52.01° N · 4.36° E
Narrow canals, the Markt between two churches, Vermeer's tomb and the last blue pottery factory. An hour by train from Amsterdam and minutes from The Hague.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Visit · 1 h 30 · The Orange family's pantheon and a tower with views as far as The Hague. Combined ticket with the Oude Kerk, €15.
Visit · 45 min · The old church with the leaning tower, beside the canal, where Johannes Vermeer is buried. Included in the combined ticket.
Museum · 1 h · Vermeer's life, technique and city, with an audio guide included. €15 adults, €2 ages 7 to 12. Every day.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to October, with canal boats and terraces on the water. The churches are open Monday to Saturday all year round; in winter, with shorter hours on weekdays.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Delft is on the train line linking Amsterdam, Schiphol, The Hague and Rotterdam. You fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, and the train to Delft leaves from the airport itself. You can also fly to Rotterdam The Hague, a small airport a few kilometres away, with fewer flights from Spain.
Delft is small, pedestrianised and full of canals: you can do all of it on foot from the station. And it is halfway along the train line between The Hague and Rotterdam, so with a night here you can see three cities without touching a car. The budget per person per day includes sleeping in the centre, food and tickets.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Delft is manageable with children: small, with no cars in the centre, a tower to climb, a factory where you can watch plates being painted and a boat on canals with bridges so low you have to duck.
With teenagers, Delft is short and pleasant: the tower, Vermeer explained through his technique and a university city with atmosphere. Combine it with The Hague or Rotterdam, minutes away by train.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A three-star family hotel in the centre of Delft, with themed rooms, family rooms and the restaurant Gaia, a few minutes on foot from the Markt.
Why we like it: A small hotel in a 17th-century canal house on the Oude Delft, the home of the painter Jan Steen's family, with a buffet breakfast with live cooking.
Why we like it: 66 boutique-style rooms in Delft's former arsenal, beside the canal, with the gastrobar De Wapenkamer. Part of the WestCord chain.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a hot broodje from the menu and, for dessert, cake with coffee on the terrace.
What to order: the mussels in season and, at the end, a glass of its cinnamon liqueur.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
52.08° N · 4.32° E
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51.92° N · 4.48° E
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Tips
Both churches are closed to visitors.
It closes an hour before the church and can close because of wind.
The cheap "Delft" pottery in souvenir shops is almost never made here.
Delft is the perfect small city of the Netherlands: narrow canals with stone bridges, a main square between a Renaissance town hall and a Gothic church, and a history that weighs more than its size. Johannes Vermeer lived and painted here, William of Orange, father of the nation, is buried here, and the blue pottery that imitated Chinese porcelain was invented here. You can see it in a day from Amsterdam, but it is even better as a base for The Hague and Rotterdam, a few minutes away by train.
By train: about an hour from Amsterdam Centraal, with direct trains that pass through Schiphol. From Delft station, it is ten minutes on foot to the Markt. You pay by tapping a contactless card when you enter and when you leave. Driving makes no sense: the centre is pedestrianised and parking is expensive.
Start in the Markt and climb the tower of the Nieuwe Kerk, with views as far as The Hague; inside is the mausoleum of William of Orange. The combined ticket (€15) also includes the Oude Kerk, the old church with the leaning tower, where Vermeer is buried. Both open Monday to Saturday; Sunday is for services.
In between, drop in at the Vermeer Centrum, which explains the painter in his own city, and have lunch on the terrace of the Stads-Koffyhuis on the Oude Delft. In the afternoon, from April to October, take the canal boat, and if you are interested in pottery, visit Royal Delft, the last Delftware factory, where every piece is hand-painted. End the walk around the Markt and the canals in the Beestenmarkt, with dinner at Spijshuis de Dis.
Not in Delft. View of Delft and Girl with a Pearl Earring are in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, ten minutes away by train; The Milkmaid is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Delft gives you the context: the city he painted, his tomb and the centre that explains his technique.
Yes, if you are also going to see The Hague and Rotterdam. Delft is quiet at night, cheaper than the two big cities and sits between them. The Hotel de Plataan has themed and family rooms; the Bridges House is a 17th-century canal house on the Oude Delft, and the Arsenaal has 66 rooms in the former arsenal.
From April to October: boats, terraces over the canals and long days. In winter Delft is pretty and quiet, but the boats only sail at weekends in November and stop in December. Avoid Sunday if you want to go into the churches.
Questions
About an hour by train from Amsterdam Centraal.
The Markt, the Nieuwe Kerk tower, the Oude Kerk with Vermeer's tomb, the Vermeer Centrum, the canal boat and Royal Delft.
No. They are in the Mauritshuis in The Hague and in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The combined ticket for the two churches and the tower costs €15; the tower alone, €7.50.
Yes, they are a few minutes apart by train. Delft is a good base for seeing both and Rotterdam.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/delft
