When making a decision to go to Haarlem, When to Go you will probably be influenced by what activities are happening there. You will find that the Netherlands and Haarlem, in particular, have a number of festivals that draw visitors from all over the world. No matter what time you visit you will always find travelers staying here, but it never appears to get over crowded. One other main aspect of Haarlem that may determine when you come here would be the weather. The city is fortunate to have favorable weather conditions in every season of the year.

Haarlem Culinary Festival

                                                                          
Haarlem is the home for many festivals, especially during the summer months. On the first weekend in August you can be a part of the Haaelem Culinary Festival. This fun event happens to be a favorite of the town. It is when the new restaurants have tents outside their establishments so you can enjoy free samples of their cuisine. Included is a unique boat rowing race and other exciting activities.

Haarlem Organ Festival

Another beloved celebration is the Haarlem Organ Festival. The festival runs for 2 weeks in the middle of July where you can witness the roaring and towering sounds of immense organs and other instruments.

Haarlem Salsa Dance Festival

In the month of October you can also take part in the sassy Haarlem Salsa Dance Festival. It is a fiesta that centers around music being played at clubs or on the streets where all are encouraged to boogie down. They have dance workshops set up around the town with a lot of food and fun meetings all over the town.  

Temperatures and Climate

You will find that the weather in Haarlem is quite reasonable right through the whole year. Rarely does the temperature go to extremes. The summers are cool and the for the winter months they are somewhat mild. From November to April will be the coolest months the lowest average temperature is 49 degrees F (4 degrees C) while the highest gets to 55 degrees F (13 degrees C). For the remainder of the year from May to October you will have the hottest temperatures and the average is around 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). The winds coming off the western coast tend to sometimes make it feel just a tad cooler than it really is.

Haarlem does have a maritime climate so it does rain somewhat. Rains tend to be dispersed in the course of any month, but more rain days are in the winter months, especially December. The period of the summer months is when the heaviest rain showers occur. In May you will find that any day can have a real quick and powerful rain shower. For the rest of the summer months the forecast is usually easy to predict.