Delft

Customs / Culture
The culture of the Hofjies has also reached Delft in the 16th Century. In Delft there are still 4 Hofjies: the Hofjie van Gratie, Hofjie vanPauw, Hofjie van Almonde and the Klaeuwshofjie. These Hofjies were used for the servants of the rich as their accommodation.

Dutch sport is represented very well in the Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam region. Only in Delft there are already over 150 sports clubs. The most popular sports are Soccer, Ice sports, Water Sports, Hockey and Rugby, other sports such as rowing and golf are also widespread around the region.

The culture of this old city is well preserved by the various buildings that are from the Renaissance and also the 15 museums and 3 theaters.

Religion
The majority of people in Delft are Religious 54% of the people are Christian (30% catholic and 24% protestant), 5% Islam and 3% are of some other religion. A great part (38%) of the population is agnostic. Hippolytus of Rome is the cities guardian; the now called Oude Kerk (Old Church) was dedicated to him. Also the catholic community founded in the old town was named after him as well as the chapel (Sint Hyppolytuskapel). The Jewish community was removed from Delft or murdered during the Second World War. The communities of Delft and The Hague were subsequently merged after the war ended; the synagogue in Delft however, is still standing. The Islamic population (about 2’300 people) built the Sultan-Ahmed-Mosque in 1995.

Airports / Car rental
Delfts nearest Airport is the Rotterdam The Hague Airport. It is the third largest airport in the Netherlands. As Delft is in between The Hague and Rotterdam, it is very close to the airport. Transfer of 16km shouldnot take more than 30 minutes.

Public transport
Delft has a good infrastructure. Delft is connected to the international railway system. It has two Stations, Delft and Delft Zuid. It has regular trains outbound to The Hague, Rotterdam and the region. The connections in the city are also very well connected by buses and trams. For these you can buy the Dalkaard; it allows you to travel cheaply with the bus or tram. Another option is the City Card The Hague - Delft. With it you can travel anywhere within The Hague and Delft for 24h (€12,99) or 48h (€19,99). In addition to that, you get discounts off of entry fees of the Top30 places in The Hague and Delft.

Taxis
In Delft you can take the normal taxi or if you’re up to it, the velotaxi for 1-2 persons.

Events
Westerpop: Westerpop is a two day pop festival that is celebrated annually on the sport grounds of the Grotius College. About 15’000 people visit every year and the artists are honorary. At the same time there is a market outside of the festival grounds.
Taptoe Delft: It is a musical parade held in Delft every two years, the other year it is held in Breda.
Jazz Festival Delft
De Mooiweerspelen: They are games played when the weather is nice. They are held in June on various streets in Delft.
The Delft Chamber Music Festival: This festival is held yearly in the Mandelzaal of the Prinsenhof.

Culinary Specialties
In Delft you will have no problem finding any of the Dutch specialties. However, much of the Dutch kitchen is restricted to the homes and not the restaurant. You are sure to find the usual patate stands with typical Dutch fast foods like patate, krokketten, olieballe or maybe even pannekoeke.

Lifestyle
Like many other Dutch cities have one, Delft has a fietsactieplan.Whereas other cities try to make their cities more bicycle friendly and green, Delft is trying to be the bicycle friendliest cities of them all, so to keep the Dutch Lifestyle of riding the bike up to date. There are already two pedestrian zones in Delft and most of the inner city is car unfriendly anyways.

Cultural Sights and buildings
The old town hasn’t changed much in looks from the painting Jan Vermeer painted in 1657/58. Although there was alarge fire in 1536 and in 1654 a black powder deport exploded, there weren’t any catastrophes after the “View of Delft” was painted. Therefore there are still many old buildings to be seen in Delft;

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• Market square
  
• Nieuwe Kerk
  
• Oude Kerk
  
• Korenbeurs (Corn exchange market)
  
• Stadthuis (town hall)
  
• De Waag (Weigh House)
  
• The Renaissance House: It used to be the seat of the Dutch East India Company
  
• The Prinsenhof: The old cloister is now the city museum
  
• Hofjies