Floriade

The event's website lists a lot of places to stay in the Venlo area: http://www.floriade.com/ Or you might want to stay in a larger town, like Eindhoven, and do a day trip. I went to the last one in 2002 & it was well worth the trip.

We liked the Floriade 2012 fine, but it's not "better" than a really major garden like Longwood Gardens (PA, USA). You're on the " wrong" side of the netherlands, so i'd suggest considering a tour-company day trip from Amsterdam (which I've seen ads for), or maybe you can find another city that you really want to stay in - like Delft or Utrecht that might have bus trips.There's no good reason to stay in Arnhem (which we did) or Nijmegen. On the other hand, Cologne and Dusseldorf are nearby and are major attraction cities. Just my 2 cents.

Being a major gardener, a member of a zillion plant societies and gardening groups, and on two oversight committees for a botanical garden, I was really looking forward to Floriade, since it only happens once a decade. While I am glad I went, it was not nearly as wonderful as I had anticipated. One day is plenty of time to see it all. It was interesting, but it just wound up not being the major highlight of my trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. To be fair, we were there early (the first week it opened), so some of the plantings were sparse (and I could tell what some beds of little seedlings were, and they will be nicer once they grow and begin flowering.) But, some displays (especially several of those from visiting countries were still somewhat still under construction). There is one large building that was truly spectacular with various floral and plant displays. There was definitely an emphasis on environmental/ecological themes, but not really anything we found as ground-breaking, new info. We saw several school groups, and educational programs for kids seemed to be high quality, hands-on experiences. Kuekenhof was a major highlight and far exceeded my expectations, so if it still open when you plan to travel, don't miss it. Take in Floriade, but with appropriate expectations. If you haven't checked out their web site, there is a lot of info there, too. Maybe I was just expecting way too much. Agree with the other poster, that a day-trip from Amsterdam would probably be best, especially if you find something that would include transportation. Also, don't miss the Aalsmeer Flower Action close to Amsterdam....get there right when they open on business days. An impressive operation!!

We went to Keukenhof today, so now I can say that I agree 100% with Margaret's well-expressed thoughts. I think Floriade may look better in June when the perennials and topiaries have grown in better. (The bulb displays are in good shape and well done, but they are not as masterfully done as at Keukenhof.) Floriade has a whif of "World's Fair" that is not helpful to the planting Gesamkunswerk. But many of the international pavillions have helicopter videos of landscapes, and knicknack shops, instead of elaborate plantings. Exceptions: Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia had good plant displays. Turkey had good crafts and a perceptible local pride that came across. Villa Flora was the big pavillion with orchids and more. But it also had the visual feel of the wedding-designer displays of the Philadelphia flower shows. I don't mean that as ungraciously as it sounds, I'm just trying to describe it. I also give the edge to Keukenhof, but someone else could, fairly, give the opposite evaluation. My point is, if you have to select one or the other. And because this was Queen's Day week, Keukenhof was (Wednesday!) almost unpleasantly crowded.

I'm going to agree with the last couple of posts. We liked the Floriade, and I'm glad we went, but it felt very like Epcot in many ways. And the comment about it looking better in June was exactly how we described it to our host in Amsterdam. (We also were there the first week.) Loved the Tropical Treasures building in the Education/Innovention section.