Delft is well known because…

Delft, the Dutch city is mainly famous because of the Delft blue, the painter Johannes Vermeer and Willem the Silent (Willem de Zwijger). Furthermore there is a rich history of the Dutch kings and queens which are buried in the New Church. In the old Church the heroes are buried, such as Piet Hein and Maarten Tromp, both admirals at the Dutch navy.

Maybe you want to start a guiding business after reading this chapter. In that case please read a little details at the websites of both churches and make your choice in how you want to move around. Some guides just walks around, some guides sail through the canals and some guides like to bike through the city, so pick your pick

sports in the Netherlands

Because of all these waters in our small country, most of the Dutch learn to swim around their 5th birthday, they learn how to ice skate while they are 10 years. And if you live close by an open water: windsurfing, sailing and kiting will start around 15 years.

In 2014 our Olympic winter team won 8 golden, 7 silver and 9 bronze medals for ice speed and short track skating! Which makes this our top national sport no.1. Beating football by miles.
Actually the football players of the Dutch had better days. The last 25 years, nothing was won by the Dutch footballers, but don’t tell this to the Dutch, some men might be sensitive on this subject.
Skating, Hockey, Korfbal, Windsurfing, Sailing, Swimming, Turning, Cycling and Darts are the sports where we still gets our glory.

city hall of Delft

The center of the city has several landmarks. First of all there are several canals, markets such as the ‘Beestenmarkt’ full of tables where you can rest for a drink.

Furthermore the city center is full of bars, restaurants and shops which makes the city very adorable and attracts buses full of tourists. The new church which stands at the market can be seen from far. At the same market there is the old city hall.

This city hall is mainly in use for marriages and meetings. The city hall for questions is situated in the Phoenix straat next to the parking garage ‘Phoenix’. In the coming years this city hall will
be replaced next to the train station. As you will notice as you arrive by train, the central station is under re-construction. In the coming two years the train tracks will be under the ground, where after a new city hall can be build. Together with the city parks and houses which have to be build in this project, it will take another 5 years before completion. So you will see some changes, but unless you plan to stay in Delft, you will not see the finishing of the project.

a modern library in Delft

the library named DOK is one of the modern ones in the Netherlands. As every library you can visit it for free, and read the books for free. Only when you want to take the books to your house you need a membership.

Last year the library had an action for students, where they offered an membership for only 5 euro for the first year. Normally this will cost around 39 euro. Please find more info at www.dok.info You can find the library in the city center just in front of the cinema and theater.

parks / beach.. in and near Delft

there are three parks, but the one most people like to go is Delft Hout. It is situated on the other site of the highway A13. In the park there is a water with a small beach. On both sites there is a restaurant. There are several sport clubs inside. Another famous beach is Scheveningen. This is only 45 minutes travel by tram line no.1

shopping in Delft

There are a lot of shops in the city centre. For your daily food you can visit C1000, AH. A lot of Dutch people also visit the Aldi which is normally cheaper. If you can not find the food which you want, you can always go to the Chinese / eastern orientated shop. This is situated near the Mac Donald’s near the highway A13.

For your few furniture you can look at Markplaats.nl or you go direct to Ikea. However there are some more shops for interior next to the Gamma at the Engelsestraat. Do you want to renew your
clothes? Just wait for the sales. There are at least three sales a year which can save you a lot of money. For a better experience on shopping visit: Amsterdam, the Hague or Utrecht

the weather in Delft

In the
Netherlands everybody likes to talk about the weather and the weather forecast seems normally to be wrong. You will find in spring and autumn a lot of wind and rain, with a maximum rainfall in October of about 100 mm and the lowest in April is roughly 40 mm a month.

In April the first terrace boats will be put in place and on days when there is no wind you can start enjoying your stay in Delft. During the summer there are several events organised. In December there is already for some years now an ice skating track at the market in the center of Delft. The average temperatures are collected in a table below.