The busiest tourist time in Amsterdam, which is why so many locals go away. Hotels and flights tend to get booked up very early. Avoid if you hate the crowds. Everything is open pretty much as normal apart from on Easter Monday, when most shops are shut. The Dutch have a nice line in Easter-related decorations - swirling nests made from white feathers and eggs covered in pussy-willow catkins. Easter fruit loaf stuffed with almond paste and lambs molded out of butter are traditional food.