Festival · Deventer
Dickens Festijn
Over 950 costumed characters from Charles Dickens's novels fill the old Bergkwartier in Deventer for one weekend. You stroll through their Victorian England on a timed ticket, so choose your slot in advance.
- When
- 12 Dec – 13 Dec 2026
- Where
- Bergkwartier
- Price
- EUR 7.50 in advance, EUR 9 at the door, children up to 7 free
- Official site
- dickensfestijn.nl
Dates checked 1 November 2026. Confirm with the organiser before you book.
Deventer's Bergkwartier, the historic quarter in the middle of the city, spends one December weekend pretending to be Victorian England. More than 950 people in costume play figures from Charles Dickens's books, Scrooge, Oliver Twist and Mr Pickwick among them, so you walk through the story rather than watch it from a seat.
The festival began in 1991 as Emmy Strik's answer to a dull shopping Sunday. It now draws many thousands of visitors, and that shapes how to plan a visit. Tickets are sold for a chosen time slot, which the organisers use to hold the queue to about an hour at most, and the only way in is through the Keizerstraat, by Hotel Finch. Doors are open from 10:00 to 18:00 on both days.
Tickets cost EUR 7.50 in advance and children up to seven go free; at the door it's EUR 9. The organisers suggest coming by train, because the centre is three minutes' walk from Deventer station. They advise against bringing a dog, since there are other animals and moving vehicles in the streets. Assistance dogs are welcome.
If you can't make the weekend, the Charles Dickens Kabinet in the Walstraat, a small permanent exhibition on the author, opens on Saturdays all year.