Visit Holland's gigantic spring gardens

Holland's spring gardens, Keukenhof, open every year to thousands of visitors who come to see the acres of blooming flowers.

Opening on March 23rd, and located in Lisse, between Amsterdam and The Hague, the park's opening is an annual event the Dutch take seriously.

One of the attractions of the gardens are their sheer size and variety of colourful flowers planted in the grounds – seven million tulips, narcissi, daffodils, hyacinths, among other varieties fill Keukenhof's 80 acres.

Due to special planting techniques, the bulb flowers are set to bloom at the same time - three times from March till May.

In 2007 the park is also celebrating the 400th anniversary of the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt's birth, with a Rembrandt-themed opening, a flower parade on April 17th, and other activities up until the season ends on May 20th.

For the 2007 season, the park will have seven new gardens, musical performances in its outdoor theatre and art exhibitions.

Regular features at the gardens include an indoor exhibition of lilies, the park's collection of bronze statues.

Opening times for the gardens in 2007 are yet to be announced, however opening times were 8:00 to 19:30 in 2006.

One of the best ways of seeing the flowers in the region is by taking a cycling tour.

The town of Noordwijk, located in the heart of Holland's bulb growing region, is the starting point for an organised tour in the spring departing from the Holland Rijnland tourist office.

The 25-kilometre tour takes in lots of bulb fields and the numerous sheds where they are peeled and dried, passing through Noordwijkerhout on the way to Keukenhof gardens.

For more information on the gardens see www.keukenhof.com, and for general information on Holland, including accommodation see www.holland.com/uk

The gardens can be accessed by train from many of the surroundings cities, including Amsterdam, The Hague and Leiden.

Travel options to The Netherlands from the UK include rail and sail, a train and ferry service departing from London Liverpool Street, which starts from £25 each way.

For more information see www.dutchflyer.co.uk

Flights to Amsterdam with Easyjet, leaving from London Stansted start from around £50 return.

For more information see www.easyjet.com