I love the Markt Square and the feeling that you back in time surrounded by the Guild houses, New Church where the members of the Royal Dutch families are burried and the Delf Town Hall. I love visiting the surrounding cute small souvenir shops or cafes/restaurants. If you want to experience the typical Dutch market visit the Markt Square every Thursday or Saturday between 9:00 and 17:00 - there is something for everyone there!
A statue of Hugo Grotius made by Franciscus Leonardus Stracké in 1886, located on the Markt near the Nieuwe Kerk.
The right to possess a waag, a weighing house, was one of the first city privileges to be awarded to Delft in the middle ages.
The weighing house on this site was probably only used after the great fire of 1536. In 1644, the weighing house was extended with the neighbouring property. After the extension there was room for newer, larger scales and these can still be seen in the weighing house.
The City Hall in Delft is a Renaissance style building on the Markt across from the Nieuwe Kerk. It is the former seat of the city's government, and still today the place where residents hold their civic wedding ceremonies. Originally designed by the Dutch architect Hendrick de Keyser, it was heavily changed over the centuries and was restored in the 20th century to its Renaissance appearance.
You can watch my 4 min 11 sec Video Delft out of my Youtube channel or here on VT.
Walking once again is the best way to enjoy the sights. You can go on you own, with or with out a map. You can buy a booklet with a basic route, plus three other routes that take you past the historic sites of the city. You can also take a guided tour, one you can combine with a Canalboat trip.
Places not to be missed are the NEW CHURCH in Market Square. Open 9 - 6pm April to May and different hours other times of the year. Admission is 3.3 euros including the "Old Church" To go up the tower, its another 3 euros.
The historic Town Hall was here also. There were also plenty of shops selling Delftware. As the market was on, it was a bit cramped.
I walked and saw the "Old Church" and generally just browsed around the town.
Surrounding the Markt are the typical facades of Dutch guild houses. Smaller and larger, simple and more decorated, can be seen on all sides of the rectangular square. The facades show out the importance (as well as wealth) of the person that lived there, but also in an equal form the society that was represented from this house. Guilds had quite a lot of power in medieval times and were often competing among one another to become the most influential towards the city governement and citizens. In present day many of the buildings have shops on the first floor, selling souvenirs or Delf Blue. On the second and top floor often student quarters are made. Can you imagine to spend a few years on such a great place?
And here we are, in the middle of Delft and on the most dazzling square of this old town. Great monuments surround us and history can almost be felt in the present when you look around and see the guild houses, New Church and town hall. On market days a lively business is going on in the square and salesmen are calling out loud to persue the customers their products are best. The full market is on Friday morning and is an experience that you should have at least somewhere in the Netherlands.
I love going to the Delft Market. It is bustling with people and is full of such wonderful smells. I enjoy the flower market, the fish market (Hans has to have his herring) & I really like the flea market.
The Market square is the big square in the centre of town. On one side of the square stands the town hall and opposite on the other side, you will find the New Church, where members of the Royal Dutch family are buried. (It's not the church shown on the pic. I didn't make a pic of it because it was all surrounded by scaffolds.)
There are also some souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants on the Market Square.
You can't miss the markt square in the center of Delft. It is were the town hall and the nieuwe kerk are. It is the perfect place to start your tour trough Delft.
In the season you can get on a horse tram of just walk.
It a nice place to sit and have a drink, but it is not the best place. Beestenmarkt is much better, less tourists.
On thursday there is a market, good for shopping.
Thursday is market day in Delft. A large, general market is held in the very heart of town, on the Markt (market square) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, there is a general market on the Brabantse Turfmarkt, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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