Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa

© Danielle Donders/Getty Image

It's tulip season. Canadian Tulip Festival

Ever spotted a field full of tulips and felt like you'd stepped into a painting? Well, you are not alone. Today, there are more than 3,000 registered varieties of tulips grown around the world. Originally found in the wild across Central Asia, tulips were cultivated by the Ottomans as early as the 10th century. These flowers made their way into Europe during the 16th century after being introduced through diplomatic and trade routes. By the 1630s, the Netherlands experienced tulip mania, one of the first recorded economic bubbles, where single bulbs could sell for more than a skilled worker's annual salary.

You wouldn't expect a wartime thank-you to spark a flower festival, but that's exactly what happened in Ottawa. In the late 1940s, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands sent 100,000 tulips to Canada as a gesture of gratitude for sheltering the Dutch royal family during WWII. That gift grew into a national celebration, and by 1953, Ottawa had launched the Canadian Tulip Festival. Since then, the city has embraced tulip season with floral displays, cultural exhibits and public events each May. But it's not just about flowers—the festival has a musical history too. In 1972, Liberace kicked things off with a concert. Alanis Morissette got her start here at just 12 years old in 1987, and The Trews caught their big break in 2003. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands even returned for the 50th anniversary in 2002. Today, the festival features over a million tulips, plus food markets, heritage installations and scenic walking routes along the Rideau Canal.