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Offered languages
- German
- English
- Italian
- French
- Dutch
- Spanish
This tour will literally take you through a Vermeer painting: you will walk through the historical heart of Delft with an enthusiastic guide, whose passion for the city is infectious. Visit the places that played the biggest role in Vermeer's life and walk in his footsteps. From the place where he was born, to the place where he lived and the place where he has been buried; you will see it all.
You will also get to know the Father of the Fatherland, the Dutchman who discovered microbes (and knew Vermeer), and the founding father of international law.
You won't look at Vermeer's work in the same way again. Expect to hear interesting stories and to get real insider tips. You will see and understand things that would otherwise go unnoticed.
The tour takes about 3 hours (excluding the museum visit after) and it starts and ends in the city center. You can also choose to be picked up and dropped off at a location of your choice, like in Amsterdam.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
If you book an option that includes a pick-up and drop-off, you will be picked up from the location you select, up to 1 hour before the tour starts. You are dropped off again afterwards. We will contact you beforehand to coordinate this. If you book an option that does not include a pick-up and a drop-off, you will meet your guide at the meeting point.
You will meet your guide next to the statue of Hugo Grotius, on Markt 80, in front of the New Church.
Itinerary
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1Markt
Your tour starts on the Markt square of Delft. This is where most of Vermeer's life has happened. There are many things to see here: The New Church, Hugo Grotius' statue, Vermeer's father's old house, Vermeer's later own house, the town hall, the oldest shop of Delft, the butter house, the weighing house and more! Your guide will tell you all about it.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Old Church
After the Markt square, we will make our way towards the Old Church. Next to many other famous Dutch people, this is also the church where Johannes Vermeer has been buried. We will also enter the church and visit his grave.
45 minutes • Admission ticket included -
3
When you visit Delft, you also have to visit the Prinsenhof, the place where the Father of the Fatherland has been killed. This happened almost 50 years before Vermeer was born, but it has played a decisive role in the city's history.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
As we make our way to the south of Delft, from where 'The View of Delft' has been made, we first pass by a quite impressive facade from the year 1500: that of the water board. Your guide will tell you all about it.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5
When we are almost at the south end of the city, we will pass by a building of the Dutch East India Company, its Delft chamber. It is the Dutch East India Company that made exotic materials and pigments available and indirectly facilitated Vermeer's carreer.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Opposite of the Dutch East India Company building, we can see a former weapon's arsenal belonging to the state of Holland. An early version of this building can be seen on Vermeer's View of Delft.
Admission ticket free -
6
From here, we can look at Delft from exactly the same angle as Vermeer, when he made the sketches for his famous painting of the city. Let's see what we can still recognize today.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
As we have made our way back north again, we will see the Maria van Jessekerk, a catholic church. In Vermeer's time, this was the location where catholics used to live and organise hidden church services. That is why this is also where Vermeer's house (that of his mother in law, where he lived) used to stand, where he made all his paintings. New information from 2023 seems to suggest that the house is not demolished however.. Let's see if the curtains are finally open.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8
Before we go to the Vermeer Museum, we should visit the Vlamingstraat. It is now believed that number 42 on this street is depicted on Vermeer's other painting of a little street in Delft. Let's see what it looks like now.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
9Vermeer Centrum Delft
You will now enter the Vermeer Centrum, a museum dedicated to the work and live of Vermeer, housed in the former artists' guild of Delft. Vermeer has been here a lot and even became the president of the painters within the guilde.
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket included
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
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Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Show more
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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