Fall in love with the Amsterdam canals in spring
5 March 2024
After the cold and dark winter months, brightened up by the Amsterdam Light Festival, spring brings life back to the Amsterdam canals. Almost all top things to do in Amsterdam in spring lists include taking a canal cruise and there is a good reason for that! Spring is the time of year to fall in love with the Amsterdam canals.
As the sun comes out from behind the clouds, people spend more and more time outdoors. The terraces along the canals will fill with people who are enjoying a drink while they people watch. As the trees along the canals grow their green leaves, more people will stroll under them or take a seat on the quayside with their feet dangling above the water.
In April, especially, you can feel spring all around you in Amsterdam. From the city squares, the its streets, bridges and canals all are decorated with hundreds of thousands of tulips for the annual Tulip Festival. And later in the month the tulips that have been planted in the ground will also come into bloom.
In summer, Amsterdam’s waterways can feel crowded but in spring you can enjoy that lovely sweet spot of a warm spring day and a quiet city. The best way to enjoy the canals and get a true sense of them is, of course, with an Amsterdam canal cruise.
Spring canal cruises
Throughout the season there are several canal tours to choose between. The Semi-Open Boat Cruise is perfect for a sunny day even in early spring. With unobstructed views of the city, the sun can also reach your face as you sail through the canals. Don’t forget your sunscreen with a good SPF factor cause even in spring the sun can burn.
Do you prefer to travel through the canals in a smaller group? Than we recommend you try Cruise like a local with its open boats, which departs near the Anne Frank House and near Central Station. Because this canal cruise makes use of smaller boats, you will also see those canals which cannot be reached with the big canal boats.
The colours of the setting sun on the canal houses make for gorgeous pictures. And in the evening you can marvel at the lights shining off the iconic gabled houses of the historic centre and the bridges lit up by thousands of lights, and simply let the evening ambiance sink into your bones. If you want to book a sunset or evening cruise, keep in mind that the sun sets in spring between 7 and 10 in the evening.
You can also choose for the unique experience of enjoying a delicious New York Pizza as you cruise through the canals, with the New York Pizza by LOVERS cruise. It is the perfect combination of eating out and seeing the historic canals from a different perspective. You can choose between six different types of pizza and the drinks are included as well!
Other Amsterdam in spring attractions
After you have enjoyed your canal cruise, there is much more to make you fall in love with Amsterdam in spring. Discover the city the way the locals do with a bike tour, you can visit the new born animals at the zoo. Wear something orange on King’s Day and join the street parties, or visit one of the many festivals the city hosts in spring time.
