Tulip season: when and where to see the tulip fields

Tulips flower for about a month in any one place, from late March to early May in most of the Northern Hemisphere. The Netherlands is the center of it all, but Istanbul, the Pacific Northwest and Japan all have their own tulip seasons.

The Netherlands

The bulb fields between Haarlem and Leiden, around Lisse, are the classic sight: long stripes of red, yellow and purple running to the horizon. In the Netherlands, the order of the season goes roughly like this:

• Late March: crocuses and daffodils come first, with hyacinths in early April.
• Mid to late April: the tulip fields are at their peak. This is the time to go if tulips are the point of the trip.
• Early May: the growers cut the flower heads off so the bulbs get the energy. Fields can go from full color to bare green in a few days.

Keukenhof, the big show garden in Lisse, opens for about eight weeks from the second half of March to mid May. Because it plants early, mid and late varieties, it looks good for the whole period, even when the fields outside are not yet in color. Book tickets ahead and go when it opens or late in the afternoon.

A bike is the best way to see the fields. You can rent one in Lisse or at Leiden station and follow the marked routes along the farm roads. Stay off the fields themselves; they are private farmland.

Istanbul

Istanbul holds a tulip festival every April, when millions of tulips are planted in the city's parks. Emirgan Park on the Bosphorus is the main display, and Gülhane Park beside Topkapı Palace has beds in the old city. The tulip came to Europe from the Ottoman Empire, and the flower is still a symbol of the city.

North America

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival takes place in April about an hour north of Seattle, with field displays similar to the Dutch ones. Ottawa's Canadian Tulip Festival, in May, started with bulbs sent from the Netherlands after the Second World War, and bulbs are still sent every year.

Japan and the Southern Hemisphere

In Japan, the Tonami tulip fair in Toyama runs from late April to early May, and Kamiyubetsu in Hokkaido blooms in mid to late May. In Australia, Canberra's Floriade and the tulip farms in Tasmania flower in the southern spring, September and October.

Tips

• Peak bloom moves by a week or more with the weather. A cold spring holds everything back; a warm one brings it forward.
• Many growers post bloom updates from late March. Check them before you fix dates.
• Cloudy days are good for photos, because the colors look stronger without hard shadows.