It’s that time of year again, carnival in the Netherlands! Time to get dressed up in colourful costumes and enjoy those carnival parades in various cities across the Netherlands. It starts on Sunday, February 7 and lasts until Tuesday, February 9.

Dress for wind and rain

The Dutch weather service predicts a rainy carnival this year. It won’t rain the entire time, but the showers will come and go.

The powerful depression that’s the cause of the rain will bring with it strong winds as well, which isn’t ideal for the carnival parades.

Daytime temperatures will be around 10 degrees and at night it can cool down to about 5 degrees. So underneath those colourful costumes you should add an extra layer or two to stay warm.

Dutch Carnival at its best

If you’re looking for a true Dutch carnival experience, you can read our guide to the popular Maastricht Carnival.

There are festivities all over the city and of course the famous grand parade where thousands of people line the streets to watch the huge and colourful carnival floats make their way through Maastricht.

Another popular city for enjoying Dutch carnival is Enschede, where you will find dancers, music and a child-friendly parade. Check out the details here.

A Dutch tradition from the 14th century

Carnival is ingrained in Dutch culture and has a very rich history and tradition of its own. Dutch carnival traces its origins to the late 14th and early 15th centuries, when the first carnivals were held in Den Bosch.

Since Dutch carnival has been around for hundreds of years, the festive tradition even developed its own vocabulary. The words evolved from the local dialects in the southern part of the Netherlands.

To fully immerse yourself in this charming Dutch tradition, it is definitely worth reading our Carnival Dictionary!