What to Wear in Amsterdam in February
Amsterdam in February: 7°C / 45°F afternoons, 1°C / 34°F nights, rain on about 14 days, and the February Strike commemoration at the Dokwerker on Thursday 25 February.
- Navy wool coat to the knee — you stand from 4:45pm until about 6pm, and in 2026 the only seats were for people unsteady on their feet
- Cream fine-knit cardigan — buttoned under the coat on the square, open on a heated tram
- Charcoal straight-leg wool trousers — wool stays warm through a wet ride on about 14 rainy days, and a straight leg clears the chain
- Black leather side-zip boots on a ridged rubber sole — the city grits main roads and the main cycle paths, not pavements or footpaths
- Long bottle-green wool scarf, wound twice — NOAA's Schiphol record averages about 20 km/h of wind
- Navy lined leather gloves — thin enough to hold a few flowers for an hour
- Dressing for the 7°C / 45°F afternoon — on the 25th you stand outdoors until about 6pm, and the sun sets at 6:11pm
- Riding back without bike lights — I amsterdam says front and back lights are required by law after dark
- Smooth soles — pavements and footpaths are left ungritted, and a smooth sole slides on them in a frost
- Suede — rain falls on about 14 days, and wet suede stains
Dress to stand still. NOAA's 30-year Schiphol record, from a station KNMI operates, puts February at 6.9°C by day and 1.0°C / 34°F at night, with rain on about 14 days and an average wind of about 20 km/h. That wind matters most once you stop moving. On Thursday 25 February Amsterdam commemorates the February Strike of 1941 at the Dokwerker from 4:45pm, and I amsterdam lists "wreath laying and speeches", with 6pm as an indicative end. The sun sets at 6:11pm. In 2026 the organising committee asked people to bring a few suitable flowers. Pack a long dark coat, a warm layer next to the skin, and gloves that can hold a stem.
On 25 February people gather at the Dokwerker and stand for an hour and a quarter as the light goes. Dress so that standing still is the easy part.
The capsule
01Navy wool coat, single-breasted, knee lengthYou stand for about an hour and a quarter on the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein, and in 2026 the only seats were in a tent for people unsteady on their feet. A coat that reaches the knee keeps the backs of your legs warm while you stand. Single-breasted wool buttons up to the collar for the ride home, and navy hides the road spray from a wet bike lane.
02Cream fine-knit cardigan, crew neck, tan buttonsA fine knit adds warmth without bulk at the collar, so the coat still buttons over it on the square. Open it on a heated tram or in a café on a 7°C / 45°F afternoon. Five buttons let you shed heat in stages through a day of going in and out, and cream lifts the navy and charcoal around it.
03Cream cotton-wool long-sleeve base layerFrost comes on about 11 nights in February on NOAA's Schiphol record, and on the 25th you ride home after a 6:11pm sunset. A close-fitting cotton-wool base under the cardigan holds your warmth through an hour of standing still, when a coat on its own starts to feel thin. Long sleeves tuck into the gloves' cuffs.
04Charcoal straight-leg wool trousers, ankle lengthRain falls on about 14 days in February, and wool stays warm when a shower soaks your knees on the bike, which cotton chinos do not. A straight leg cut to the ankle clears the chain and sits over the boot without bunching. Charcoal takes a splash from a puddle and still goes on to dinner.
05Black leather side-zip ankle boots, ridged rubber soleAmsterdam's gritting manager, Ronald Kram, told AT5 in 2023: "Wij strooien alle hoofdwegen van auto, tram en bus. En alle hoofdnet fietspaden", all main roads for cars, trams and buses, and the main cycle paths. Pavements, footpaths and smaller streets are left as they are, so wear a ridged rubber sole for the walk in. Smooth black leather wipes clean of the salt.
06Long bottle-green lambswool scarf, short fringeThe Jonas Daniël Meijerplein is an open square, and NOAA's daily record for Schiphol averages about 20 km/h of wind in February. A long scarf wound twice closes the gap between collar and chin, which is the gap you notice first when you stop walking. Bottle green is the one colour in a navy, charcoal and cream capsule, and dark enough to stay quiet.
07Navy leather gloves, wool-lined, press-stud cuffIn 2026 the organising committee laid a wreath of willow branches and seasonal flowers and asked everyone else to bring "enkele passende bloemen", a few suitable flowers. Thin lined leather lets you hold the stems for an hour without taking the gloves off. Leather also grips wet handlebars on the ride home, which knitted gloves do not, and navy matches the coat.
