River of Flowers, Keukenhof, Holland

Since Holland is known for being the world’s largest exporter of flowers, it’s really not that surprising to find out that this incredible country is also the home of the world’s largest flower garden, which is named Keukenhof and can be found near Lisse. This gorgeous, colorful corner of paradise was named as such because it used to provide kitchen herbs for the castle of Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut during the 15th century.

The grounds on which the garden sits today had quite a few proprietors over the centuries, including the Countess we mentioned earlier as well as a few wealthy merchants and barons. During the 19th century, the Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt assigned father-and-son architects David Zocher and Louis Paul Zocher to redesign the grounds surrounding Keukenhof Castle, while in 1949, the mayor of Lisse established the exquisite gardens officially.

Nowadays, a great deal of visitors come here to gaze upon the beauty of the flowers each year, admiring the incredible complexity and variety of flora and garden types. Highlights include the English landscape garden, a Japanese country garden and a Historical garden, and while some of you might expect to find never-ending fields of Tulips here, we’re going to tell you that the Keukenhof does not include such attractions. However, there are some tulip fields near the castle grounds, (mostly owned privately) which you could admire and photograph should you desire.

This site has been visited by many famous personalities over time, including Princesses Beatrix, Irene and Margriet (the daughters of Queen Juliana) as well as other distinguished members of the Dutch Royal Family. If you would like to see the gardens for yourself, you should know that they are scheduled to open their gates again in 2014 from March 20 to May 18. The grounds of Castle Keukenhof, however, are open all year long.