There are many day trips one can comfortably do from Amsterdam. Here's one we did on a recent trip to The Netherlands where we home-based in Amsterdam: the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery in The Hague and the Royal Dutch Delftware Manufactory (that’s the official name for the world famous Royal Dutch Delftware factory)--these can be combined for a memorable and comfortable day trip from Amsterdam.
And with a Benelux Rail Pass, the transportation is free: Amsterdam Centraal to The Hague Centraal train stations is less than an hour; and then about a 5-minute walk gets you to the Mauritshuis. Rick’s guidebook gives detailed directions. Then 20 minutes to Delft (arguably a suburb of The Hague). Then a 20-minute bus ride to the Manufactory.
From Rick’s guidebook: “The Hague’s top art museum features Dutch Golden Age art, including top-notch pieces by Vermeer (his famous Girl with a Pearl Earring lives here), Rembrandt, Rubens, and many others. This so-called ‘mini-Rijksmuseum’ is more intimate and less overwhelming….”
You can see the museum’s highlights and enjoy a good lunch in a bit over 2 hours. An excellent free museum app is easily downloaded to your smartphone.
The Museum’s highlights include: Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring; Rubens’ Old Woman and a Boy with Candles; Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp and Portrait of an Elderly Man; Jan Steen’s Girl Eating Oysters; and Vermeer’s View of Delft. And so many others.
Speaking of Delft, when you’re finished at the Mauritshuis, then you’re off to Delft itself. Hague Centraal to Delft is about 20 minutes by train, you can even take the tram (we took the train since Mauritshuis is close to the train station); and then a 10-minute bus ride gets you to within easy walking distance of the Delftware Manufactory. Rick’s guidebook gives detailed directions on how to do this.
The Manufactory closes by 5pm, which you’ll want to consider in the timing of your departure time from Amsterdam Centraal and when you leave the Mauritshuis.
The Delft Blue earthenware made at the Royal Dutch Manufactory is famous worldwide and has been making fine porcelain for three centuries. At the factory you can see it being crafted, see the company’s priceless collection, even talk with the craftsmen on the factory floor.
The tour ends at the gift shop, where bargain hunters can hunt for “seconds” with slight blemishes for 20-40 percent off.
And then you can be back to Amsterdam in about an hour, after a memorable day trip!