Queens Day – “Orange madness”

**If you fancy giving Holland a spin and haven’t got any particular dates in mind then you should think seriously about coordinating it with Queen’s Day, by far the biggest party the country sees every year.**

The Race takes place close to Easter each year and is a celebration of Queens Beatrix’s birthday, although her real birthday is in January she kept this date as it was her mother’s and the weather is much more agreeable in the spring. Amsterdam, although it’s a countrywide event, has the biggest and most flamboyant celebration and the party people from the capital make sure it’s a day to remember, or in many cases one you can’t remember very much about at all. The best thing plan of action takes a rucksack to carry your refreshment and then wander up and down the canals that are heavily lined with party goers who seem only too happy to drink with and hug complete strangers.

In Amsterdam there’s an outdoor concert for nearly 1 million people as the main focus of the celebrations but it generally involves wandering the streets dressed in orange, with orange dyed hair in what has been termed ‘orange madness’, drinking as much as you possibly can.

If you’re planning on visiting, and it comes highly recommended, then make sure you’re not travelling to or from the Capital on the day, as transport is severely disrupted to cope with the millions of people on the streets. Instead get there the night before on what is known as Queen’s night and start the party early. On the evening before people hit their local squares, town centres and streets and party through the night all the way into Queens Day proper.