Delft Canal Cruise with Guided Commentary

Koornmarkt, where your cruise begins

Your Delft boat tour starts on the Koornmarkt, the old grain market canal in the heart of the town. Barges once unloaded corn and grain here, and the quays are still lined with elegant merchant houses, lime trees and cafe terraces right by the water. The town's name comes from the Dutch verb for digging, after the canal dug through the marshes in the eleventh century, and Delft received its city rights in 1246.

From the low boat you look up at stepped and bell-shaped gables, hoisting hooks and carved stone plaques, details easily missed from the street. Your captain navigates bridges so low that passengers sometimes duck their heads, which children love. If you are planning a Delft day trip, start with this cruise to get your bearings before exploring the squares, shops and museums on foot.

Oude Delft and the Oude Kerk

The cruise follows the Oude Delft, the oldest and most beautiful canal in town, where wealthy families built their houses during the Golden Age. Here stands the Oude Kerk, founded around 1246, whose brick tower leans about two metres out of line because it was built on soft, waterlogged ground. Its bells still ring over the canal, and its interior holds fine stained-glass windows and the graves of many notable citizens.

Nearby is the Prinsenhof, a former convent that became a royal residence and is now a museum of Delft history and art. Along the same canal your guide points out the old East India House, the office from which the Delft chamber of the Dutch East India Company managed its share of the Asian trade in the seventeenth century, the trade that brought the Chinese porcelain that inspired Delft Blue.

Markt square, the Nieuwe Kerk and City Hall

From the water you catch glimpses of Markt, the great square at the centre of Delft. At one end rises the Nieuwe Kerk, built between 1396 and 1496, whose slender tower reaches almost 109 metres and dominates the skyline for miles. The church is the burial place of the Dutch royal family, and visitors can climb the tower for a view as far as Rotterdam and The Hague on a clear day.

Facing it across the square is the City Hall, a richly decorated Renaissance building from 1620 built around a medieval tower. The square comes alive on Thursdays with the general market, and cafes and Delft Blue shops line its sides. After your cruise, Markt is a five-minute walk from the Koornmarkt, the ideal next stop to see these two landmarks up close.

Delft Blue and the Golden Age

In the seventeenth century Delft was one of the most important cities of the Dutch Republic, and many of its older trades gave way to pottery workshops that produced the famous blue-and-white earthenware known as Delft Blue. At its height dozens of factories lined the canals, and their tiles, plates and vases were sold across Europe. Your guide explains how this craft began, why it declined and how it survives today.

The Golden Age was also a time of painting, and the soft light, brick courtyards and quiet canal views of Delft appear in some of the most celebrated Dutch paintings of the period. In 1654 a gunpowder store exploded and destroyed a large part of the town, an event your guide may describe as you pass the rebuilt streets. To see the craft in action, combine the cruise with a visit to the Royal Delft factory.

Getting to Delft and the Oostpoort

How to get to Delft: trains from Amsterdam Central Station take about one hour, while Rotterdam and The Hague are only around 15 minutes away, so Delft is an easy half-day or full-day excursion. From Delft station the Koornmarkt is about a 10-minute walk through the old town. Arrive a little early to find the boat landing and enjoy a coffee by the water before departure.

Is Delft worth visiting? Very much so: it has the charm of Amsterdam's canals on a smaller, calmer scale. After the cruise, walk to the Oostpoort, the only surviving medieval city gate of Delft, with its twin pointed towers reflected in the water. The best time to visit Delft is spring to early autumn, when cruises run in mild weather and the canal-side terraces are open.