With its laid-back atmosphere, picturesque canals and delicious cuisine Amsterdam is an excellent choice for a city break all year round. However, sometimes you book a trip only to find out later that you’ll just miss a festival or an exciting event. With so many festivals on offer this summer, you will be reaching for your passport in no time.
Mystic Garden Festival
The summer season doesn’t officially start until you’ve spent a day dancing outside, pint in hand, at a music festival – fact! What better place to start your summer then than at the Mystic Garden Festival which takes place on Saturday 16th June 2018. The festival boasts dreamy surrounds in a leafy enclave of Amsterdam’s Sloterpark, and you’ll be able to spend a blissful day dancing to techno or enjoying some street food.
Amsterdam Pride
Gay pride celebrations always herald in fun, dancing and a lot of festivities, but there’s something especially joyous about a parade that takes to water as Amsterdam’s does. The city celebrates the LGBT community this year between the 28th July and the 5th August. You could spend a weekend watching events such as the Drag Queens Olympics, dance the days away at one of the city’s many street parties or head to the sandy shores of nearby Zandvoort for Pride at the Beach.
Grachtenfestival
Amsterdam plays host to a citywide classical music festival each August and this year’s celebrations are set to take place between 10th – 19th August. Grachtenfestival translates to Canal Festival in English, and it is Amsterdam’s famous waterways that play host to many of the concerts and performances. Perhaps the highlight of this festival is the Prinsengracht Concert which sees huge crowds descend to watch a free concert on the pontoon by the Pulitzer Hotel.
Amsterdam City Swim
Each September, thousands of of brave swimmers take to the chilly canals of Amsterdam for a sponsored two-kilometre swim. Amsterdam’s City Swim is a chance for individuals to raise money for research into Motor Neuron Disease. However, it also provides quite the spectacle as participants splash through the city’s main canals, so join the crowds on the 2nd September, and cheer on the swimmers!
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