Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, The Netherlands

Having finally managed to find time for the very first post, let me start off with the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, The Netherlands.

The following is a link to the official home page for the world renowned Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, a short train ride from Schiphol Airport of about 20 minutes (to Leiden).
http://www.keukenhof.nl/

Alight at Leiden Station and turn right upon exit, there is a Conexxion office, selling all-in-one package which includes return bus fare and entrance ticket to Keukenhof Gardens at about €16 (back in 2005). Bus 54 departs for Keukenhof Gardens every 30 minutes and the journey took about half an hour. At time of posting, I understand that there are more alternatives such as direct bus from Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport as well. From Schipol, there is bus 58, which goes directly to Keukenhof Gardens at an interval of every 15 minutes.

I didn't take bus 58 then (wasn't even sure whether it started then anyway), because I bought a train ticket to Tilburg, where my convention reception was held later in the evening. I am allowed to alight as many times along the way as I wish, so long as the alighting stations are along the same route to my destination. You see.. it was a business trip, and I was going to claim the train ticket as part of my business expenses (and rightfully so!), so eventually I was probably paying a cheaper rate if I took the bus at Leiden, the nearest train station to Lisse. After that, I would be able to travel on from Leiden to Tilburg, without the hassle of going back to Schiphol since the package price included a return bus journey.

Although I would advise travelers from Amsterdam to take bus 58 from Schiphol, but Leiden Centraal Station is still an awesome structure worth a look out for..

The Conexxion office is situated at the left corner, outside this picture. Just make sure you turn right upon exiting the station, it's just a couple of minutes' walk, and the bus bay is just across Conexxion office. During flower season, you'd probably see a queue there, it's likely to be it ^.^

Keukenhof Gardens opens for slightly more than a month during Spring, usually during early April till mid May, and remains closed for the rest of the year. For people catching it during the fringe period, they are advised to check out the exact date from their official website. It has more than one entrance of course, but the Conexxion bus will always drop you at the main one. So drivers please note, if it may convenience your arrival.

The main entrance can be quite crowded at times, particularly the ticket booth, for drivers especially, so travelers are strongly encouraged to purchase all-in-one ticket from Leiden or Schiphol if possible!

Keukenhof Gardens cover a land of 32 hectares, with more than 4.5 millions tulips in 100 varieties. There are 15km of foot paths, with more than 7 millions bulb planted by hands.
But they are not limited to tulips though, there are cherry blossoms, roses, hyacinths, orchids, daffodils among many others. There is even a miniature zoo with pigs, lambs, cows and white peacock! At one corner of the garden, you can even climb up a mock-up windmill to appreciate the splendid colours of tulip fields within!

Keukenhof is a garden so big, that visitors hardly feel any proximity from fellow flower lovers, in fact, they would feel surrounded by flowers instead. Cycling is not allowed in the garden, so leisure walking is much of a necessity but fear not, there are ready cafes available around every corner for a brief rest if required. Keukenhof Gardens consists of the Hoofdingang Paviljoen, Oranje Nassau Paviljoen, Willem Alexander Paviljoen, and Beatrix Paviljoen. Each Paviljoen can easily be as large as 1000 square meters, each with their respective theme. So, it will only be wise to come as early in the morning as possible. Walking in the gardens is such a breeze, with full of hyacinth scent, and flying cherry pedals, you can't help asking yourself, is heaven any better?!

There are a lot more scenic pictures I could have uploaded, but I guess it's never enough, besides, google can easily turns up more beautiful pictures of this heaven on Earth, so I leave this post with a strong recommendation here, if there is one garden you must visit in your life, let it be Keukenhof!