Giethoorn

Giethoorn village, the most beautiful and fairytale village in the Netherlands. The Dutch village where the inhabitants can only sail around, walk or cycle to transport themselves. Every year, 1 million people visit Giethoorn. Partly for this reason, we as a group of residents created this website. So, you can visit our village well prepared.

We would like to introduce our village to you as locals. Our small village, is located in the Northeastern part of the Netherlands, approx. 85 mins drive from Amsterdam, our capital city. Yearly around 1 million people from all over the world come to visit our town of ''no roads'', this puts Giethoorn in the top 10 attractions in the Netherlands. Our village is of course well known in the Netherlands but also far beyond. This means it would be difficult to name a country, where nobody from that country, has not visited the Dutch ''Venice of the Netherlands''. Giethoorn has many nicknames. For example:

Giethorn/Venice of the Netherlands/ Dutch Venice

The part of our village that most (foreign) tourists will see when they visit us is called: ''Giethoorn village''. This part of our village contains hand-dug canals and all small islands which are inter connected by 176 bridges to the mainland. In fact, on all these islands, there are houses (farmhouses) which are built in the 18th and 19th centuries. A walking/cycling path named: 'Binnenpad' runs right trough this area. Tourist shops and restaurants (which are well represented) are interspersed with typical Dutch houses with thatched roofs.

Dutch village without roads

Giethoorn village has no roads in the center. So of course, no roads means also no cars. Visitors and residents of Giethoorn village need to park their car outside the village at special car parks. This car-free area is the commercial heart of our village. You can rent whisper boats, board a guided cruise or visit a museum here, along with lots of choices of restaurants and cafes. This cycling/foot path known as the 'Binnenpad' is like walking on to a film set.

Venice of the North

All these roof thatched houses in the Venice of the North are often surrounded by deep green well-kept lawns with beautiful flowering hydrangeas. So, in combination with the many waterways with rows of weeping willows along the canals and the 176 bridges you easily imagine yourself in a romantic fairy tale. However, it is important to remember this town without streets, is one of the top-10 tourist locations in Netherlands. In other words, you are never alone when you visit the Venice of Netherlands

(No coffeeshop)There is no coffeshop in Giethoorn. This nearest coffeeshop is located in Steenwijk. Steekwijk is 10 minutes by car from our village.

Rent your own boat) The best way to experience our village is by boat. All about the boat rental options. Boat rental adress: Beulakerweg 55 in Giethoorn.

To really discover our village, you need a boat to sail around and to feel like a local. You can rent a boat at 1 of our 25 different boat rental companies. The cheapest boats are the 'fluisterboot' type. These are suitable for 2 to 4 people and the costs start at €15 per hour. For a little more comfort, there are open sloop boats for rent. It is also possible to rent a canoe or a sup board.

Take a canal cruis) Discover Giethoorn in a tour boat. Take a seat and let the skippers tell you everything about our village.The guided cruise boat tour takes about 1 hour and follows the tourist village route, through the narrow canals and under the bridges. Most skippers who sail on these tour boats, speak several languages spoken by the skippers. The prices of these cruises vary from €6 to €12 per tour per person. This depends partly on the season.

Private boat tour

Hire a local to show you the best places in our village. No traffic jams. Discover our village with your own guide.This is private guided boat tour in an open sloop boat for groups up to 12 persons and is coronaproof. Costs per hour starts at €110 for a small group. You will sail through the Venice of Netherlands in an old Dutch sloop boat. Your private skipper will guide you through our village. During the boat tour your captain will tell you all special things about the Dutch Venice.

Ref: Giethoorn (giethoornvillage)