IN THIS BLOG: When and where to find the best blooms in Western Europe! Flowers highlighted: Daffodils, Hyacinth, Bear’s Garlic, Tulips, Bluebells, Cherry Blossoms, Magnolia, Wisteria, Rhododendrons, Poppies, Lavender. Countries highlighted: Belgium, the Netherlands and France.

If you’re here you want to know the hotspots to coordinate spring and summer travel with a lingering gaze upon a fully bloomed field of flowers. There’s a reason they say “stop and smell the roses,” and you know it well. It’s what we all need right now! So let’s cut to the chase. Here are the best places to find our fragrant friends in each month, starting with March:

MARCH

hyacinth

The fragrant hyacinth is not wild in the region, but you can view some of the best gardens at Keukenhof in western Holland!

Lisse, Netherlands: Keukenhof (Open March-May, tickets for entry)

APRIL

DAFFODILS (Narcissus)

Daffodils are among the first flowers to pop up in the spring and sometimes will even show up in late March depending on the year. Search for #or Click the links for google map locations:

Northern Belgium (Bruges, pictured): Benguinhofpark

Eastern Belgium (Hautes Fagnes): Rocherath / Holzwarche / Kelmis

Southern/Central Belgium (Wallonia): Caillou-qui-Bique / Wez-Velvain

Central Belgium (Brussles Region): Provincial Domain Huizingen / Groot-Bijgaarden (ticket entry, Floralia)

Note: Daffodil picking is strictly regulated in Wallonia/Lessines. A person is only allowed to gather two bunches (two handfuls) per day. Make sure you don’t damage the bulbs to allow the daffodil to bloom again next year!

Tulips

Did you know? The tulip is the grand duchess of all spring flowers. In full bloom from mid April to early May, tulip chasing is THE rage in the Netherlands, but that’s not the only place to hunt for our colorful, bulbous friends. Although the Netherlands are most well known for tulips, they actually originate in the Himalayas, and they came to Holland via Turkey in the 16th century. Today 8.5 billion bulbs are produced each year in the Netherlands (this includes other varieties like hyacinth, lily, and gladiolus) and about half of those are exported.

Lisse, Netherlands: Keukenhof (tickets to enter) Keukenhof, meaning “Kitchen Garden,” has been open for over 75 years. Each year almost 1 million visitors rush to the tulip gardens during the 8 weeks they are open. All the bulbs at Keukenhof are donated by local growers – that’s over 7 million bulbs – and they are dug up and destroyed after every single season. Imagine! It takes 3 months for 30+ growers to plant the gardens each season, always in a new design and theme. If you’re lucky enough to visit in the last 10 days it is open, you will also witness the world’s largest lily show! Hot tip: the gardens are busy almost all day long, and most people think arriving at opening will help you avoid crowds. On the contrary, having a late afternoon entry allows you to be in the park as visitors are leaving, so you’ll have the best chance of taking photos without large crowds – and bonus, at sunset! Keukenhof has plenty of restrooms and eateries so you can spend hours here. There is even a small farm and playground for kids!

Nordoostpolder, Netherlands: Tulip Route. This is my favorite way to tulip chase because you’re literally driving around viewing fields upon fields of tulips for FREE! You can also cycle around these colorful flatlands. Learn more here, open mid April to early May each year. If you arrive late, you’ll see all the heads of the tulips chopped off (see photo below) to preserve the nutrients in the bulbs!

Brussels, Belgium: Groot Bijgaarden Floralia. This is Belgium’s best floral display that changes throughout the spring from the beginning of April to early May. If you can’t make it to Keukenhof or Nordoostpolder, this will definitely quench your tulip thirst! Like Keukenhof, you have to pay for entry. There are light refreshments inside for purchase and bathrooms, but not many other amenities.

Meerdonk & Kronenhoek, Belgium: Along Molenhoekstraat you can find tulip fields very similar to those in the Netherlands because they are right along the border! Remember when visiting these private farmer’s fields, you may not trespass in them or pick the flowers. Head there from mid to late April for the best chance to see the blooms!

Loire Valley, France: Château de Cheverny. What a pleasant surprise to visit Cheverny near Easter to find the most lavish collection of decorations inside and out of the modern castle. The icing on the cake was walking the various gardens (maze, sculptures, orangerie, farmer’s garden, and more) including these tulip paths. To learn about our long weekend trip to the Loire Valley to visit NINE castles in four days, click here.

BEAR’S GARLIC (Wild GArlic)

Belgium (Flanders): Raspaillebos. This large leafed, delicate white flower with a garlicy scent can be found growing wildly in protected forests throughout Belgium. Raspaillebos is best known for wild garlic but it can also be seen at Hallerbos (below) alongside bluebells. We also spotted lots of wild garlic at the Wild World Safari Park in eastern Belgium (entrance fee).

