The Royal FloraHolland auction in Aalsmeer is the largest flower auction in the world and one of the most extraordinary commercial operations you can visit anywhere. Every weekday morning from around 5am, tens of millions of cut flowers and plants pass through the auction halls on a continuous stream of rolling trolleys. The bidding is done by Dutch clock auction — the price starts high and falls until a buyer presses a button to claim the lot. The whole process takes seconds per lot, and thousands of transactions happen simultaneously.
Visitors can watch from a raised walkway overlooking the auction floor and the vast logistics operation below. The combination of scale, speed, and the sheer quantity of flowers — tulips, roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, orchids, filling the view in every direction — is genuinely impressive. Tours are available on weekday mornings (the auction is most active between 6 and 10am). Book in advance as visitor numbers are limited.