Corso Zundert 2015
Have you ever been to the worlds largest bloemencorso flower parade? Every first Sunday of September this bloemencorso flower parade is held in the little town of Zundert. Around 1,5 hours drive from Amsterdam. This year I visited this bloemencorso Zundert for the very first time and I was impressed, big time!
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Since I was a little girl I visited the bloemencorso Bollenstreek. My grandparents lived in the town of Noordwijk so every year we stayed there to see the bloemencorso, it probably started my love for flowers and especially tulips. I got used to how a bloemencorso looked liked and every year since I see the flower parade drive by from Noordwijk to Haarlem. But I wasn’t prepared for something different at the Bloemencorso Zundert!
Trip review
The Sunday morning started early and I drove for 1,5 hours to the very south of the Netherlands. Zundert is only a couple of km from the Belgian border. By car it is fairly easy to get to. If you want to visit train first to Breda and take the bus to town. After a quick visit to one of my friends who is actually living in Zundert, the birthplace of Vincent van Gogh, I parked my car and walked up to the town center. Every visitor need to park their car outside the town, the parade draws lots of visitors. Walking up to the town center I passed two empty tents where two of the parade floats were build.
At the main route to the town center you pass the ticket office for entering the town. I got my tickets earlier by mail and you can buy your tickets here as well. (You do need to reserve the grandstand seats in advance!) After I met the people from the bloemencorso organization it was time to photograph the floats from up close. I walked to the other side of town and the freindly atmosphere and the music got me by surprise. Every body was happy and waiting for the parade. People were chatting with each other and speculating which float would win today! And lots of music bands were playing in town people were listening and having fun.
With my invitation I could enter the parking place from the floats very easy and I was stunned! These floats were very large much larger than the floats I was used at the bloemencorso Bollenstreek, and they were moving and covered with hundred thousands of dahlia’s. Gorgeous! Walking around the floats I almost forgot to make photos I was amazed by them! 🙂
Around lunch time it was time for me to get back to the main square and find my spot to make photos. Around 2 p.m. the parade started with a salsa music band and the first floats appeared. After every two or three floats (which are pushed by people not driven by cars) another music band made their appearance. Just like the floats they can win the audience price so these are high quality and well performing bands. A lot of fun to watch them!
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After 1 – 1,5 hrs all the 19 floats and bands were shown and there was a short break to get some food and drinks while the floats drove around the 5 km parcours inside the town of Zundert. The second round the floats drive by from the other side of the street and only the winner may stop in front of the main stage. There are two kind of prices one from the professional jury and the audience.
Winner – jury
Winner – audience
Video of the highlights of the flower parade Zundert
The parade ended around 18.30 and people went on their way to have something to drink and eat or went back to their car / bus to drive home. A couple of travel organizations organise day trips to the Bloemencorso Zundert or it is incorporated to a multiple day trip to Antwerp/ Brugge and/or Brussels.
Some conclusions: I have never seen such a beautiful and gorgeous bloemencorso. Definitely visit next year.
Practical information
Even if you don’t reserve a grandstand seat you need to pay to enter the town. Make sure you order your tickets in advance so you don’t have to wait in line.
You can park your car outside Zundert. People will direct you to the nearest parking place. You can buy a ticket as soon as you drive up the parking.
Grandstand seats are a must! It takes a couple of hours before the corso is over and if you are planning to see it once in your lifetime make sure you will have a good view. The main grandstand is the one marked A on the map. If you can the seat from A will give you the best view. B, C, D and E are lower grandstands and are closer to the road (The floats are best viewed in total so don’t sit too close to the road) Next to A the upper half from G are perfect too. The floats will first drive from the left to the right side of this image. People on grandstands on the bottom side will first see the back of the floats and the second round the front side. The second time the floats from right to left. 
Make sure you reserve your grandstand tickets well in advance they sell out quickly and it is absolutely worth while to have a seat at the grand stand and see the floats drive by twice. You can buy your tickets at the site of Corso Zundert
I shot lots of photos on this day. Make sure you see them all at my photo album here.
Do you have any questions about Corso Zundert? Let me know in the comments below.
The parade of 2016 will be Sunday the 4th of September.
Tulips in Holland provides you information about the spring flowers and flower fields in the Netherlands.
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