April 30 is Queen’s Day in the Netherlands, the biggest holiday of the year. This year’s Queen’s Day was extra special: it’s the last one in this generation, as Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of her son Willem-Alexander, who was crowned King in Amsterdam yesterday.
Starting next year, Queen’s Day becomes King’s Day, and will move from the 30th to the 26th of April. Though the dates might change, the festivities never will. If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam on Queen’s—er, King’s Day, here’s how to celebrate it like a local.
1) Score a bargain.
Love pawing through strangers’ rubbish? You’ll love Queen’s Day. Amsterdam becomes one big flea market, with residents cleaning out attics and staking out places on the pavement days in advance. Find the biggest square or most central thoroughfare in your neighborhood—for us, it was Haarlemmerdijk, which was mobbed—and pack a shopping bag.
Most of the sellers are little kids, so be warned: they will use the cute factor to their advantage. But don’t be afraid to haggle! Even if you don’t score any deals, walking around and exploring the city-wide flea market is the best way to soak up the party atmosphere.
2) Sell something.
Not in a shopping mood? Sit yourself down on the sidewalk and make a few Euros. From homemade sweets to last winter’s boots, Queen’s Day gives everyone the license to sell (almost) anything and everything…
… even nothing. We passed this guy shouting “One Euro! One Euro!” and waving his sign.
We asked: “What is one Euro?”
“Nothing!” he replied, laughing. He attempted to collect when I took this photo of him, but I ran away. Hey, the sign didn’t say Photo for 1 Euro.
3) Wear orange.
Orange is the national color, after the ruling house of Oranje-Nassau. The challenge of Queen’s Day is wear as much orange clothing as possible, in as ridiculous a combination as your wardrobe allows.
It’s not the time to be fashionable or tasteful. Though Tala and I attempted our orangest outfits, the tameness of our getups was a clear indication of our foreignness. We had nothing on the Amsterdammers.
If you have a tiger suit stuffed in the back of your closet, Queen’s Day is the perfect time to dust it off.
If you can combine orange with some kind of royalty-inspired gear, even better. On Queen’s Day, everyone—even your pet—gets to be king or queen for a day.
4) Party on a boat.
I think I will feel really, really local when I finally get invited to a boat on Queen’s Day.
Amsterdam’s famous canals are clogged with boats, bringing them almost to a crawl. This enables the boating population to feel very cool and make “oh yeah, oh yeah” faces at the poor sods stuck on land. Blasting bad music right at them is the equivalent of rubbing salt on the wound.
I can’t wait to do this someday. I’m practicing my “oh yeah, oh yeah” face as I type.
5) Party on the streets.
Boatless? Friendless? Take it to the streets. Queen’s Day is when the party takes over the entire city, and chances are you’ll be pounding pavement with a few hundred thousand landlubbers just like you.
Oh, and if you’re doing this with a baby, as we did, using a wrap or carrier is the way to go.
Tala experienced her first Queen’s Day from the comfort and safety of our trusty sling. She may have slept through all the fun, but she was a big hit.
It sounds sadder than it actually is, but our first Queen’s Day as a family was also our last.
Bring on King’s Day!
