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Itinerary
Day 1
We depart from our designated pick up points by executive coach and travel with our tour manager to Dover for our P&O Ferries Channel crossing to Calais in Club Class. On arrival in Delft, we check in at the 4* Hampshire Hotel Delft Centre for a five night stay. A set threecourse dinner without drinks is included on our first evening, and the remaining four nights are on bed and breakfast basis.
Day 2
This morning we enjoy a guided tour of Delft, one of the principal artistic centres of the Northern Netherlands and famous for the works of Fabritius, de Hooch and Vermeer, who was born in Delft in 1632. We then visit the Vermeer Centre, offering a visual voyage of discovery through the life, work and city of Johannes Vermeer. A tour of the Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles in Delft this afternoon guides us through the history of Blue Delft and Royal Delft, including seeing a master painter at work and visiting the dining room of Vermeer and the Dutch Royal family Chamber, the museum with antique Delft pieces, the historical courtyard and the factory itself.
Day 3
We visit the recently refurbished Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this morning for a guided tour of this world-renowned art collection, the most famous of which is Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’, but which also includes many Dutch Old Masters such as Jan Steen, Frans Hals and Vermeer. As well as paintings, the collection includes sculptures, clocks, Delft Blue, porcelain, and Asian and Oriental art. We spend some time at leisure in Amsterdam this afternoon and on an individual basis you may choose to visit the nearby Van Gogh Museum. The museum is home to the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world or you may wish to join an optional boat cruise viewing Amsterdam from a differing perspective.
Day 4
Today is the highlight of our tour. We visit the Floriade at Almere, a World Horticultural Expo staged once every ten years in the Netherlands. Featuring a daily cultural programme of music, dance, literature, theatre and visual arts, the event is home to the world’s most exquisite and exceptional flowers, plants, trees and fruit and vegetables, across a 100 acre site.
Day 5
We have a guided tour of the Panorama Mesdag in The Hague, a cylindrical painting over 14 metres high and 120 metres in circumference. Depicting the vista of the sea, the dunes and Scheveningen village, this is the largest painting in the Netherlands and was painted by Hendrik Willem Mesdag, the most famous painter at The Hague School. This afternoon we enjoy a guided tour at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, known as the ‘Royal Gallery of Paintings’. Recently reopened after a major expansion and renovation the gallery is home to an outstanding collection with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Van Steen, Frans Hals, Ruysdael, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Vermeer, including his famous ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’.
Day 6
En route back to Calais, we visit Ghent where you have free time to relax or to visit the collection at the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts, with works ranging from 19th century Realism, Romanticism, Impressionism, Symbolism and Expressionism to 20th century Surrealism. We continue on to Calais for our P&O Channel crossing to Dover Club Class and then we have onwards coach travel to our original pick-up point.
NB: Please note we reserve the right to alter the above itinerary if required for operational reasons. Given the historic nature of the places visited, a certain degree of walking will be involved, and this holiday may not be suitable for those with mobility problems. Price based on twin share. Minimum numbers required. Normal booking conditions apply.
Featuring
4* central Delft hotel
Welcome dinner included
All excursions, guided tours, entrance fees & gratuities included
Tour manager throughout
Return P&O Ferries Channel crossings in Club Class
Executive coach throughout
Audio headsets on Days 2 to 5 included
Delft - guided city tour
Koninklijke Porcleyne Fles - demonstration tour
The Rijksmuseum - guided tour
Floriade Flower Festival
The Hague
Panorama Mesdag - guided tour
Mauritshuis - guided tour
Ghent
Hotel
We stay five nights at the centrally located 4* Hampshire Hotel Delft Centre (www.hoteldelftcentre.nl). Located a five minute walk from central Delft, facilities at the hotel include a restaurant and bar and all rooms are en suite and feature television, telephone, an in room safe, and tea & coffee facilities. A set three course dinner without drinks is included in our hotel on the first evening and the remaining nights are on bed and breakfast basis.
Extras
Double room for sole occupation supplement £199
Insurance (including Covid cover) £44
Gratuities
Optional Excursions
All excursions, guided tours, entrance fees & gratuities included
