A guide to holidays and festivities in the Netherlands
30 September 2025
Events for internationals in Amsterdam this month
Updated 20 January 2026 at 10:36
Each month, the Amsterdam area plays host to an incredible range of things to do. Lots are accessible to non-Dutch speakers while still letting you get involved with your local community and explore aspects of Dutch culture. This time, don’t miss the Rijksmuseum’s major new spring exhibition Metamorphoses, showing how artists from Caravaggio to Louise Bourgeois were inspired by Ovid’s famous poem, a masterpiece of antiquity.
Erwin Olaf – Freedom
Image from Erwin Olaf
The Stedelijk presents the first museum retrospective of Erwin Olaf, one of the most prominent Dutch photographers and artists, since his unexpected death two years ago. Paying tribute to the versatility of Olaf’s work, the retrospective aims to illuminate his entire creative process by featuring iconic artworks alongside lesser-known work, including videos and sculptures, commercial photography and personal archive material.
Amsterdam in Motion
Curated by the Amsterdam Museum on occasion of the city’s 750th anniversary, this multimedia experience features a gigantic 200 m2 model of Amsterdam, where the city’s past, present and future come to life with projections, animations and a powerful sound system.
Conservatorium Concerts
Amsterdam’s Conservatory hosts free concerts and other events almost daily from piano recitals to woodwind workshops.
Pub Quiz
Test your general knowledge (and your competitive streak) at this pub quiz taking place regularly in Amsterdam Oost. Questions are kept at an achievable level and are in English, though Dutch is available on request. The maximum group size is 5, and you can find co-competitors in a dedicated WhatsApp group. The winners get €50 off their bar tab – as well as eternal fame and glory, of course.
Comedytrain International
The comedy club at Westergas hosts an impressive line-up of international stand-up this January and February: Jamali Maddix (25 January), Olga Koch (6 February), Paul Foot (13 February) and Sahib Singh (15 February).
Tea Festival
Image from Joshua Walter
This festival brings together tea lovers, artisans, artists and performers from all over the world to celebrate that most restorative of drinks and explore how tea is an essential part of cultures around the globe.
AIC’s Amsterdam’s Expat Board Games Sunday
Winter truly is a time for hunkering down with some board games – and if you can meet new people while you’re playing, even better. At the AIC’s board games Sunday, you can team up with fellow internationals, learn new games, explore fresh strategies and generally have a lot of fun.
Metamorphoses
‘All things change, but nothing dies.’ The Rijksmuseum’s highly anticipated spring exhibition is dedicated to the Roman poet Ovid’s two-thousand-year-old poem about shape-shifting gods, humans and animals. Its stories about passion, jealousy, desire, cunning and deceit have inspired artists for centuries, and the exhibition includes an impressive selection of works by Titian, Caravaggio, Correggio, Rodin, Brancusi, Magritte and Bourgeois, as well as contemporary photography and video art. It’s organised in partnership with Rome’s Galleria Borghese.
De Tuinen Van
Plant lovers and owners of green fingers, watch out: there’s a warehouse plant sale every first weekend of the month in Amsterdam. Get houseplants and garden plants of all sizes at significant discounts.
Valentine’s Dinner
The undoubtedly romantic – and semi-rural – venue het Rijk van de Keizer puts on a Valentine’s menu inspired by ingredients that have been used throughout the centuries, from antiquity to the present day, to celebrate love. A lovely alternative to squeezing into a cramped inner-city restaurant surrounded by other dutiful couples.
Lunar New Year
Celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Horse in Amsterdam. Most of the Lunar New Year celebrations take place in Amsterdam’s Chinatown – the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood, which is also home to the Buddhist temple Fo Guang Shan He Hua. There are usually also festivities on Dam Square. Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy New Year!)
Chocolate Festival
Image from Puccini
You thought the Tea Festival sounded good – well, wait until you hear about this one: two days filled with all things chocolate, with more than 100 stands from 35 countries, masterclasses, entertainment and, mmm, more than 40 tastings.
Impro Amsterdam
There’s few things as challenging and funny at the same time as improv, and this festival offers eight whole days of it, with workshops and lots of shows, but strictly no scripts.
See also:
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Whether you’re new to the Amsterdam Area or have been living here for years, our newsletter is designed to help internationals make the most of life in this vibrant region.
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