Kings Day in Amsterdam: What To Expect

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What is Kings Day?

King’s Day (or Koningsdag in Dutch) is a massive street party where the Dutch celebrate King Willem’s birthday. Before he took the throne/crown of The Netherlands in 2013, the nation celebrated Queen’s Day instead (in celebration of his mother, Queen Beatrix). Heres a caricature of King Willem!

What do the locals do on Kings Day in Amsterdam?

Everyone wears orange in some way – not only is orange the nations colour, but also the Dutch Royal family comes from the House of Orange! If you are coming to The Netherlands on Kings Day – make sure you fit right in and bring any/all of your orange clothing! I choose to wear a blow-up orange crown to add a bit of an extra royal vibe to my outfit 😉

The whole centre of Amsterdam is generally covered with people partying in the streets. Many businesses/bars run street parties blaring music out into the street – which is where you will find hordes of people all crammed onto a street corner dancing in the sun!

Importantly: if you are walking around the city, it can be hard to get a drink quickly. Do what many Amsterdammers do – pack a backpack of your drink choice and you’ll never be thirsty!

You can also catch one of the many Famous Dutch DJ’s play big sets all over the city at Kings Day dance music festivals. For example, Kingsland.

It’s all about the Canal Party

The biggest attraction for Kings Day is the Prinsengracht (Princes Canal)! Boats on boats on boats full of party-goers pack this canal and slowly make their way along the canal route from West to East.

Each boat has its own music & drinks (making for quite a mixed party scene if you are watching along) and some boats even manage to put a working portable toilet on board! Now that is something to see!

The canal is sometimes so packed at different points along the canal that boats aren’t even moving, and you see people jumping from boat to boat, partying with people they have never met before!

The centre of Amsterdam is closed to cars on Kings Day and trams do not run through the centre either (safety first!) so if you are coming to Amsterdam make sure you know where you are going and how to get back there.

Family vibes

Whilst for many, Kings Day is a day to get really drunk with their friends, children also have their own traditions. You’ll find many Dutch kids earning their pocket money via stalls all around the city. Their stalls sell anything from hand-made items to running pay-per-play games. Children really get involved in the spirit of Kings day which gives the day a big family atmosphere, too.

Kings Day Amsterdam Tips:

There are portable toilets around the city, but many places open up their ‘real toilet’ doors (for a price). Make sure you have cash and coins on you!
Beer can be overpriced and it’s just cans of Heineken/Amstel, so bring your own in a back pack!
Get a nice view of the partying boats on the canals by standing on one of the bridges that crosses the Prinsengracht!
Make sure you are warm enough, as it is April it is still quite cold! Be sure to wear comfortable shoes! You’ll be getting in a lot of miles on foot during Kings Day!
Deck yourself out in orange!