Where winter chill turns into warm admiration. A magical world where creativity knows no bounds and where every step brings a new discovery. This place exists. It is a place where artists from all over the world come together to brave the cold and create spectacular works of art out of ice. This is not just any place. This is the Ice Sculpture Festival.

Christmas Village is made up of adorable little wooden chalets on the edge of the famous square. Browse the Christmas market and find everything from Christmas gifts to warm food like waffles and poffertjes, fashion and lifestyle items and decorations for your house, from Christmas trees to wreaths.

Crafted by an expert team of sculptors and artists using over 500 tonnes of ice and snow, this year’s theme celebrates 750 years of Amsterdam. From the founding of the city in 1275 to the present day, each work of art tells a story, frozen in time, and invites visitors to discover and relive the stories of the city.

Welke vogels verblijven in de winter op het land en op het water van onze mooie vogelpolder Arkemheen?
De wintergasten uit Scandinavië, de Baltische staten en Rusland zijn ondertussen weer terug in ons land: watervogels als grote zaagbek, smient, nonnetje en brilduiker en ook andere vogels die we de rest van het jaar niet zien. Langs de waterkant spotten we misschien de goudplevier en de bonte strandloper. En misschien zien we op het weiland tussen de brandganzen, grauwe ganzen en kolganzen zelfs een roodhalsgans.

Kingsday is one of the biggest national festivals in the Netherlands. Formerly known as queensday and celebrated on April 30, kingsday is now celebrated on April 27, the birthday of Willem-Alexander, who ascended the throne in 2013. 

Late June is the time to visit the Netherlands for the Defqon.1 Weekend Festival in Biddinghuizen. Defqon.1 is an annual music festival for hardstyle music genres, such as hardcore techno, hard house and hard trance, which has been organized since 2003.