The massive churches and cathedrals, prestigious museums and traditional windmills ore indeed trademarks of the Netherlands. But no discussion on the marvels of this place can be complete without tulips or Keukenhof or the bulb districts.
It is said that every spring, more than seven million flowers bloom at the Keukenhof, including a thousand varieties of tulips. Known as the Garden of Europe, the Keukenhof is the world’s largest flower garden that covers an area of 31.9 hectares. It is situated in the Lisse town of the Netherlands. With daffodils, croci, narcissi and hyacinths other than tulips, the Keukenhof is a showcase for the Dutch flower industry. The radiant combination of yellow, purple, red, orange, gold colours with heavenly scents, offer an incomparable spectacle for visitors.
However, the story of tulips did not begin here. In fact, these flowers are not Dutch at all. They arrived from Turkey in the 1590s, and became popular in no time. Ever since, tulips have been one of the biggest attractions of the Netherlands.
There is also something known as the Bollenstreek or bulb districts in the country. Here, the land is carpeted with fields of hyacinths, daffodils, dahlias and of course, tulips for miles together.