Intro
Honestly, I thought I’d just attend a conference, listen to a few talks, and maybe pick up some new ideas.
But I came back with a completely different perspective on development.
In early March, I attended Laracon EU 2026 in Amsterdam with my team.
And pretty quickly, it became clear: this wasn’t just another conference.
📍 Location & Atmosphere
The event took place at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, right by the water.
From the moment you walk in, it feels less like a typical business conference and more like a relaxed, almost festival-like environment:
open spaces
people talking everywhere
a very laid-back vibe
The Main Theme: AI Has Arrived
If I had to summarize Laracon 2026 in one sentence:
AI is no longer a future concept, it’s part of everyday development.
It wasn’t just one talk or one trend.
It was everywhere:
demos
tools
conversations
And the question wasn’t if you use AI anymore but how.
The Moment Everyone Will Remember
There was one demo that really stood out:
A bug appears → gets detected → analyzed → fixed → PR created → deployed.
Fully automated.
At the end, someone just says:
Merge it
And it goes live.
That was one of those moments where you realize:
This is not far away. This is happening now.
Between Hype and Reality
Despite all the AI excitement, one important point stuck with me:
AI makes mistakes and often you don’t notice immediately.
That’s what makes it tricky:
errors are subtle
you trust it too quickly
control becomes harder
My takeaway:
AI is a tool not a replacement for thinking.
Technical Topics & Trends
Beyond AI, there were also classic dev topics:
performance & scaling
testing
architecture
modern workflows
What became clear:
Laravel is evolving fast.
more automation
deeper tool integration
strong focus on developer experience
And areas like mobile (e.g. NativePHP) are becoming more relevant.
For me, this means:
You have to actively keep up otherwise you’ll fall behind.
Attending with My Team
I was there with my team and that changed the experience completely.
I didn’t really focus on networking. Instead, it was more about:
watching talks together
discussing them right after
thinking about what we can actually apply
Honestly, that was probably the most valuable part.
Conferences are often better when you experience them as a team.
Unexpected Highlight: The Food
One thing I didn’t expect:
The food was actually really good.
There were different food stands on both days:
Moroccan food
Indian food
burgers
pasta
tacos
It almost felt like a small festival.
My Key Takeaways
If I had to summarize what I really took away:
AI will become part of the standard dev workflow
You need to filter what actually matters
Good architecture still matters more than any tool
Shipping fast beats overplanning
Team discussions are often more valuable than talks alone
Conclusion
Laracon EU 2026 wasn’t just a conference for me.
It was:
a glimpse into the future of development
combined with a strong team experience
and a lot of small moments that stick with you
I came back not just with ideas but with the feeling that things are changing fast.
Would I go again?
Yes, especially with my team.