Bluebells (Wild hyacinth)

Hallerbos, Belgium: Bluebell forest Parking 1. This incredible protected area boasts the most beautiful collection of bluebells I have ever seen – and smelled! Follow the blue/purple trails in map below, with the best area circled in red. Check online under hashtag Hallerbos to visit during peak season in mid April.

Notes: Hallerbos is dog friendly everywhere with a few port a potty’s available, and some picnic areas too. Bikes allowed on SOME trails but follow signs as not all allow bikes. Strollers are ok but some areas can get muddy so bigger wheels are better! I always park at P1 so I can walk past the wild garlic on the way to the best bluebell paths. Plan a couple of hours to wander here!

TREE Blossoms (CHERRY, APPLE, PEAR)

Often the tree blossoms will peak in early to mid April, but sometimes they start in mid to late March depending on the variety. I am a sucker for a good tree lined path or road!

Bonn, Germany: Heerstraße. Bonn is a great little town to visit in its own right, but it’s especially memorable in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom! Heerstraße, Kirschblüte and Altstadt are the most colorful streets in Bonn. Don’t forget to stop by the Haribo factory just outside of town while you’re there and arrive early in the day if you don’t want to be swarming with tourists.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Bloesempark. This large park outside of the city near the airport is chock full of white blossoms that you can wander and explore for hours. It’s a great place for a picnic! Amsterdam downtown at Museumplein near the Van Gogh museum has lovely rows of cherry blossoms as well.

Doorkijkkerk, Belgium: Borgloon. This hidden gem known as “Reading Between the Lines” is surrounded by apple trees that look like white confetti. (The photo below is just before the blooms really popped!)

Hasselt, Belgium: Japanese Tuin. This is one of the most beautiful spots in Belgium to see the cherry blossoms and get really good pictures. Purchase tickets here. We visited at the beginning of April and the trees were past peak. Check online to follow the peak season each year!

Mechelen, Belgium: Vrijbroekpark. Between Brussles and Antwerp lies this sprawling park with beautiful blossoms in April.

BONUS: Magnolia

Antwerp, Belgium: Rivierenhof park outside of Antwerp has a wonderful Magnoliaroute that you can walk or cycle to view magnolias in bloom in late March and early April.

Brussels, Belgium: There are two noteworthy streets with magnolias – Av. Michel-Ange and Av de la Dynastie. Of course there are more but the parks these streets are in are beautiful to visit, too!

MAY

Wisteria

Another fragrant Springtime favorite is wisteria. These are peppered all over Wallonia growing wild and most castles in France and Belgium have wisteria hanging somewhere on the property. The UK is also known for having the hearty vine and many of the plants have been around for decades!

Leuven, Belgium: Kruidtuin. The best wisteria gardens I ever saw were at the free Japanese garden in Leuven, Belgium – Kruidtuin! They’re absolutely magical and have vines that have been around since the 1700’s! I visited every year and they are not to be missed. For more info, click here. My favorite place to park near the gardens was at Parking Sint-Jacob.

Loire Valley, France: Château Chenonceau. The fancy affluent French royalty always wanted to have the most beautiful trees and gardens, so most chateaus in France have wisteria somewhere on the property (often on fences or building facades). Château Chenonceau has incredible wisteria that we saw in April and were a bit early to see peak in May. If you can visit the Loire Valley, May is the perfect time to go!

JUNE

Poppies

Ypres, Flanders Fields. The most iconic region to spot fields of poppies is in western Belgium near Ypres. The poppy is the symbol of The Great War (WWI) and memorializing those who lost their lives for peace. Wear a poppy on November 1st for remembrance day. The fields to spot poppies vary year to year but a quick search for “klaprozen” (poppies) in Instagram hashtags should turn up whatever is peak in the two to three weeks when they bloom.

Route 83, Hungary. I know this is supposed to be exclusively highlighting locations in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France, but Hungary has amazing fields of rapeseed, poppies, sunflowers and lavender, and they are widely used in their economy. Learn more about flower chasing and living in Hungary (and more) in my blog, here.

JULY

LAVENDER

Provence, France: Plateau de Valensole. There are many areas in Valensole to find lavender fields but just driving around the plateau is the best option. You can also search “lavender fields” and google will typically point out several in the area. It is safest to plan your trip between July 1-15 to view the most purple, fragrant lavender fields.

BONUS: Best Flower Gardens in France!

• Giverny Claud Monet’s Garden.
• Domaine Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival
• Palace of Versailles Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet
• Côte d’Azure, Provence Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild
• Chedigny Remarkable Roses