Castlefest

Keukenhof (English: "Kitchen garden"; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkøːkə(n)ˌɦɔf]), also known as the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, situated in the municipality of Lisse, in the Netherlands. According to the official website, Keukenhof Park covers an area of 32 hectares (79 acres) and approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the gardens annually. Keukenhof is widely known for its tulips, and it also features numerous other flowers, including hyacinths, daffodils, lilies, roses, carnations and irises.Keukenhof is located in the province of South Holland, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam in the area called the "Dune and Bulb Region" (Duin- en Bollenstreek). It is accessible by bus from Haarlem and Leiden train stations as well as Schiphol. Though its grounds are open year-round for private affairs and festivals, Keukenhof is only open to the general public for a world-renowned 8 week tulip display from mid-March to mid-May, with peak viewing arriving near mid-April, depending on growing season weather, which varies annually. In 2019, 1.5 million people visited Keukenhof, equivalent to 26,000 visitors per day. By comparison, the Rijksmuseum receives an average of 8,000 visitors per day, the Efteling receives 14,000.

Lisse (Dutch: [ˈlɪsə] (listen)) is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of 16.05 km2 (6.20 sq mi) of which 0.36 km2 (0.14 sq mi) is water. Its population was 22,800 in 2019. Located within the municipal boundary is also the community De Engel.

Arnoud was a small township in the Dutch province of South Holland. The township was located between Hillegom and Lisse. It consisted of a single street (Arnoudstraat) and was developed as part of the creation of De Arnoud factory in 1904. Over time the factory expanded and the houses on Arnoudstraat had to be torn down. The area of Arnoud is now called Hillegom-Zuid and is an industrial area with no inhabitants.

Lisserbroek is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 10 km southwest of Hoofddorp. It is located along the Ringvaart opposite the town of Lisse in the area called the "Dune and Bulb Region" (Duin- en Bollenstreek). The village was first mentioned between 1280 and 1287 as "lisse inden broke", and means "swampy land near Lisse.

The Ringvaart (known in full as Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer Polder) is a canal in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The Ringvaart (Dutch meaning "ring canal") is a true circular canal surrounding the Haarlemmermeer polder and forms the boundary of the Haarlemmermeer municipality. Ringvaart is also the name of the dike bordering the canal. Construction of the canal began in 1839 as the first step to reclaim land from Haarlemmermeer (Dutch for Haarlem's Lake). Thousands of laborers dug a canal through the existing land, as much as possible closely following the lake's contour. But at three locations (Vijfhuizen, Lisserbroek, and Huigsloot), the Ringvaart was dug through peninsulas which thereafter became part of Haarlemmermeer. In 1845, the canal was completed and the lake could be drained, using the Ringvaart to drain the excess waters. The canal is 61 kilometres (38 mi) long, and 2.4 metres (8 ft) deep. It encloses an area of more than 180 square kilometres (70 sq mi). The removed earth was used to build a ring dike from 30 to 50 metres (30 to 54 yd) wide around the polder. The Ringvaart is used for commercial and recreational boat traffic. A portion of it forms part of the sailroute from Hollands Diep to the IJsselmeer, passable for ships with masts over 6 meters (20 ft) tall. Near Roelofarendsveen, the Ringvaart crosses the A4 Highway by means of a navigable aqueduct. It was built in 1961, making it the oldest aqueduct in the Netherlands. In 2006, construction was completed of two new portions: on the east side for crossing new north-bound lanes for the expanded highway; and on the west side for the new HSL-Zuid high-speed railway. The new aqueduct is 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) long.

Noordwijkerhout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌnoːrtʋɛikərˈɦʌut] (listen)) is a town and former municipality in the western part of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The town is currently part of the municipality of Noordwijk and lies in the bulb-growing region (the Duin- en Bollenstreek) of the Netherlands, which is famed for its tulips. The former municipality of Noordwijkerhout covered an area of 23.42 km2 (9.04 sq mi), of which 0.81 km2 (0.31 sq mi) was water, and had a population of in 2019. It also included the village of De Zilk, which together with the town of Noordwijkerhout became part of the municipality of Noordwijk on 1 January 2019.

The railway station of Hillegom in the Netherlands is located on the railway line between Haarlem and Leiden. The first railway station in the town was opened in 1891, closed in 1898 and torn down in 1900. A second railway station was opened on a different location in 1898, when the first was closed. It was designed by the architect D.A.N. Margadant. The freight tracks on the railway station were used to transport flowers from the nearby fields to i.a. the flower auction in Aalsmeer. During World War II, these tracks were used by the Germans, making it a prominent target for allied bombings. The passenger railway station was closed as a result of this on 17 September 1944. The freight tracks remained in use until the 1980s. The railway station was reopened on 28 May 2000, on the same location as the second railway station.

The Kennemer Zweefvlieg Club (KZC) is the only Dutch Gliding club situated in the urban periphery called Randstad. The club was established in 1945 and has the Langeveld as homefield. Langeveld is situated between the dunes of the Dutch west coast in between Zandvoort and Noordwijk. The club flies from March till November in the weekends and on Wednesdays. On Wednesday evenings the club is opened for passengers to experience gliding. The club has a former RAF MEL-winch with six cables.

Sassenheim (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsɑsə(n)ɦɛim] (listen)) is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covered an area of 6.62 km² (of which 0.23 km² water) and had a population of 14,906 in 2005. Since 1 January 2006, it is part of the Teylingen municipality. In 2020, the population reached 15,755. The name Sassenheim consists of two parts; the first (Sassen) means Saxons, and the second portion (heim) is Old Frankish for "home".

Beinsdorp (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɛinzdɔr(ə)p]) is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southwest of Hoofddorp along the Ringvaart, adjacent to Hillegom. Beinsdorp is named after a former island in the former Haarlemmer Lake.The village was first mentioned in 1851 as Beinsdorp, and means "Ben's village".

Hillegom (Dutch: [ˌɦɪləˈɣɔm] (listen)) is a town and municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Hillegom is part of an area called the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region"). As such, a large portion of the local economy was traditionally geared to the cultivation of bulb flowers. The name Hillegom is derived from the abbey named Hijlighem (Old Frankish for "Holy Home"). This abbey no longer exists. The current Lord of Hillegom is Jan Six X.

The Leidsevaart (also known as Leidse trekvaart, Dutch for "Leiden's Pull-Canal") is a canal between the cities of Haarlem and Leiden in the Netherlands. It was dug in 1657, making it one of the oldest canals in the Netherlands. It was the major means of transport between Leiden and Haarlem for almost two centuries until the rail connection was established in the 19th century. The original stops along the railway mirrored the toll bridges of the canal. The canal runs through or borders the municipalities of Haarlem, Heemstede, Bloemendaal, Hillegom, Noordwijkerhout, Lisse, Teylingen, Oegstgeest, and Leiden.