4 Best Sights in The Randstad, Netherlands

Holding its own against the imposing Domtoren across the square, this grand Gothic cathedral was built during the 13th and 14th centuries and designed in the style of Tournai Cathedral in Belgium. It has five chapels radiating around the ambulatory of the chancel, as well as a number of funerary monuments, including that of a 14th-century bishop. The entire space between the tower and the Domkerk was originally occupied by the nave of the huge cathedral, which was destroyed in a freak tornado in 1674 and not rebuilt. Many other buildings were damaged, and the exhibition inside Domkerk shows interesting before-and-after sketches. Today only the chancel and tower remain, separated by an open space, now a sunny square edged by a road. Behind the chancel is the Pandhof, a 15th-century cloister with a formal herb garden with medicinal herbs, replanted in the 1960s.

Late Gothic Sint Bavo's, more commonly called the Great Church, dominates the main market square. It was built in the 14th century, but severe fire damage in 1370 led to a further 150 years of rebuilding and expansion. This is the burial place of Frans Hals: a lamp marks his tombstone behind the brass choir screen. Laurens Coster is buried here, too. It is rumored that he was the first European to use movable type in 1423 (sorry, Gutenberg), which he discovered while carving letters for his children; he was inspired when one of the bark letters fell into the sand and made an imprint. The church is the home of the Müller organ, on which both Handel and Mozart played. Installed in 1738, and for centuries considered the finest in the world, it has been meticulously restored to protect the sound planned by its creator, Christian Müller. Between May and October organists perform free concerts every Tuesday at 8:15 pm, and occasionally on Thursday at 4 pm—Bach fugues have never sounded so magisterial.

Presiding over the Markt, this late-Gothic edifice was built between 1483 and 1510. It represents more than a century's worth of Dutch craftsmanship—as though its founders knew it would one day be the last resting place of the man who built the nation, William the Silent, and his descendants of the House of Orange. In 1872 the noted architect P. J. H. Cuypers raised the tower to its current height. There are 22 columns surrounding the ornate black-marble-and-alabaster tomb of William of Orange, which was designed by Hendrick de Keyser and his son. The small dog you see at the prince's feet is rumored to have starved to death after refusing to eat following his owner's death. Throughout the church are paintings, stained-glass windows, and memorabilia associated with the Dutch royal family. There are other mausoleums, most notably that of the lawyer-philosopher Grotius. In summer it is possible to climb the 380-odd steps of the church tower for an unparalleled view that stretches as far as Scheveningen to the north and Rotterdam to the south.

At the very heart of town, the oldest church in Delft (founded in 1200) is the last resting place of Vermeer. Construction went on until the 15th century, which accounts for the combination of architectural styles, and much of the austere interior reflects the latter part of the work. The tower, dating from 1350, started leaning in the Middle Ages and is today 6 feet off-kilter; the tilt to the east is somewhat stabilized by the 3-foot tilt to the north, but still prohibits ascent. At the top is the largest carillon bell in the Netherlands, weighing nearly 20,000 pounds, now used only on state occasions.