08Small black leather zip-top crossbodyWorn across the body, it leaves both hands free for flowers and handlebars. I amsterdam reminds cyclists that "It’s required by law to use front and back lights on your bicycle after dark", and on the 25th the ride home starts after sunset, so keep a pair of clip-on lights inside the zip. Small and flat, it sits under an open coat.
Day to night
Thursday 25 February: cream base layer · cream cardigan · charcoal wool trousers · black side-zip boots · navy coat open · black crossbody. A day by tram and bike at about 7°C / 45°F after a 7:36am sunrise, with the scarf and gloves in a coat pocket.
From 4:45pm: coat buttoned · bottle-green scarf wound twice · navy gloves on. The commemoration at the Dokwerker on the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein, with wreath laying and speeches until about 6pm, and sunset at 6:11pm. Lights on for the ride back into a night that falls toward 1°C / 34°F.
A suggested look — navy wool coat, cream fine-knit cardigan, charcoal straight-leg wool trousers, black leather side-zip ankle boots, bottle green wool scarf.
What to avoid
- Dressing for the 7°C / 45°F afternoon. You stand outdoors until about 6pm on the 25th
- Riding back without bike lights. They are required by law after dark
- Smooth soles. Pavements and footpaths are left ungritted
- Suede. Rain falls on about 14 days
- Packing skates. KNMI's normal De Bilt February has two ice days
Frequently asked questions
Cold, damp and windy, with the days lengthening fast. NOAA NCEI's 30-year record for Schiphol, a station KNMI operates, gives an average February high of 6.9°C and a low of 1.0°C / 34°F, so afternoons reach about 7°C / 45°F. About 55mm of rain falls on roughly 14 days, around 7 of them with 2.5mm or more, and frost comes on about 11 nights; on one or two days the temperature stays below freezing all day. NOAA's daily record averages about 20 km/h of wind, and KNMI's own Schiphol figures give about 94 hours of sunshine. Sunrise moves from 8:22am on 1 February to 7:29am on the 28th, sunset from 5:26pm to 6:17pm, and daylight grows from 9h 04m to 10h 48m.
A knee-length navy wool coat, a cream fine-knit cardigan, a cream long-sleeve base layer, charcoal straight-leg wool trousers, black leather side-zip boots on a ridged rubber sole, a long bottle-green wool scarf, navy lined leather gloves and a small black crossbody with room for bike lights. That covers 7°C / 45°F afternoons, nights that fall to 1°C / 34°F, rain on about 14 days, and an hour and a quarter standing outdoors at the Dokwerker on 25 February. Leave suede at home, and pack clip-on lights if you rent a bike.
Warm, plain layers you can stand in for an hour and a quarter. The Herdenking Februaristaking is held every year on 25 February at 4:45pm at the Dokwerker on the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein; in 2027 that is a Thursday, and I amsterdam lists 4:45pm to 6pm, the end time an indication. It marks the strike of 25 and 26 February 1941, which I amsterdam calls "the only massive, open protest against the persecution of Jews in Europe". The Eerste Kamer gives the history: round-ups on 22 and 23 February, in which hundreds of Jewish men were arrested, set it off; it began with the trams stopping in the city and spread to the Zaanstreek, Haarlem, Velsen, Weesp, Hilversum and Utrecht; the German occupiers broke it up by force, and nine people were killed. The programme is wreath laying and speeches. In 2026 the committee, which organises it with the City of Amsterdam, asked people to lay a few suitable flowers and set up a seated tent for people unsteady on their feet; everyone else stands. The first commemoration, in 1946, was held opposite the Mozes en Aäronkerk on the Waterlooplein, where Mayor Feike de Boer announced that Queen Wilhelmina had given Amsterdam the motto "Heldhaftig, vastberaden, barmhartig", heroic, steadfast, compassionate, now part of the city's coat of arms. The Dokwerker was unveiled on the square on 19 December 1952.
Late February if the commemoration is why you come; early February for Lunar New Year. On Saturday 6 February 2027 I amsterdam lists Chinese New Year from 3:30pm to 10:45pm, and writes that "most activities during Chinese New Year take place on Nieuwmarkt and Zeedijk in Amsterdam, but there are usually also festivities on Dam Square"; 2027 is the Year of the Goat. The Fo Guang Shan He Hua temple in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood holds its own celebration, and asks visitors to take off shoes and hats before entering a shrine ("Schoenen uit doen en hoeden af zetten"), so a side zip earns its place. Its usual hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 1pm to 5pm. Noord-Holland's advised spring school holiday runs from 20 to 28 February 2027. The light favours the end of the month: sunset moves from 5:35pm on the 6th to 6:17pm on the 28th.
