Ah springtime, the vibrant panacea to the bruising austerity of winter. Who can resist the sight of our favourite holiday spots dressed up with endless flowers, transformed into so many dreamy spring destinations?
From tulips in the gardens of Europe to the Cherry Blossoms of East Asia, the world is treated to the beautiful sights of colourful flora blooming all around. And hey, even if you’re not into flowers, it’s a great way to brighten up that Instagram feed.
We have rounded up 5 of our favourite dreamy spring destinations that will leave you in awe of the world’s floral spring beauty.
1. Hitachi Park, Japan
In the Ibaraki Prefecture lies the Hitachi Seaside Park, perhaps one of the most beautiful parks in all of Japan.
The park attracts a sizeable crowd all throughout the year, but spring is generally when it sees the greatest number of visitors. Late April and early May is a specifically popular period and that’s predominantly because it’s this period when the Baby Blue Eyes, Nemophila, bloom all across the park.
The blue, almost violet Nemophila easily number in the millions when they bloom, seemingly melding with the clear blue sky in the horizon. While Cherry Blossoms hog all the attention during spring, the blue Nemophila can truly be a magical sight as well, a nice change of pace if you visit Japan during spring.
2. Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, Holland
If you want a can’t-miss spring destination, try Keukenhof Tulip Gardens. Putting aside the fact that it is beautiful, the gardens actually only open during spring, so if you miss it this time round, you’d have to wait till 2021. For 2020, the gardens are open for a grand total of 51 days from March 21 to May 10.
The garden is considered the world’s largest flower park, with a mind-numbing, staggering 7 million flower bulbs planted every year. Spring is, of course, tulip season and there are over 800 different types of tulips blooming with various shades of colours, making this a truly dreamy spring destinations.
If you happen to be in Holland, don’t miss out on the Keukenhof Gardens.
3. Village of Castelluccio, Italy
Up in the Apennine Mountains of Italy rests the medieval village of Castelluccio. Beset by a series of devastating earthquakes in 2016, Castelluccio di Norcia is still recovering from the aftermath.
Thankfully, the colour and life of one of Italy’s most famed and celebrated plains, the Piano Grande, below the hill where Castelluccio is perched on, is coming back. The expansive plains filled with lentils and poppies turn the area into a beautiful carpet landscape with a medley of colours from red, blue, yellow, to purple.
Standing at the village’s lookout point, looking down at the plains below, you’ll find it hard not to be amazed at the beauty of nature.
4. Seryang-Je, South Korea
As dreamy spring destinations go, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Hidden in the southwest region of South Korea just outside the town of Gwangju is the elusive Seryang-Je lake.
Gaining attention after securing a spot on CNN’s “50 beautiful places to visit in South Korea”, Seryang-je is actually a man-made reservoir built in Hwasun in 1969. This rather hidden reservoir isn’t your typical tourist destination, but it has been a popular spot amongst photographers.
A gossamer fog typically sets just above the reservoir, giving the place an ethereal atmosphere. Spring is the best time to visit; that’s when the flowers bloom and the colours brilliantly reflect off the surface of the water, so plan your trip to Seryang-Je some time around late April!
5. Skagit Valley, USA
In Spring, the Keukenof Tulip Gardens becomes the hot place in Holland. Across the sea in America, Skagit Valley is drawing in their fair share of tulip lovers.
Come April, Skagit Valley turns into the host of the Tulip Festival, a celebration of some 350 acres of tulips, making it the largest tulip field in North America.
Due to crop rotations, the location of the tulip field changes year on year and interestingly, there isn’t a set date for the festival due to the changing weather affecting when the flowers bloom every year.
Regardless, the abundance of colourful rows of tulips have people from all over the world flocking to upstate Washington to admire these tulips up close.
