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City and municipality in South Holland, Netherlands
Photo: Niels Elgaard Larsen - User: (WT-shared) Elgaard at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Delft is a mid-sized city in the west of the Netherlands. It's a beautiful, unspoiled town with traditional architecture, canals and bikes. It's also home to the world famous blue and white ceramics. Delft makes a great destination for a day-trip or can serve as a base to explore the region. And if the bustling crowds of Amsterdam are not really your thing, Delft is a lovely alternative, offering an equally interesting insight into the cultural wealth of old "Holland", on a far more intimate scale.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
New Church
Located at Markt, this church was built in 1496. The royal burial chamber is in this church but is not accessible. Prince William of Orange was the first to be buried here, after being shot in 1584. It is possible to climb the 108.75-m tower to get an impressive view of Delft and surroundings. It's the second highest church tower, after the Dom church of Utrecht. You can see both Rotterdam and The Hague. On clear days is it possible to see Leiden and even Amsterdam. It's well worth the effort.
Town Hall
After a fire in 1618 after which only the tower remained, Hendrick de Keyser rebuilt the town hall. He reused the tower and some remaining walls. In 1620 construction was finished. The building was renovated in the 19th century.
Apotheek De Salamander
It's an old-fashioned pharmacy. The gable is adorned by a traditional Gaper. The pharmacist -in white lab coat- provides proper care and attention far beyond current standards.
Waaggebouw
A former weighting house. It hosts a café and a restaurant.
Meat Hall
Built in 1650. It is one of the only Hollands Classical buildings in Delft. Built as a meat market, later it was converted for wheat. Nowadays it is a youth society and restaurant.
Adjacent to the Vleeshal is the old city's fish market. Up to January 2025 fish was sold here.The building is being converted to sell seasonal products. The antique shop opposite the Visbank is the most photographed building in Delft. The fence depicts the solar system.
This is a tree-covered square with restaurants, cafés and bars all with outside seating. Very busy all year round. Many pubs have patio heaters to provide comfort after sunset. One of the pubs even provides a sand pit for the children. The name of the square refers to cattle (beest is animal) market which used to be held here. During December and January, an ice rink is built on the square.
This is a tiny street at the back of the New Church. Note the little warped house on the corner closest to the church. It featured in the Girl with a Pearl Earring, a film about the painter Vermeer, and every tourist takes its picture.
The Roman Catholic Maria van Jesse church was built between 1875 and 1882, then named St Joseph's church. The building was designed in the style of the Gothic revival by the architect Everard Margry, one of the first and most productive students of Dr. Pierre Cuypers. Since 1982 this church is a national heritage site, not least because of its original interior.
Old Church
This is Delft's oldest church, built in 1246. The interior of this church is excellent. Famous Dutchmen are buried in this church, including: Piet Hein, Maerten Tromp and Johannes Vermeer. The Old Church leans out considerably over the Oude Delft canal. When the tower was built the canal had to be moved away from the church as the tower would have been half in the water. During the building works it became apparent that canal-half of the base soil was not firm enough to support the tower. To compensate for the tilt the upper part of the tower was built with a compensating counter curve.
An imposing building dating from 1505 with richly decorated sandstone façade and a tower. Since 1645 it is a headquarters of Hoogheemraadschap van Delfland, a Dutch water board
This former synagogue was built in 1862 as temple, to a design of Ir. Leon Winkel. The building houses a permanent exhibition to the remembrance of the Jewish victims in the Second World War.
ArsenaalDelft
The building of the former arsenal, picturesquely located at the fork of canals, used to house the Royal Army Museum (Legermuseum) until it moved to Soest in 2013. It is now in redevelopment, but you can still admire the building from the outside.
VOC-Huis
The Dutch East India Company House consisted of 6 chambers. One of them was located in Delft. Delft had a harbour (Delfshaven) at that time, next to Rotterdam. The harbour was later engulfed by the growing city of Rotterdam.
The eastern gate to the city, built around 1400 and of the four original gates the only surviving one. Small building. It looks kind of cute. It is not on the famous painting by Vermeer (because that's the South Gate), as many tourists wrongly think.
Artillery Depot
As a result of the reformation around 1572, many cloisters were abandoned. This happened to the Clarissenklooster as well. It became a warehouse for sulphur, saltpeter and canon. In 1637 a small tower for firepowder was built. In 1654 this tower exploded, destroying a large part of the city. After this it was rebuilt.
University Library
Between the Mekelweg and the Schoemakerstraat sits one of the largest technical libraries of Europe. It is housed in a glass building, with a sloping grass roof penetrated by a concrete cone. Free entrance during opening hours.
This lookout tower was built circa 1500, and is today preserved as a state monument (Rijksmonument). The back of the tower was set against the old defensive city wall which was built of earth and bordered by a canal. Both the wall and the canal are now gone leaving only the tower.
