← Leiden Marathon·1 night

Delft: Blue Pottery and a Quiet Canal Town After Leiden

A small canal town with a pottery tradition, two large churches and a flat centre that can be crossed on foot in ten minutes.

Duration1 night
TransitNS train from Leiden Centraal to Delft, about 20 minutes with a change at The Hague
DepartsLeiden Centraal

After the Leiden Marathon: Delft

The Route: Leiden → Delft → Schiphol Airport Logistics: NS train, about 20 minutes, usually with a change at The Hague. Delft station is about 10 minutes' walk from the Markt. Marathon Month: May Duration: 1 night

Leiden ──(about 20 min, NS)──> Delft
                                  │
Schiphol Airport (AMS) <──(about 45 min, NS)──┘

In 1654 a gunpowder store exploded in Delft and flattened a large part of the town, killing around a hundred people and leaving the painter Carel Fabritius dead in his studio. Vermeer, then in his early twenties, lived a few streets away and survived. Delft rebuilt itself around a market square with a church at either end, and in its quiet rebuilt form it is still a town where you can see the whole of it in an afternoon.

Dutch rail has no advance fares. Pay with a contactless card or OVpay and check the NS planner.

May in Delft: highs of 16°C to 18°C, with long evenings and the canals lined with trees in leaf. Showers are short. Check museum opening days, because Monday closures are common.

Night One: Delft

The Markt is flat and cobbled, with the Nieuwe Kerk at one end and the Stadhuis at the other. The Nieuwe Kerk holds the tomb of William of Orange and a tower of about 100 metres that can be climbed, so only do that if the legs agree. The Oude Kerk, on a canal a few minutes away, has a famously leaning tower and holds Vermeer's grave.

The Vermeer Centrum is a museum devoted to the painter, with reproductions of his work and an explanation of his methods. It costs about €15 and prices vary, so use the figure as a guide only. Check the current opening days.

The Royal Delft factory and museum on Rotterdamseweg shows how the blue-and-white earthenware is made and painted, and the visit runs about 90 minutes. Check the current schedule and book ahead in May.

Hotel de Plataan, on the Doelenplein, is a small hotel close to the Markt. Several other small hotels and canal guesthouses are available in the centre. Confirm lifts and breakfast times when you book.

Dinner is easy along the canals, especially around the Beestenmarkt, where terraces serve Dutch and Indonesian menus. Book ahead on weekends.

A canal walk between the Oude Kerk and the Oostpoort, the surviving city gate on the south-east edge, is about 1.5 kilometres, flat, and gives the quiet side of the town.

Arrive on Sunday evening or Monday morning, and leave luggage at the hotel.

Getting to Schiphol Airport (AMS)

Delft to Schiphol takes about 45 minutes by train with a change at Leiden or Amsterdam. Check the NS planner. Airport station is beneath Schiphol Plaza, with lifts to the terminal.