Delft

Delft is what people picture when they picture the Netherlands, minus the crowds of Amsterdam: gabled houses along tree-lined canals, hump-backed bridges, a market square between two great churches. Johannes Vermeer lived and worked here his whole life and painted the View of Delft from across the water, and the town leans into that connection without a single surviving Vermeer painting to show for it. The Oude Kerk has a tower that leans almost two metres out of true and holds Vermeer's grave; the Nieuwe Kerk opposite holds the crypt of the House of Orange-Nassau, where Dutch monarchs are still buried, and a tower climb of nearly four hundred steps. Royal Delft, the last of the seventeenth-century potteries, still paints the blue and white ware by hand and lets visitors watch.

History

The town grew beside a canal called the Delf, from delven, "to dig", which gave it its name, and around 1075 a count built his manor where the Delf crossed the bank of the silted-up river Gantel; Delft became an important market town, as the size of its market square still shows (Wikipedia, Delft).

The main sights

• Nieuwe Kerk - the royal crypt of the Orange-Nassau family and a long tower climb for the view.
• Oude Kerk - the visibly leaning tower and Vermeer's burial place.
• Royal Delft - the surviving historic pottery, with hand-painting demonstrations.
• The Markt and the canals - the square between the churches and the quiet canal streets around it.

When to go

Spring and summer for the canalside terraces, with April bringing the tulip season within easy reach. Delft is a short train ride from The Hague and Rotterdam, so it works well as a day trip in any season.

What to expect

There are no Vermeers in Delft, which surprises visitors who came for them; his work hangs in The Hague, Amsterdam and abroad. The Vermeer Centrum shows reproductions and context rather than originals. The town is small and can be walked in a few hours, which makes it better as a half-day paired with The Hague than as a base.

Nearby

The Hague with the Mauritshuis is fifteen minutes away; Rotterdam's modern skyline is the same distance in the other direction.

Key facts