What's on in Utrecht, Netherlands through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Netherlands, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Dom tower by guided tour only

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  The tower reopened after its restoration and is climbed only on a timed guided tour booked online. Weekend slots go a fortnight ahead in summer, and the 465 steps are not the hard part. Source ↗

Busy — Voorjaarsvakantie (February) holidays in Netherlands, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Tulip and bulb season, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Tulip and bulb season

  20 Mar – 10 May · usuallyWildflowers & bloomsCrowded

  The bulb fields and the show gardens are an hour west of here and run from the third week of March to the middle of May. The fields themselves are cut as soon as the flower has done its job.

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Tulip and bulb season, King's Day

• Opening

  Wharf terrace season

  15 Apr – 30 Sep · usuallySummer season opens

  The cellars along the Oudegracht put their tables out at water level from spring to autumn. It is the thing this city has that Amsterdam does not, and it only exists in warm months. Source ↗

• Holiday

  King's Day

  26–27 AprNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  The evening before is the party and the day itself is a city-wide flea market run by children on the pavements. The canals fill with boats and the trains in are rationed. Source ↗

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Tulip and bulb season (20 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Tulip and bulb season, Liberation Day festival

• Festival

  Liberation Day festival

  5 MayNational holidayCrowded

  Utrecht runs one of the fourteen national liberation festivals on 5 May, free and all day across the parks and the centre. Whether it is a day off depends on the employer, so the city works and parties at once. Source ↗

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Tulip and bulb season (20 Mar – 10 May (usually)), Wharf terrace season (15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Wharf terrace season (15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Netherlands, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Wharf terrace season (15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Netherlands, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Festival Oude Muziek

  26 Aug – 6 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalBook early

  Ten days of early music in the churches and the Vredenburg at the turn of August into September, the largest festival of its kind anywhere. Cathedral concerts sell in spring. Source ↗

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Wharf terrace season (15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Netherlands Film Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Netherlands Film Festival

  18 Sep – 5 Oct · usuallyCrowded

  The national film festival belongs to Utrecht: ten days at the end of September ending in the Golden Calf awards, with free open-air screenings on the cathedral square. Source ↗

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Wharf terrace season (15 Apr – 30 Sep (usually)), Festival Oude Muziek (26 Aug – 6 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Netherlands Film Festival, Herfstvakantie (autumn) holidays in Netherlands

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Netherlands Film Festival (18 Sep – 5 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Le Guess Who?

  5–8 NovMajor festivalBook early

  Four days in November spread across concert halls, churches and a converted sugar factory, with each year's line-up part-chosen by the artists themselves. Beds go with the tickets. Source ↗

• Festival

  Sint Maarten

  11 NovMajor festival

  The city's patron saint. Children go door to door with paper lanterns on the evening of 11 November, singing for sweets, and the cathedral tower is lit for it. Source ↗

• Festival

  Christmas on the canals

  28 Nov – 31 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New Year

  Lights go along the Oudegracht and a small market takes the squares under the cathedral tower. It stays a working city rather than turning itself into a market town for the month. Source ↗

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Christmas holidays in Netherlands, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Dom tower by guided tour only (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Christmas on the canals (28 Nov – 31 Dec (usually))