The kruithuis is a 17th-century munition depot. It was built far out of the city center after the old munition depot exploded (Delftse Donderslag), The site features a gate house and 2 magazines build into the water. Nowadays the complex houses a scouting organisation and a student fraternity. There are no tours or visitor centre, but it is a great place to visit for lovers of old architecture.
Botanical Garden
The botanical garden of Delft University houses a large collection of 'utility' plants, both in greenhouses and a nicely laid out park. Good place to spend a few quiet hours on a sunny afternoon.
This small park was built around 1880 by a local factory owner for his workers. It is the first garden city in the Netherlands. It contains the house of the owner and small working-class cottages and has been a state monument since 1989.
This was a hofje for single women, founded in 1575 by Pieter Sasbout. It was built on Korte Geer, but, with the expansion of the Armamentarium, it was moved to its current location.
It was built in 1707 as stated in the will of Elizabeth Pauw.
This hofje was meant for unmarried or widowed Catholic women. It was founded in 1605 by Dirck and Elizabeth Uyttenhage.
Prinsenhof Museum
In medieval Delft Sint Agathaklooster was the biggest cloister in Delft. After 1650 it was split in two parts. Part of the chapel remained for religious service (Waalse Kerk). Prince William of Orange held court in the rest of the complex. He was assassinated here in 1584. Nowadays the complex houses some museums, including the city museum.
formerly Techniekmuseum
The museum, run by Delft University, is housed in a beautiful building. It displays a wide range of historical engines, as well as the history of the calculator. Activities aimed at children are organized regularly.
This former house of a 19th-century artist, Paul Tétar van Elven, is very well preserved, with the original furniture and interior design.
De Roos (The Rose) windmill, the last surviving windmill in Delft, was built in 1679 with a residence added in 1728. Its current appearance is from 1760. It is still active and the flour it grinds is sold in its gift shop. The mill is open if a blue flag is flying. For a group visit, call ahead.
Potterij onder de Moerbeiboom
Try out the pottery wheel in the middle of this amazing ceramic city. They give regular workshops for 3.5 hours on Saturday afternoons, but if you contact them via their website, they sometimes accommodate on other days of the week.
Vermeer Centrum
It offers a view on the work and life of the famous 17th-century painter Johannes Vermeer. The souterrain houses reproductions from all of his 37 works in chronological order. On the 1st floor, you find the studio of Vermeer that shows the methods and the famous light of Vermeer. On the 2nd floor, the special exhibition Love Letters from Vermeer reveals secrets from several famous paintings. There are no original Vermeer paintings there: all the images exhibited are reproductions.
On the road to Nootdorp 5 km outside Delft, on the IKEA side of the motorway you can find the Windmill Windlust. It is open to the public. Visit their website for the details and exact directions. It is best reached by bike.
Rondvaart Delft
Experience a different view on Delft from a canal boat (Dutch and English tour guide).
Four days in August at least 20 pubs and outside podia are participating in Delft Jazz. It attracts a friendly crowd of people.
Great place to get ice cream. Try the dark chocolate. They also make their own chocolates.
The café Kobus Kuch has a nice choice of lunch breads, but is probably best known for its home made pies, and particularly its appeltaart with whipped cream. If the personnel is not too busy to bake one for you, you can even order an entire pie to take home.
Named after the Belgian chocolates (which they sell too), has nice lunch breads and a wide variety of tea. During summer time you can take your lunch out in the patio at the back. Bonus here: no background music!
Kleyweg's Stads-koffyhuis is a favorite lunch place of many locals and undoubtedly sports the best sandwiches in town. It can be a bit crowded around lunch time however, so be on time. Otherwise stop there for coffee, Dutch coffee is consistently excellent, and goes well with the ubiquitous (and delicious) Dutch apple cake. It has a terrace boat in summer time which provides a lovely view of the oude delft canal.
Great little bakeries that does breads, sandwiches and cakes.
Jans
Jans is a patisserie and lunch place located right in the centre of town. They serve their own baked goods, pies and have ice cream. Open for breakfast (on some days) and lunch.
Reasonable pizzas and Middle Eastern dishes (shawarma/kebab). Relatively cheap. The place is much more oriented on take-aways than on eat-ins. No reservation needed. Has a nice website especially the registered users section.
Ladera
Affordable traditional Dutch menu in a tradiational Dutch 'living room diner' setting. Join the locals for a chat at the main table, have your own table, or eat in the garden (out the back, not indicated). Service fast and friendly, no reservation needed. Ask for special dishes, not indicated on the menu.
