2 Best Sights in Delft, The Randstad

The pretty, tree-lined Oude Delft canal has numerous historic gabled houses along its banks and takes the honors for being the first canal in the city, and possibly the first city canal anywhere in the Netherlands. One of the finest buildings along its length, the "Common Land house" is a spectacular example of 16th-century Gothic architecture and is adorned with brightly painted shields and a coat of arms. A few yards east of here, across the canal on the corner of Hippolytusbuurt and Cameretten, is a row of visbanken (fish stalls), built along the canal in 1650. Fish has been sold over the counter here pretty much ever since.

At the southern end of the Oosteinde canal, the fairy tale twin turrets of the Oostpoort form Delft's only remaining city gate. Dating back to 1400, with the spires added in 1514, parts of the structure are now a private residence, but you can still walk over the drawbridge. It is a short walk out of the center, but the effort of getting there is more than rewarded by the view.