Valkhof Festival: information in English

Probably the best free festival in the world for music lovers and those who seek to discover tomorrow’s most exciting artists, Valkhof Festival offers a full week of live acts on seven stages in the lush and green surroundings of The Netherlands’ most historically significant urban park!

The week of 13th-19th July also marks the Vierdaagsefeesten, of which Valkhof Festival is a part. It’s the highlight of the year for the city of Nijmegen and by visiting Valkhof Festival, you’ll be part of the largest festival in The Netherlands and one of the biggest parties in the world altogether.

Below, you will find answers to practical questions. If you still have a question after scanning through this page, please contact us via info@valkhoffestival.nl

Check out the full program here!

What is Valkhof Festival?

A FREE 7 day festival for new, exciting music on 7 stages. Througout 150+ acts, almost every genre is covered, so there’s something to discover for every taste. In recent editions, bands and artists like Black Country, New Road, Black Midi, ascendant vierge, Bo Ningen, Mario Batkovic and Chelsea Wolfe played at our festival. You can expect the same quality every time, even if you don’t know a lot of the names in our line-up yet!

What is Vierdaagsefeesten?

Originally a festivity built around the biggest walking event in the world (the Vierdaagse – meaning four days of walking), Vierdaagsefeesten has grown to become one of the world’s largest folk fests, with over 1 million people attending each year. Valkhof Festival is one of many events taking place throughout the city centre of Nijmegen. You’ll find more information here.

Nijmegen - best youth destination of 2022

Nijmegen was selected best European youth destination for 2022. Check out this link for more info on visiting Nijmegen, as well as the highlights in and around the city.

How do I get there?

Use public transport or come by bike. Valkhofpark is a 20 minute walk from Nijmegen central station. If you come by car, park outside the city centre.

Where to stay?

A lot of hotels are booked and Nijmegen is a relatively small city, so there’s never enough space to accomodate every visitor of Valkhof Festival, nor is there a city camping (at least not this year). There are however many options in the area/region if you hire a bike or use local public transport. Moreover, we encourage every visitor who comes to see several days of live music, to help each other out via this Facebook Group where people can offer a couch, exchange information on possible places to stay and discuss other practicalities.

If you’re visiting the Netherlands and want to go back and forth from another city, this is usually quite feasible by train as Valkhof Festival usually ends before the last trains to major cities leave (see above).

What (not) to bring

Please don’t bring food and drinks with you. In fact, you should for your own sake! Not only is buying drinks and food at the Valkhof Festival ground good for our existence in the future, it’s a great opportunity for you to try the world-renowned ‘Kaasgehakt’ and a Beer Menu you’ll rarely find at any other festival.

DO bring earplugs, a sweater for chilly nights, a pair of good shoes and everything else you usually need for a good festival experience, but leave your pets at home.

How do I know what's on?

Check out this app! Once installed on your phone, just filter Valkhof Festival and you’ll see our schedule.

Rather plan the old school way? Check out this page, as well as on our signage at the festival ground! On the line-up page you can see what’s playing on which day, including set times and stages.

Cashless

Valkhof Festival is cashless! You can pay with your card.