How to Spend Your Easter Weekend in Amsterdam in 2026

There’s a moment every spring in Amsterdam when everything seems to shift at once. The canals catch the light differently. Café terraces fill up before noon. Tulips appear in window boxes across the Jordaan. And if you time it right, Easter weekend is when all of this collides — four days of spring energy, Dutch food traditions, blooming flowers, and a city that feels like it’s waking up after a long winter sleep.

Easter 2026 falls on April 3–6, which means a long weekend perfectly aligned with tulip season, the opening weeks of Keukenhof, and some of the best eating and drinking Amsterdam has to offer. Whether you’re here for the food, the flowers, or just the excuse to sit on a canal-side terrace with a coffee and a slice of paasstol, this is one of the best weekends to visit.

What the Dutch Actually Eat at Easter

If there’s one thing that makes Easter in Amsterdam different from Easter anywhere else, it’s the food — and specifically, the brunch. While other countries focus on Easter dinner, the Dutch build their celebration around an elaborate breakfast-brunch that stretches through the entire morning and well into the afternoon.

The table is loaded: fresh bread rolls, croissants, cold cuts, cheese, eggs (boiled, scrambled, and in salad), orange juice, and pot after pot of coffee. But the real stars are the sweet breads.

Paasstol (also called paasbrood) is the centrepiece — a rich, oval-shaped bread studded with raisins and currants, filled with a thick ribbon of almond paste, and topped with shaved almonds. It’s nearly identical to the kerststol eaten at Christmas, except the Easter version is traditionally topped with almonds rather than powdered sugar. Slice it thick, spread a little butter across the almond paste, and you’ll understand why Dutch families fight over the last piece.

Then there are the chocolade paaseitjes — small chocolate Easter eggs that appear in every shop, bakery, and supermarket in the weeks before Easter. They come in dozens of flavours (praline, hazelnut, dark, milk, white) and are scattered across brunch tables, hidden in gardens for egg hunts, and consumed in genuinely impressive quantities.

And don’t miss the eiertikken — the Dutch egg-tapping game. Everyone picks a boiled egg, then you tap yours against your opponent’s. The egg that cracks first loses. The winner takes on the next challenger. It sounds simple, but Dutch families take it very seriously.

Bernado, our guide on the Amsterdam food tour, puts it perfectly:

“Easter was always a big deal in our family. While everyone was sitting around the table enjoying Paasbrood, I was always itching to get outside. Because I knew there were Easter eggs hidden in the garden waiting to be found. I’d quickly eat my slice (extra butter, always!) and then run outside to hunt for the eggs. It was the perfect mix of food and fun, and to this day, Paasbrood still brings back those childhood memories.”

Easter Brunch in Amsterdam

If you’re not lucky enough to be invited to a Dutch family’s table (yet), Amsterdam’s café and restaurant scene picks up the slack beautifully. Easter brunch is a serious affair across the city, and you’ll find special menus everywhere from canal-side cafés in the Jordaan to buzzy spots in De Pijp and Amsterdam-Noord.

For something uniquely Dutch, book a spot on the Pannenkoekenboot (Pancake Boat). It’s exactly what it sounds like: a 75-minute cruise along the IJ river with unlimited freshly baked Dutch pancakes — plain, apple, and bacon — plus a buffet of toppings. It’s fun, it’s delicious, and it’s about as Amsterdam as it gets.

Ms. van Riemsdijkweg (t/o 41), Amsterdam-Noord
+31 (0)20 636 88 17 · pannenkoekenboot.nl
Easter departures (April 5 & 6): 10:45, 12:30, 14:15, 16:00, 17:45
Adults from €34 / Children (3–11) from €29 — book online

Take a tasty cruise on the Pancake Boat!

The Hard Rock Café on Max Euweplein also runs family-friendly Easter events — check their website closer to the date for this year’s brunch menu and egg hunt details.

Max Euweplein 57 · +31 (0)20 523 7625 · hardrock.com/amsterdam

For more food-focused exploring, Amsterdam’s markets and street food scene really come alive in spring. The Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp, Foodhallen in Amsterdam-West, and the weekend markets at NDSM Wharf are all worth a visit over the Easter weekend.

