I am totally going to cheat on this one and copy the information directly from Aalsmeer's official website.
Every day Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer sets the world price for flowers and plants. This happens by bringing supply and demand together by means of the auction clock- a fascinating process during which large and small batches of flowers are sold within fractions of seconds. Each day, 19 million flowers and two million plants are sold through 13 clocks at 'Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer'. It takes place within an area of almost one million m2. This means that Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer has the largest trade building in the entire world!
As a visitor to Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, you will walk over a specially designed gallery. You can take a look at the auction without being noticed. Enjoy the gorgeous flowers, experience the hustle and bustle of auction. Come and take a look at Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer! More information: http://www.vba-aalsmeer.nl/
As a visitor to Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, you will walk over a specially designed gallery. You can take a look at the auction without being noticed. Enjoy the gorgeous flowers, experience the hustle and bustle of auction. Come and take a look at Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer! More information: http://www.vba-aalsmeer.nl/
Could not have said it better myself. We arrived at the auction house 30 minutes after they had opened for business (7 fricking am!!) and still managed to miss most of the auction. These people operate at a speed that you would never expect in a country that allows pot smoking. We did, however, get to watch as the flowers got sorted by an army of men in little motorized carts. Watching them zip around was kind of like watching the city of future, George Jetson style. Throughout the tour , I kept dropping oh-so-subtle hints that this might be a good place to buy some flowers (ie. "Shawn, look at those flowers there. The yellow ones. I want them.") Would you believe that the gift shop, the one located in the same building as the WORLD'S LARGEST FLOWER AUCTION only had plastic flowers for sale?! That, and wooden shoes.
