Kings Day Amsterdam 2027: The Orange Street Party on Tuesday 27 April

On Tuesday 27 April 2027, Amsterdam turns orange for Kings Day, the national holiday that marks the birthday of King Willem-Alexander. I amsterdam, the city’s own visitor site, describes a citywide carnival that sees over a million revellers spill onto the streets and canals, with boat parties, street parties and every other sort of party imaginable.

If you are flying in for it, this post covers what the day is, the ride in from Schiphol, and how the first hour works when the center belongs to the crowd.

Kings Day, Koningsdag in Dutch, is a fixed national holiday held on 27 April, the king’s birthday. It is not a ticketed event with a program to book: the city itself is the event. I amsterdam puts the scale at over a million revellers on the streets and canals, and the colour is orange, worn by locals and visitors alike in honour of the royal house. Expect the canal belt to be the thick of it, with boats packed on the water and parties on every bridge and corner.

Because it is a national holiday, plan on a city running on holiday settings: many workplaces close, public transport and the streets in the center are disrupted by the festivities, and the crowds build early. The guide flags April and May among Amsterdam’s best months, with Kings Day a headline reason why. Hotel supply, capped in Amsterdam and fast to rise in price, is at its tightest this week. Book the room before the flight.

There is no single thing to attend, so the smart shape for the day is simple: get into the center early, pick a patch of canal belt, and let the party come to you. Treat Kings Day as a street day, and save the galleries for the quieter days either side of it.

Schiphol makes this easy: the station sits directly under the terminal at Schiphol Plaza, and the NS train is both the fastest and the cheapest way into Centraal. On Kings Day the center streets will be packed once you surface, so a hotel you can walk to from Centraal is worth more than a clever route. See our Schiphol to Amsterdam transfer guide for every option, priced and compared.

For a Splurge, Pulitzer Amsterdam stitches twenty five Golden Age canal houses on the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht into one hotel amid the Nine Streets, with a courtyard garden and canal view rooms. For Mid-range, Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam sits on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, five minutes from Centraal and behind Dam Square, with bright modern rooms and every tram line at the door. For Budget, Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark is a former school on Zandpad at the edge of Vondelpark, near Leidseplein and Museumplein, with dorms and private rooms.

For Kings Day, the Pulitzer puts you inside the canal belt where the party is, and the Kimpton keeps Centraal a short walk away. Remember the tax when you compare quotes: Amsterdam charges 12.5 percent of the room rate in tourist tax, plus lodging VAT. For getting back, ride the NS train from Centraal to Schiphol, and leave early if your flight is on the holiday itself.

Get connected before you fly: the guide names an Airalo eSIM, sorted before you land, so maps and train times are live from Schiphol Plaza. Free Wi-Fi fills some gaps, but Kings Day crowds are not the moment to hunt for it.

Money runs close to cashless here: many cafes and stalls are pin only and refuse cash, and a few balk at foreign credit cards, so carry a contactless debit card and some euros. Tap OVpay on trains, trams and buses rather than buying paper tickets.

For a first meal, the guide sends you to Stubbe’s Haring on the Singel for lightly cured herring under chopped onion and pickle, on a plate at the bridge rail or as a broodje haring in a bun. And book the big museums early, as the guide directs: the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House sell timed slots weeks ahead, so do it for the days around the holiday, not on the day itself.

One day, one colour, and a city that treats its king’s birthday as a street festival for a million people: Kings Day rewards anyone who books early and travels light. Browse the events calendar for what else is on while you are in town, and use plan your trip to line up the days around it.