Discover Delft: A Tour through its Golden Age

(53 reviews)

Delft audio tour: Discover Delft: A Tour through its Golden Age

This is a 1.5mi walking tour

It takes an average of 120 mins to complete.

Delft

The Netherlands

$11.99

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About the Tour

Please Note

Due to renovations of Prinsenhof Museum, the metal gate and the statue at the beginning of the tour are temporarily gone.

A stroll through Delft feels a bit like walking through a Vermeer painting. Nestled between Rotterdam and the Hague, the centre of one of Holland’s oldest cities is a historical oasis, largely untouched by modernity.

On this walking tour through Amsterdam’s smaller, cuter and less crowded cousin, you’ll hear the city’s fascinating and unexpected stories.

This tour starts in front of the gate that leads to Museum Prinsenhof Delft. You’ll explore the city’s historical heart, taking in charming squares and walking alongside picturesque canals. You’ll hear all about our Old Church’s leaning (but stable!) tower, Delft’s long-gone beer brewing industry, and the life and work of Johannes Vermeer, Master of Light.

As you make your way to Dutch painter Jan Steen’s former house, where our tour ends, I’ll share stories about the city’s rich history, its famous figures, and some of the small details that make Delft so unique. These stories are often fascinating, sometimes surprising, and every now and then also a little funny. History doesn't have to be dull after all!

On this two-hour Delft tour, you’ll:

Get the inside scoop on the brutal assassination of the William of Orange (and what we did to the killer)
Peak into Delft’s smallest museum
Learn about the powerful Dutch East India Company outside its offices, VOC-Kamer Delft
Hear the modern mystery of the actual house where Vermeer made his paintings
Find out about Delft Blue, the famous tradition that started as a copy of Chinese porcelain
Take in several churches including Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and Maria van Jessekerk, as well as the impressive Stadhuis (town hall), and the former weapons arsenal, the Armamentarium
Listen to the story of the Delft local who discovered microbiology and, with it, a hidden world full of little animals

Whether you’re Dutch, American, German (or worse), this tour will offer you an engaging and light-hearted walk through the old part of Delft with an experienced tour guide who has lived and studied here for many years.

Join me on this tour through the heart of Delft!

Tour Producer

Holland City Tours

2 tours

Holland City Tours creates immersive audio tours across the Netherlands for travelers who want more than surface-level sightseeing. Our tours focus on history, culture, and local context, helping listeners understand not just what they see, but why it matters. Each route is carefully researched and structured to combine clear storytelling with a logical walking experience on location.

All audio tours are written and narrated by Holland City Tours founder Robin Lenskens, a professional guide with years of experience leading visitors through Dutch cities such as Delft, The Hague, and Rotterdam. Having guided thousands of international travelers, Robin knows which stories bring a place to life and which details help visitors truly connect with Dutch history, water management, art, and everyday life.

Holland City Tours is known for high-quality private guiding with a historical approach, without overwhelming listeners with dates or dry facts. The audio tours follow the same philosophy: engaging, well-paced, and designed for curious visitors who enjoy exploring independently while still being guided by a knowledgeable local voice.

Whether you are walking through a historic city center, past canals and churches, or through a UNESCO-listed landscape, our goal is simple: to help you experience the Netherlands with insight, depth, and confidence.

Discover Delft and Discover The Hague are also part of Holland City Tours.

Preview Location

Location 13

Meat Hall

Before turning right again, to get to the market square, stop here for a while.

Let's first look at an interesting building. It should be on your left right now. It has a grey facade with cows and lambs on it. What do you think this building would have been?

[5 second p... Before turning right again, to get to the market square, stop here for a while.

Let's first look at an interesting building. It should be on your left right now. It has a grey facade with cows and lambs on it. What do you think this building would have been?

[5 second pause]

This was the meat hall. The lambs and cows on the facade were very useful for a time when most people couldn't read. Since the 1200s already, there has been a meat hall in this location,. Until the 1800s, meat had to be sold at central locations, like this one, under the city’s supervision, to guarantee some degree of hygiene.

You can imagine that meat was something for people with a bit of money. If you were poor, you could not afford meat. Only on certain occasions, when the butchers at the meat hall had more meat left than they could sell, and they would think "Well, it's almost rotting anyway. Let’s get rid of it". That is when they rang a bell, and poor people would know that this was their moment.

They would gather to the left of the building, where there was a hole in the wall where the meat - almost or sometimes already rotting - was thrown out. That is why you can still see something protruding from the wall on the left, although the hole itself is gone.

Today, this is apparently the ideal place to buy a Vietnamese sandwich. I think that is quite a funny location.

The meat hall itself now houses a student association on the lower floors, one of 30 + associations we have in Delft. A tip from me. When it's open, you can get cheap beers down here, but I have to say: they play terrible music.

Right across from the meat hall, on the corner, there is a cute house with little red window shutters and a staircase facade.

This is the real Holland, right? This is one of the most photographed houses in Delft. Above its front door, the year 1548 is written, so it should be quite old. However, I have to tell you something. It is less than a hundred years old. Yes. It did look like this in the past, but in the 1800s, they demolished it and replaced it with something less 'old fashioned'. In the 1960's though, there were plans to rebuild what was once here, and so they did, in 1963. And quite successfully.

Anyway, now walk towards the back of the town hall. Don't go left, onto the market square, but walk straight so you keep the town hall to your left. We will get to the front of it soon, don't worry. I'll meet you next to the town hall. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Museum Prinsenhof Delft
Old Church
Kleinste Museum der Niederlande
Hoogheemraadschap van Delfland
Boterbrug
Stadhuis Delft
De Waag
Drogisterij de Salamander
Standbeeld van Hugo de Groot
Nieuwe Church
Vermeer Centrum Delft
Het Blauwe Hart
Maria van Jessekerk
Beestenmarkt
Vrienden van de Synagoge Delft
Armamentarium
VOC-Kamer Delft

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
2611 AL Delft, Netherlands
Total distance

2km
Final location
Oude Delft 74, 2611 CD Delft, Netherlands
Distance back to start location

310.64m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour will start in front of the gate that leads you to the Sint-Agathaplein. This can be found on the same street as the train station, in-between this station and an old windmill.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

If you feel like you deserved a beer half-way through this tour, I can recommend stopping at any of the places on the Beestenmarkt square. And If you happen to need a toilet at any point, just try to walk into a bar and act like you are a customer!

Best time of day

You can do this tour at any time that you like. It is probably best when there is sunlight though.

Precautions

In the Netherlands it is always smart to check the weather beforehand. Bring an umbrella if needed.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”