From Spinoza to sex and summer: 13 great things to do in June

As football fans enjoy their fun this month, either from the cheapest seat (the sofa), a stadium or ICE headquarters, the rest of us will stay on the ball by taking in a bit of culture.

Sing along with Spinoza The Bostheater open-air theatre in Amsterdam is back with a great summer programme, including Spinoza, a musical about Baruch Spinoza, whose development into a fiercely independent thinker and philosopher alienated him from his siblings and the Jewish community but laid the groundwork for the Enlightenment. With English surtitles. June 2 to July 11. Website

Pick a performance at the Holland Festival A dizzying array of dance, theatre, performance art, film and music from all over the globe is on offer at venues across Amsterdam this month for the 79th edition of the Holland Festival. Find out what the IJ sounds like with Eco Tours or catch the modern interpretation of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. Take your pick from June 3 to June 28. Website

Mind the mozzies The Leiden International Film Festival is taking over the Pieterskerkplein for three nights of cinema under the stars. The programme had not been published by press time. June 11, 12 and 13. Website

Let’s talk about sex Happily Ever After Productions presents Spring Awakening, a coming-of-age rock musical about three teenagers living in 19th-century Germany who are kept in ignorance about sex with disastrous consequences. Based on the 1891 play Frühlings Erwachen by Frank Wedekind, its 2006 incarnation is still relevant almost 20 years later. June 12-14 and June 18-21, 2026 at Het Amsterdams Theaterhuis. Website

Say hello to old friends at the Rijks The Rijksmuseum is honouring illustrator of children’s stories Fiep Westendorp, to the delight of grandparents, parents and children alike. Fiep Westendorp gave post-war children’s illustrations a bit of a jolt, chiming with that other “subversive” Annie M.G. Schmidt, whose Jip en Janneke, Pim en Pom and Pluk van de Petteflet would not be the same without Westendorp’s drawings. June 19. Website

Come into my garden Now is your chance to sneak a peek at some of the hidden garden gems situated on the canals of Amsterdam. While outside tourists, cars and bikes jostle, the gardens are havens of calm, with lush old trees and walls shading crumbling foundations. The gardens, classic and modern, are on show on June 19, 20 and 21. Website

Celebrate Midsummer Night in Leiden Bottom’s up at the country’s oldest botanical garden in Leiden which is throwing a midsummer night party. Magic awaits as visitors wander among the trees and greenhouses to encounter music, theatre, art and a hobgoblin or two. June 21. Website

Follow the flag in Den Bosch The Design Museum in Den Bosch tells another timely story with Designing the Nation State which delves into the history of national (istic) symbols, such as flags, national costume and a national anthem. The exhibition “deep dives” into a wild variety of national identity markers and how these find their place in the national consciousness. Until September 20. Website

Meet Amrita Sher-Gil Twenty years after they were last seen in Europe, the Drents Museum in Assen has gathered together a series of paintings and drawings by Hungarian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941). Born in Budapest, Sher-Gil studied in Florence and Paris.

Despite her success in Europe, she was drawn to India, where she produced some of her most vivid and colourful work. The exhibition takes its title from her comment “Europe belongs to Picasso, Matisse, Braque, and many others. India belongs only to me.” Until September 20. Website ( I have asked for a pic)

Don’t pass on Pinkpop Pinkpop in Landgraaf has a packed programme this year, featuring The Cure, Twenty One Pilots, Foo Fighters, Natasha Bedingfield, Suzan & Freek to mention just a few. June 19, 20, 21 Website

Spot the animal The Dutch Art Nouveau movement takes centre stage in the exhibition Beauty of the Beast at the Drents Museum Buitenplaats in Eelde. Less exuberant than their foreign counterparts, Dutch designers such as Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof and Willem Coenraad Brouwer, had their playful side, illustrated by their incorporation of all types of animals in their ceramics and furniture. The artists were given free access to Artis Zoo to hone their skills. Until September 20. Website

Don’t miss Inspired by Fabritius’ The Goldfinch, birds of different artistic plumage flock together for just one week longer at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Birds is on until June 7. Website

You have another two weeks to see Water & Light, the Dordrechts Museum’s exhibition of never-before-exhibited paintings by Joseph Mallord William Turner. It includes Dort, or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat from Rotterdam Becalmed, painted after a visit to the little harbour town in 1817. Until June 14. Website