Koningsdag 2027 falls Tue 27 April; royal family celebrates in Lelystad, not Amsterdam

Koningsdag, or King's Day, is the Netherlands' national holiday marking the birthday of King Willem-Alexander. It is the country's biggest street celebration, and Amsterdam hosts the largest city-wide party regardless of where the reigning royal family spends the day itself. The city fills with people dressed in orange, the national colour associated with the House of Orange-Nassau.

Dates and schedule. King's Day is fixed on 27 April, and only moves to 26 April in years when the 27th falls on a Sunday. In 2027, 27 April is a Tuesday, so the date holds: King's Day 2027 is Tuesday 27 April 2027.

King's Night (Koningsnacht), the evening and club-focused warm-up, falls the preceding Monday, 26 April 2027. Amsterdam's own celebrations typically run from early morning into the evening, with canal activity and the vrijmarkt (free market) starting around 06:00-09:00 and continuing through the afternoon.

Where it happens. Amsterdam's celebrations spread across the whole city centre: the canal ring, Vondelpark, Museumplein, Jordaan, and countless neighbourhood streets and squares. The canals themselves become a moving party, with decorated boats packing the waterways while crowds watch from bridges and canal-side pavements.

Note that the King's official national engagement is separate from Amsterdam's own street party: the royal family has confirmed it will spend King's Day 2027 in Lelystad, Flevoland province, the first time the reigning royals will mark the occasion there, as part of the city's 60th-anniversary year. Lelystad's municipality said in July 2026 that more programme details would follow in September 2026; as of this writing no detailed itinerary for the royal visit itself has been published. This does not affect Amsterdam's own city-wide celebrations, which happen independently of the royal family's chosen host city each year.

Tickets. Most of King's Day in Amsterdam is free to attend: the vrijmarkt, where residents sell second-hand goods along streets and in parks, and the general street and canal-side atmosphere, cost nothing to join. Specific paid events layered onto the day - organised boat parties, open-air festival-format parties, and club nights - are ticketed separately by their own organisers and commonly sell out well in advance; the city itself does not charge for entry to the day.

Getting there. Amsterdam's city centre becomes very crowded and many streets close to car traffic, so public transport, cycling, or walking are the practical ways to get around on the day itself.

Amsterdam Centraal and the tram/metro network remain the main access points, though services can be adjusted for crowd control; check GVB (Amsterdam's transport operator) for King's Day service changes closer to the date. Travellers heading to the separate royal programme in Lelystad would use regional trains toward Lelystad Centrum, but as of this writing no specific transport plan for that visit has been published.

Tips. Wear orange if joining the crowds - it is the near-universal dress code, though not compulsory. Arrive early for a spot along the canals or a good stretch of the vrijmarkt, since the best-known routes fill up by mid-morning.

If planning to attend any ticketed boat party or club event, book well ahead, as popular ones routinely sell out. Because the royal family's 2027 host city is Lelystad rather than Amsterdam, anyone hoping to see the King and Queen in person that day should follow Lelystad's own announcements rather than expecting a royal appearance in Amsterdam.