10 spectacular flower festivals to visit this spring

Sophie Butler
Updated
More than 30 themed gardens are on show at the International Garden Festival at the Château de Chaumont - This content is subject to copyright.
More than 30 themed gardens are on show at the International Garden Festival at the Château de Chaumont - This content is subject to copyright.

Spring into action with our guide to Europe's best blooms, featuring flower festivals in France, Spain, Belgium, Holland and the UK. 

1. Go Dutch 

More than seven million swaying tulips planted over a 32-hectare area at the Keukenhof gardens create a dazzling spectacle. Visitors can still see up to 800 varieties – but this is your last chance: the site closes on May 13. There’s fun for families, too, with treasure hunts, a petting farm, maze and playground, plus a Tulip Mania exhibition at the Juliana Pavilion.

Entry from €17 (£15) adult, €8 (£7) child aged 4-17 (keukenhof.nl). Eurostar (eurostar.com) has a new direct service to Amsterdam (3hr 41 mins). Transfer to Schiphol airport for Keukenhof Express Buses (combined travel and entry tickets are available).

The Keukenhof gardens create a dazzling spectacle - Credit: Getty
The Keukenhof gardens create a dazzling spectacle Credit: Getty

2. Provençal flower power

You still have time for a last-minute booking at the International Rose Festival in Grasse (May 10-13). This year, the small hilltop town, dubbed the perfume capital of the world, celebrates its favourite bloom with a “flower power” theme adding a dash of hippie chic to the 8,500 roses that deck the medieval streets and squares. Daily events include special exhibitions, dance performances and family activities. 

Entry from €5 (grasse.fr). Flights to Nice with easyJet (easyjet.com) and Ryanair (ryanair.com). Regular public bus service or hire a car to Grasse (26 miles/42km).

Grasse is the perfume capital of the world - Credit: Getty
Grasse is the perfume capital of the world Credit: Getty

3. Colourful Catalonia

Springtime flowers blanket the Catalan city of Girona during the nine-day Temps de Flors Festival (May 12-20). Displayed mainly in the city’s walled old quarter, the floral fancies range from simple posies made by children to sensational professional displays. A festival highlight is the profusion of brightly coloured blooms, which swathe the cathedral steps.

An eight-day Costa Brava Gardens and Girona Flower Festival tour with Travel Galloway (01449 766323; travel-galloway.com) starts at £1,045 B&B per person including flights, transfers and coach travel. Departs May 14.

The 20 most magical places to see spring flowers

4. The Chelsea Flower Show

Arguably the world’s most prestigious horticultural event, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (May 22-26) is always guaranteed to draw big crowds whatever the weather. The 10 show gardens take centre stage, but the artisan gardens and flower-laden stands in the Great Pavilion are also unmissable. New for 2018 is “The Chelsea Late” with jazz and cocktails on Friday night.

Entry tickets from £45 non-members, £39 members; opt for all-day or from 3.30pm or 5.30pm (rhs.org.uk). Some slots are sold out; check the website for returns.

The Chelsea Flower Show - Credit: Paul Grover/Paul Grover for the Telegraph
The Chelsea Flower Show is the world's most prestigious horticultural event Credit: Paul Grover/Paul Grover for the Telegraph

5. Chantilly floral parkland

Chantilly’s elegant French parkland and English-style gardens, plus the majestic chateau, create a stunning backdrop for the town’s bi-annual three-day “Les Journées des Plantes” Flower Shows (May 18-20 and October 19-21). This year, exhibitors will be showcasing their personal favourites in the world of plant and flower varieties, whether a newly discovered treasure or an old obsession.

Entry from €17 (domainedechantilly.com). Travel by Eurostar to Paris (two hours, eurostar.com) and SNCF from Gare du Nord to Chantilly-Gouvieux, 30 miles north of Paris (25 minutes, voyages-sncf.com).

Chantilly's Les Journées des Plantes flower shows create a stunning backdrop for the town - Credit: Getty
Chantilly's Les Journées des Plantes flower shows create a stunning backdrop for the town Credit: Getty

6. Flower school at Tatton Park 

This is the 20th year of the RHS Flower Show in Cheshire’s Tatton Park near Knutsford (July 18-22), comprising a festive five-day celebration of all things floral. New exhibits include a poisonous garden, featuring carnivorous and toxic plants, and an interactive flower school for inspiration and expert tips.

A six-day Gardens of Cheshire and Shropshire tour with Martin Randall Travel (020 8742 3355; martinrandall.com) starts at £1,970 per person, including coach travel, most meals, expert lecturer and entry to RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. Departs July 16.

A floral photoshoot display at Cheshire's Tatton Park - Credit: Getty
Cheshire's Tatton Park features an interactive flower school for inspiration and expert tips Credit: Getty

7. French fleurs in the Loire

More than 30 themed gardens are on show at the International Garden Festival at the Château de Chaumont in the Loire, with stalls and demonstrations running throughout the summer months (until November 4). This year’s “gardens of thought” theme adds a contemplative dimension to the 27th festival with a Japanese meditation garden and a contemporary cloister among the exhibits. 

An eight-day Discover the World-famous Gardens of France itinerary with Great Rail Journeys (01904 521939; greatrail.com) starts at £1,515 per person including rail travel, some meals and four-star hotel accommodation. Departs June 11 and September 3.

8.  A begonia carpet in Brussels

Every two years, flower-growers from Ghent create an impressively vast flower display which carpets the entire Grand Place square of the Belgian capital with around 600,000 begonia plants. It remains in situ over a four-day period (this year from August 16-19).

A three-day Brussels Flower Carpet, Bruges and Ghent tour with Newmarket Holidays (0330 160 7700; newmarketholidays.co.uk) starts at £195 B&B per person including coach travel and VIP entry to Brussels Town Hall’s Grand Place balcony viewing area for the Carpet of Flowers. Departs on August 17.

Like Cornwall crossed with the Dolomites – is this Europe's most underrated destination?

9. Horticultural Hampton

Great garden designers and growers are feted at another RHS show – this time at Hampton Court Palace (July 2-8). A new interactive exhibit focuses on the evolution of plants from organisms to the cornucopia of flora and fauna that grows in gardens today. 

There’s also a chance to wallow in the pungent perfumes of the show’s Festival of Roses. 

Pre-booked tickets from £22 for non-members, £19.50 for members (rhs.org.uk). Nearest rail station is Hampton Court. 

An aerial view of Hampton Court Place along the Thames and surrounding countryside - Credit: RHS
An aerial view of Hampton Court Place along the Thames and surrounding countryside Credit: RHS

10. Chatsworth extravaganza

Hosted on in its 1,000-acre estate near Bakewell in Derbyshire, the Chatsworth Flower Show (June 6-10) includes among its highlights an orchid extravaganza in the Great Conservatory. A field of 12,000 cosmos flowers has been specially planted for the show and families are invited to enter a living laboratory to find out how plants and technology help with modern urban issues including pollution and flooding.

Pre-booked tickets from £22.50 non-members, £18.50 RHS members (rhs.org.uk). Nearest rail station is Chesterfield; free shuttle buses run every 20 minutes to Chatsworth.