Royal Delft Pottery Factory Tour
Most of our travel is kid-friendly but there are a few things to check out that just are not. With two of my girlfriends in town for the weekend, I left the kids at home and we set out to tour the Royal Delft Pottery Factory.
The factory is adjacent to the TU Delft campus and is easily reachable by car, bike or public transportation. There is a discount for Museumkaart members. Admission includes an audio tour available in many languages.
If you are interested in starting the tour with a movie, which I recommend, ask at the front desk. The movie has to be started by someone in the room, which they only seem to do on request. We went back at the end and asked about the movie.
The tour takes you through the process of painting the pottery, including seeing a master artist at work. You will also learn about the history of Royal Delft Pottery and view a huge collection.
The audio tour goes into detail about the many pieces on display. Some of the works are owned by the Royal family and are on loan to the company.
These painted “wooden” shoes were one of my favorite items.
The tour also takes you onto the factory floor. This is where it becomes particularly not child friendly. The pottery is all poured and fired on location. There are shelves upon shelves of pottery waiting to be painted, with nothing separating you and the shelves except a yellow line on the floor.
Some of the pottery is hand-painted while others use a transfer process to mass produce it. These are denoted by the markings on the bottom of the pieces.
The tour drops you off in the gift shop, which honestly was one of my favorite parts. This is a great chance to see all the different types of designs you learned about on the tour.
We ended our time at Royal Delft in their on-site cafe. The cakes and coffee were excellent. If I had thought ahead I would have made a reservation for a full tea. These reservations must be made 24-hours in advance. There were a few families enjoying the tea and it looked like a wonderful way to end a visit.
A visit to Royal Delft is a perfect afternoon adventure while kids are napping or otherwise engaged. I hope to visit Delft Blue, the other Delft potttery factory so I can tell you more about this wonderful town.