Yes, comfortably. For history and art it is one of the easiest two-city days from Amsterdam: Delft and The Hague are fifteen minutes apart on the same line. Give Delft the morning (the Markt, the two churches, Vermeer’s town), take the train after lunch, and give The Hague the afternoon (the Mauritshuis with Girl with a Pearl Earring, the Binnenhof area, Escher). Return to Amsterdam from Den Haag Centraal in about fifty minutes.
The plan
Leave Amsterdam Centraal by 9:00 on a direct Intercity; you are on Delft’s Markt by 10:15. Nieuwe Kerk, Oude Delft, Oude Kerk and a canal loop take until 12:30, with time for the tower if the weather is clear. Lunch on the Markt or the Beestenmarkt.
Around 13:45 take any train to Den Haag Centraal (fifteen minutes). Walk to the Mauritshuis for a timed ticket at about 14:30; ninety minutes. Then the Plaats and the Hofvijver, Escher in Het Paleis if there is time, and the train home from Den Haag Centraal at about 18:00.
- Avoid Sunday: Delft’s churches are closed to visitors
- Avoid Monday morning in The Hague: most museums are closed, though the Mauritshuis opens at 13:00, which suits this plan
- Book the Mauritshuis online; the queue is the only part of this day that can go wrong
Why this order
Delft first because the town explains the paintings, and because the Mauritshuis is calmer in the afternoon on weekdays. Also because Den Haag Centraal is a terminus with frequent direct trains to Amsterdam into the evening.
With a guide
A two-hour Delft guide in the morning, meeting you near Delft station, fits this day exactly: they take you through the Markt and the churches and put you on the train with a plan for the Mauritshuis. Some guides cover both cities; ask when you enquire.
Questions people ask
- Is it too much for one day?
- No, if you keep each city to the highlights. It is two half days with a fifteen-minute train between them.
- Could I do The Hague first?
- Yes, but Delft’s churches close at 17:00 and the Mauritshuis is busier in the morning, so Delft-first is easier.
Published 2026-09-10, facts checked 2026-09-10.