Delft and "The Hague", quest for the pearl earring

Visit with us ”Den Haag” (about an hour from Amsterdam) and discover this beautiful and interesting city, famous for its International Court of Justice, donated by Andrew Carnegie, the well-known American philanthropist. Let us show you around the scenic city centre, where we find our seat of government, and right beside it the Mauritshuis ,one of our state museums. This is home of the famous Vermeer painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, and many other old Dutch masters.                                             

See with your own eyes how these painters were able to paint with ”natural light”. And of course’ there is the Vredespaleis, that famous International Court of Justice, our Queen’s working palace, ”Paleis Noordeinde”, the embassies, the upmarket shopping area, and much more.  To top that all that, we will take you to ”Madurodam”, our miniature city, where you will find all our significant buildings and structures on a small scale. It was built in memory of the resistance hero ”George Maduro”.  This is always a treat for the young and old. Then it is on to Scheveningen, Holland’s most flamboyant beach-resort, where it’s nice to stroll along the lively boulevard. Maybe we can persuade you to try one of our traditional snacks, the Dutch herring, a slightly salted delicacy from our own Noordzee. As these herrings are brought into our country through the fishing harbour in Scheveningen, this is the best place to try them.  

There are some excellent places for lunch, especially if you are a fresh fish lover.  From there we go to Delft, world famous for its blue and white pottery and birthplace of Johannes Vermeer.

We will visit one of the factories of the Delftware where you can see how these amazing designs are still traditionally
hand-painted before going into the blazing kiln. Then its time to see the old city of Delft, with its unique market square, dominated by the Nieuwe Kerk, which holds the tomb chamber of our royal family, and the beautiful solid marble grave of
”William of Orange”. If you are up for it, you can climb its 356 stairs to one of the most spectacular views of the surrounding area. After all this we will drive you in comfort back to your hotel.

Duration: 8 hours