Culture and Music

Amsterdam takes Easter concerts seriously. The highlight of the season is performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, which are something of a national tradition in the Netherlands. The Royal Concertgebouw — one of the world’s finest concert halls — regularly programmes Passion performances and Easter concerts. Even if classical music isn’t usually your thing, hearing Bach in this building is a special experience.

Concertgebouwplein 10 · concertgebouw.nl

For something more intimate and offbeat, the Amsterdam Marionette Theater hosts puppet opera performances — including brunch editions — in a tiny canal-side theatre on Nieuwe Jonkerstraat. It’s one of those hidden Amsterdam gems that most visitors never find.

Nieuwe Jonkerstraat 8 · +31 (0)20 620 8027 · marionettentheater.nl

Check iamsterdam.com for a full agenda of concerts, exhibitions, and cultural events running over Easter weekend.

 

For Flower Enthusiasts

Tulips and Flowers

Easter weekend 2026 falls right in the sweet spot for flowers. Keukenhof will be three weeks into its season, the hyacinths will be at their peak, and the early tulips will be starting to bloom. If you’ve ever wanted to see the Netherlands at its most photogenic, this is it.

Keukenhof is the obvious headliner — seven million bulbs planted across 32 hectares in Lisse, about an hour from Amsterdam by bus. It’s the world’s largest spring flower garden, and it’s open for just eight weeks a year. Easter weekend is one of the busiest periods, so book your timed entry ticket online well in advance.

Stationsweg 166A, Lisse · +31 (0)252 465 555 · keukenhof.nl
Open: March 19 – May 10, 2026 · 8am–7pm daily (including Easter weekend)
Tickets from €21.50 online (timed entry required)
Getting there: KeukenhofBuzz buses from Amsterdam RAI, Haarlem, Leiden; shuttle buses from Schiphol and Amsterdam city centre. Combi tickets (bus + entry) from €38.50.

Tulip season in the Netherlands is truly spectacular!

If Keukenhof feels too structured, rent a bike in Lisse and ride through the surrounding Bollenstreek (bulb region) to see the commercial flower fields stretching to the horizon. Or stay in Amsterdam and keep an eye out for the Tulip Festival (March 19 – May 10), which places tulip displays in public squares, shopping streets, and museum gardens across the city.

Practical tip: Keukenhof is completely cashless — bring a card. If you can be flexible with your dates, visit on a weekday morning rather than Easter weekend itself. The gardens are the same, but the crowds are half the size.

If you are a real tulip enthusiast, visit the month-long Tulip Festival held from April 1 to 30 across Amsterdam. You will have a chance to visit a stunning Flower Bulb Route of more than 100 km of blossoming flowers. Even National Geographic recommends this route as one of the world’s best road trips!

Making the Most of Your Easter Weekend

Four days is a luxury in Amsterdam. Here’s one way to spend them:

Friday (April 3): Arrive and settle in. Walk the canals, grab a terrace seat in the Jordaan, and ease into the weekend with a borrel (Dutch happy hour — beer, bitterballen, and good company). If you’re into electronic music, DGTL’s opening night kicks off at NDSM.

Saturday (April 4): Head to Keukenhof for the morning (arrive when it opens at 8am to beat the crowds). Back in Amsterdam, explore the Albert Cuyp Market or Foodhallen for lunch. Spend the afternoon at the Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum, then find a canal-side spot for dinner.

Easter Sunday (April 5): Do brunch properly — the Pancake Boat, a café in De Pijp, or your hotel’s Easter spread. Spend the afternoon on a canal cruise or cycling through Vondelpark. If you can find paasstol at a local bakery, buy it.

Easter Monday (April 6): A quieter day — many shops are closed, but the city itself is beautiful. Join one of our food tours to explore the Jordaan neighbourhood on foot (and by canal boat). Or rent a bike and ride north to the countryside — the flower fields are just starting to come alive.

Come visit Amsterdam this Easter!