photo by fleminem

DELFT, 2km inland from The Hague, has considerable charm, with its gabled red-roofed houses standing beside tree-lined canals. The pastel colours of the pavements, brickwork and bridges give the town a faded tranquillity – though one that is increasingly hard to find beneath the tourist onslaught during summer. The town is perhaps best known for Delftware, the clunky blue and white ceramics to which the town gave its name in the seventeenth century. If you’ve already slogged through the vast collection in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, it needs no introduction, but for those sufficiently interested, De Porceleyne Fles, Rotterdamsweg 196, a factory producing Delftware, is open for visits (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, April-Oct also Sun 9.30am-5pm; €2.30), and the Huis Lambert van Meerten Museum, Oude Delft 199 (Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm; €2.30; _ www.royaldelft.com_) has a large collection of Delft and other tiles.