you've won King's Day. A boat on the canals is the ultimate way to experience it. Music, drinks, sunshine (hopefully), the city sliding past you.

If you don't know someone with a boat, you can rent one or book a King's Day canal cruise. Do this MONTHS in advance. Not weeks. Months. Book early through here before everything sells out.

The Night Before: King's Night

April 26 — Koningsnacht. The unofficial start. Bars and clubs host events, there are concerts everywhere, and the Vrijmarkt sellers start setting up. It's like a warm-up round. Some people prefer King's Night to King's Day because it's less crowded and more about music.

Check our Going Out guide for bars worth hitting on King's Night.

Accommodation Warning

This is not optional advice. Book your hotel weeks or months ahead for King's Day. The entire city sells out. Prices double or triple. People commute from Haarlem or Utrecht because there's literally nothing left in Amsterdam.

Book accommodation for King's Day as early as you can. I'm not exaggerating when I say people book a year ahead for this.

The Day After

April 28 is recovery day. The city is quiet. Streets are covered in orange confetti. Cafe terraces are full of people with sunglasses on, drinking coffee slowly, looking like they've been through something.

It's actually one of my favorite days in Amsterdam. The whole city has this shared "we survived that" energy.

Should You Actually Go?

Yes. King's Day is unlike anything else. It's joyful, weird, excessive, and deeply Dutch. But go with a plan, go early, bring cash, wear orange, and understand that you will get separated from your group at some point. Set a meeting spot in advance. Your phone signal will be terrible — everyone in the city is trying to text at the same time.

And one more thing: if a local offers you a tompouce (an orange-glazed pastry), take it. It's tradition. It's also really good.

Places mentioned in this guide

Every spot here is personally vetted — no sponsored placements.

€€€

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The Hoxton Amsterdam

Local Favorite

jordaan·boutique hotel

If you want a hotel that feels like a stylish apartment with a great lobby bar, The Hoxton is it. Book early—especially in summer.

€€

O'Donnell's Irish Pub

Local Favorite

de pijp

My buddy watches every Premier League game here with a Guinness in hand. Proper Irish pub, proper pints, and the pub grub hits different when you are homesick for comfort food.

€€

Gollem's Proeflokaal

Local Favorite

oud west

My neighbor calls this beer heaven and he is not exaggerating. Over 200 beers, staff who actually know what they are talking about, and the coziest little bar you will find.