One of the best seats for the floral fireworks is from the deck of a barge
Display gardens at the last Floriade in 2002 (a once a decade event). This year's floral extravaganza opens April 5 and is being held in Venlo, near the Belgian border.
Make like a local: Take a bike excursion to drink in fields of flowers.
Walk among the floriculture at Keukenhof garden in Lisse where more than seven million tulip bulbs bloom each year.
A riot of spring colour erupts in the 32-hectare Keukenhof garden.
Take Panache, a European Waterways barge, to explore Floriade 2012.
Teddy lives on the Nooit Volmaakt, a resorted Dutch barge.
Barge tours travel through the canals of Nemours, France.