Delft, Haarlem, or Utrecht: Which City Is the Best Day Trip?

While Amsterdam is a fabulous city in its own right, with approximately one zillion ways to spend your time, it’s also a wonderful home base for exploring more of the Netherlands. Because the Netherlands has such a thorough and reliable train system — and because it’s a rather small country — it’s easy to take day trips galore from Amsterdam.

Three very popular destinations for day trips from Amsterdam are Delft, Haarlem, and Utrecht. I’ve visited and enjoyed all three of these cities, and if you have the time, I recommend visiting them all! But what if you only have time to see one or two?

In this post, I’ll tell you a little bit about what to expect from Delft, Haarlem, and Utrecht. Then, I’ll recommend which one (or two!) you should visit depending on what you’re hoping to experience in your day trips.

Overviews of Delft, Haarlem, and Utrecht

First, let’s discuss what you can expect to see if you visit Delft, Haarlem, or Utrecht.

What to Expect in Delft

Delft is a lovely, small city about an hour away from Amsterdam on the train. In Delft, narrow canals wind through streets with charming little houses and centuries-old cathedrals. Plus: Pisa who? Delft has its own leaning tower.

Delft contains some of the most notable churches in the Netherlands. Oude Kerk, or Old Church, is full of Delft’s history — plus the tomb of artist Johannes Vermeer, who lived his whole life in the city. It’s also the home of the aforementioned leaning tower, which threatened to topple for years but now is stable at a lean of two meters.

Just a few minutes away is Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, which towers over Delft’s large town square. Not only is it a beautiful church with a tower you can climb, but it also holds the royal crypts of the Netherlands, including the tombs of some of the royal family’s best-known members. Most notably, William of Orange lies in an extravagant mausoleum in the front of the church.

Delft is a wonderful place for a quiet, lovely day full of canalside strolls and leisurely exploration. It’s also the home of Delftware — the famous blue and white pottery produced in the Netherlands. You can even visit the Royal Delft Museum to learn about how Delftware is created.

What to Expect in Haarlem

At just 15 to 20 minutes away by train, Haarlem is so close to Amsterdam that it’s actually part of Amsterdam’s metropolitan area. It has its own distinct feel and attractions, though.

Haarlem has a lovely main square, with lots of seating for outdoor cafes and restaurants; it’s no doubt bustling during the summer months. At the end of the square lies St. Bavo’s Church, which is magnificent. It features a massive organ (100 feet tall!) that Mozart even played once as a child.

On the other side of town is another St. Bavo’s: St. Bavo’s Cathedral, which has a unique exterior design, glorious stained glass colors on the interior, and a tower you can climb.

Haarlem is also notable for its hofjes — small communities with homes that surround hidden courtyards. These courtyards are difficult to find and largely inaccessible to tourists. You can try your luck at seeing some of the courtyards through the information on this site.

Other top attractions in Haarlem include the Corrie ten Boom House, where members of the Dutch Resistance hid Jews and others during the Holocaust (read my warnings about the ten Boom House here before going), the Molen de Adriaan (a windmill), and several art museums.

Haarlem is a great place to visit for a sampler platter of what the Netherlands has to offer: historic churches, windmills, canals, busy town squares, and World War II history, among other things.

What to Expect in Utrecht

Compared to Delft and Haarlem, Utrecht is a larger city. In some ways, it feels like a smaller version of Amsterdam, with its own canal system, hordes of bikes parked everywhere you look, and flower stands sprinkled between busy cafes and restaurants.

One of the most popular things to do in Utrecht is to climb Dom Tower — the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. Dom Tower was, originally, connected to Utrecht’s Dom Church (or St. Martin’s Cathedral). However, in the 17th century, the church’s nave collapsed during a major storm. Now, the tower still stands, and the rest of the church still stands, but an empty plaza — where the nave once stood — separates them.

During my visit to Utrecht in 2023, Dom Tower was completely covered in scaffolding from top to bottom as part of a restoration project. I read that the scaffolding and the related construction work partially obstructed the views from the tower, so I opted out of climbing it on this visit, but in normal times the view is supposed to be wonderful. You only have to climb, uh, 465 stairs to see it…

In lieu of climbing the tower, I enjoyed a leisurely afternoon of strolling the city’s canals, buying books at Steven Sterk, and waiting out a rainstorm in Tijm, a fun cafe.

One unique feature of Utrecht is that its canals include wharfs — lower walkways along the water, lined with cellars. Originally used for storage, these cellars now serve as restaurants, shops, and even homes. In the summer, the wharfs are filled with outdoor seating for restaurants.

Other things to see in Utrecht include DOMUnder, an underground visitors’ center and tour of the area’s archaeology, and the Rietveld Schröder House, a unique home built in 1924 (and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000).

Utrecht is a wonderful day trip from Amsterdam if you are looking to feel like you’re still in a sizable city, but maybe one with fewer hordes of tourists.

Delft vs. Haarlem vs. Utrecht: Which One to Visit

So, should you visit Delft, Haarlem, or Utrecht?

Well, I can tell you that of these three cities, Delft was my personal favorite. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best fit for what you are looking for.

Here are my recommendations.

If you want to see canals…

Go to Delft or Utrecht. Haarlem has canals too, but they mainly go around the heart of the city rather than through it. Also, in my opinion, they’re generally less picturesque than the canals in Delft and Utrecht.

If you want to see particularly unique canals…

Go to Utrecht, which has canals lined with wharfs you can walk, and where you can eat at restaurants.

If you want to see a windmill…

Go to Delft or Haarlem. Both of these cities have a windmill in the city center. For what it’s worth, Haarlem’s is better located.

Molen de Roos in Delft (left); Molen de Adriaan in Haarlem (right)

If you want picturesque scenery in general…

Go to Delft, Utrecht, and Haarlem in that order. This is of course subjective, but I personally thought Delft was the prettiest of these three cities, and Haarlem the least picturesque.

That said, all three of these cities are lovely.

If you want to reduce your travel time…

Go to Haarlem or Utrecht. Haarlem is practically next door to Amsterdam at about 15 minutes away by train, while Utrecht is about 30 minutes from Amsterdam. Delft is about an hour from Amsterdam.

Note, though, that Delft and Haarlem are on the same train line, so you can visit both in one fast-paced day if necessary. (This is what I did, although I don’t necessarily recommend it.)

If you want small-town charm…

Go to Delft.

If you want city vibes…

Go to Utrecht.

If you want to go shopping…

Go to Utrecht, which has lots of places to shop for fun antiques along the canals (not to mention a huge mall that you actually have to walk through to get from the train station into the heart of the city).

Or, if you specifically want to shop for pottery, go to Delft.

If you want to see the view from a tower…

Go to any of them, but Utrecht is probably your best bet — especially now that the Dom Tower restoration is complete.

Delft’s Nieuwe Kerk has a climbable tower, but it may be closed in the event of wind (which was the case during my visit).

Haarlem’s St. Bavo’s Cathedral has a climbable tower, but the cathedral is a little bit out of the way.

If you want to see wonderful churches…

Go to any of them, but Haarlem’s churches impressed me the most.

If you want to see World War II history…

Go to Utrecht, which was a major city for the Nazis during their occupation of the Netherlands, or to Haarlem, where you can tour a home that was used to hide Jews during the Holocaust.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to choosing between Delft, Haarlem, and Utrecht, you can’t go wrong: these are all great cities that are worthy of a day trip.

Ultimately, which of these cities you should visit depends on exactly what you’re hoping to get out of your day trip. (But if you absolutely can’t decide, my vote is for Delft!)

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