Kockies
A bit of the beaten path, one can find a true Dutch snackbar. For many locals this is the best snackbar in town. This family business offers the full range of Dutch snacks, including 'kroketten' and 'patatje stoofvlees' and also full snackbar meals. Most people order take away, but sit-down is also possible.
A dining hall located in a student association building and operated by the association. It is open to the general public. On weekdays, you can enjoy a meal from 17:30 to 19:30 at a low price.
Authentic Indonesian cuisine (unlike the other indo-chin-thai places in town). Family-owned with reasonable prices and OK food. The service and quality get mixed reviews. No reservation needed.
Authentic Dutch fare, based on recipes of the Dutch Golden Age.
Excellent food at acceptable prices, the best place in Delft for a sunny summer day, food served in the garden and on a barge with sunshine till late in the evening. Daily menu at low prices is usually out at about 20:00.
Japanese sushi restaurant. Nice, serene atmosphere. A set sushi meal takes a whole evening. Limited choice of wine. Not too expensive. Take away possible. Sushi making workshops available.
Excellent food, probably the best price/quality ratio in Delft, where food and hotels are generally overpriced. Daily menu at unbeatable prices (except maybe "De Ruif").
Very nice Paris bistro style restaurant/bar. Sit outside under the trees in the summer. Great place for sundowners. Sandpit for the kids available. Great food, low prices.
Not so simple restaurant, caters often for groups. Prices are OK.
Very busy restaurant. It works according to the more than you can eat principle. The portions are large. The meat servings are big. Every thing is served with plenty of carbs like chips, potato or rice. A token amount of salad is added. Very good place to go with a group. Very good value and quick service. Not the best place for a diner for two. Delivery also possible.
Le Vieux Jean is an expensive French restaurant with very good food. Expect to pay €80 per person for a starter, main, dessert and wine. The restaurants has a very extensive wine list. Make sure you reserve seating in the downstairs restaurant. A private room is available. Their lunch menu will satisfy the most critical customer. Expect the highest quality in both the service and food in Delft. The price reflects this.
Who wants to eat having a medieval experience, should definitely visit this restaurant. Bring a bag of money, it's not cheap.
de Klomp
De Klomp (the wooden shoe) is the oldest bar in Delft. It is staffed by a very professional team that gladly will tell you about the history of the place. Since 2010 the bar has been featured in the Dutch 'Café top 100'. The bar serves a large selection of craft beers. What is really special is the large Jenever selection. This Dutch drink is sometimes called the Dutch gin, the staff will be happy to tell you about it and serve you a tasting of three different Jenevers.
Klooster
Klooster has a large selection of craft beer on draft (20 beers) and in their fridge. The staff give great recommendations. A large seating area means you probably can get a table.
Opening hours: each Friday and Saturday from 23:00 till 05:00, other opening times may vary. A small venue in the city centre with a huge variety of electronic music and concerts. The crowd is mixed, usually there are mostly students. Sometimes the place is half-empty, sometimes its packed (about 100 people) Entrance fee: usually between 0 and 4 Euro.
Comfortable, clean, reasonably priced and right next to the railway station, the only hotel in Delft offering a free sauna for its guests. Also offering a free Wi-Fi service and a lobby computer. 40 rooms.
Right behind the New Church. 23 rooms.
Housed in a historic building (former city prison and VOC building) overlooking the canals, 2 minutes from the railway station. Clean and well-furnished, not very wheelchair-friendly. Wi-Fi available.
Unique and stylish hotel. Themed rooms are available. Look at their website for details. Great location, reasonable prices. Free Wi-Fi.
WestCord Hotel Delft is a showcase for Ikea. Everything is Ikea. The chairs, the bed, the cutlery, everything. Odd atmosphere, like sleeping in an Ikea store.
Hotel parking at Kepoortparking.
Royal Delft factory
Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles is the only porcelain factory still operating in the town. It is possible to visit the factory or to participate in a workshop.
De Candelaer is a little porcelain factory in the inner city.
By train
By tram
On the trams you must use the OV-chipkaart or day-pass.
By car
Delft, between the A4 and A13 motorways, is easily reached by car. Both highways are easily accessible both from Amsterdam/Schiphol and from Rotterdam. Delft has three exits off the A13 motorway.
By bus
Buses from The Hague and Rotterdam terminate at Delft railway station. Tram line from Den Haag (HS) runs to Delft and has stops near the city center and railway station.
By foot
Walking: the centre is small enough to walk across in ten minutes. Most streets in the city centre are pedestrianized. But do take care: taxis are allowed to use these streets.
By bicycle
The Netherlands is a perfect country for cycling. The land is flat, the views broad and cycle paths are everywhere.
By taxi
By car
In brief, getting around by car in Delft is, similar to many other Dutch cities, discouraged through spatial planning and parking fares.
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Rotterdam · International · RTM
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