It depends on the measure. NOAA's Schiphol record gives January the lower afternoons, 6.2°C against February's 6.9°C, while February's nights are a shade lower, 1.0°C against 1.2°C, so both months print 1°C / 34°F at night. January has more frost, on about 12 nights against 11, and KNMI's Schiphol figures give it 2.5 ice days against 1.4. January is also wetter, about 67mm on 16 days against 55mm on 14, and windier: NOAA's daily record averages about 21 km/h, the strongest of the year, against about 20 km/h. February is brighter, with about 94 hours of sun on KNMI's figures against 69, and on the 15th the day is nearly 10 hours long, against just over 8.
Clothes built for the bike: a long dark coat that buttons, trousers that clear the chain, boots with grip and gloves that hold handlebars. I amsterdam counts up to 400 kilometres of bicycle paths in the city, and winter does not take people off them. Amsterdam's own street labels sit on top. Patta was founded by Edson Sabajo and Guillaume 'Gee' Schmidt, who in the brand's words were "instrumental in the Dutch hip-hop and nightlife community in the 90’s and early 2000’s", Edson as a DJ and Gee as an MC and event host. The name, Patta says, is a slang term for "shoe", a nod to its founders' Surinamese heritage.
Sources
- NOAA NCEI — 1991–2020 climate normals, Amsterdam Schiphol stationKNMI operates the station; NOAA NCEI computed this month's figures from its NLE00152485 global-summary-of-the-month record, 30 complete years, and the mean wind from its 06240099999 daily record. Rain days count days with 0.01 in (0.25 mm) or more. Sunshine is KNMI's own 1991–2020 normal for Schiphol. Recorded per month because Amsterdam's May–August pages name no station.
- NOAA NCEI — Global Summary of the Month, Schiphol (NLE00152485), 1991–2020: temperature, precipitation, rain days and frost days — accessed 2026-10-22
- NOAA NCEI — Global Summary of the Day, Amsterdam Schiphol (06240099999), 1991–2020: daily mean wind speed — accessed 2026-10-22
- KNMI — 1991–2020 climate normals, Amsterdam Schiphol (06240), as submitted to the WMO's normals collection (NOAA NCEI accession 0253808): sunshine, ice days and wind — accessed 2026-10-28
- I amsterdam — Herdenking Februaristaking, Thursday 25 February 2027, 16:45–18:00, the Dokwerker, Jonas Daniël Meijerplein — accessed 2026-10-28
- Comité Herdenking Februaristaking 1941 — Programme for the 2026 commemoration (flowers, seated tent, with the City of Amsterdam) — accessed 2026-10-28
- Comité Herdenking Februaristaking 1941 — History of the commemoration (1946; the Dokwerker unveiled 1952; the city motto) — accessed 2026-10-28
- Eerste Kamer (25 February 2026) — Februaristaking herdacht bij De Dokwerker: the strike of 25–26 February 1941 — accessed 2026-10-28
- I amsterdam — Chinees Nieuwjaar, Saturday 6 February 2027, 15:30–22:45, Nieuwmarkt, Zeedijk and Dam Square — accessed 2026-10-28
- Fo Guang Shan He Hua Temple, Amsterdam — Frequently asked questions (temple etiquette) — accessed 2026-10-28
- Rijksoverheid — School holidays 2026–2027: spring holiday Regio Noord 20–28 February 2027 — accessed 2026-10-28
- Rijksoverheid — School holiday regions: every municipality in Noord-Holland is in Regio Noord — accessed 2026-10-28
- AT5 (1 December 2023) — Amsterdam grits main roads and the main cycle-path network, not pavements or side streets (secondary) — accessed 2026-10-22
- I amsterdam — Cycling in Amsterdam (bike lights after dark, crossing tram rails) — accessed 2026-10-22
- KNMI — IJsdagen: De Bilt normals 1991–2020 (2 in December, 3 in January, 2 in February) and the 1947 frost — accessed 2026-10-28
- Patta — About: founded in Amsterdam by Edson Sabajo and Guillaume 'Gee' Schmidt — accessed 2026-10-28
