Giethoorn
village
Meet Giethoorn village, a fairytale in the Netherlands. Giethoorn village is the part of Giethoorn without any roads. So, the locals of Giethoorn get around by boating, walking or cycling. Many tourists have explored Giethoorn before you. We are a group of proud locals who want to show you what live is like in our village so you can experience this cute village well prepared.
Private guide
Hire a local to show you all the best spots in Giethoorn. Private guide service.
Plan your trip
We provide you with relevant info. So, you can make your own plan to visit Giethoorn.
Accommodation
Transportation
Meet Giethoorn
We would like to introduce Giethoorn to you as locals. This authentic Dutch place is located in the Northeastern part of the Netherlands. It is 85 minutes drive by car from Amsterdam to Giethoorn. Amsterdam is our capital city of the Netherlands. Yearly 1 million people from all over the world are visiting Giethoorn. Therefore, Giethoorn is ranked in the top 10 of cities being visited in the Netherlands. The village is well known in the Netherlands but also far beyond. In conclusion, it is hard to name a country where nobody from that country has visited Giethoorn. Giethoorn has many nicknames. For example: 'Venice of the North', 'Dutch village without roads' or 'Dutch Venice'.
Giethoorn or Giethoorn village?
The part of Giethoorn that most foreign tourists will see when they visit Giethoorn is called: 'Giethoorn village'. This part of Giethoorn contains all little islands which are connected by 176 bridges to the mainland. In fact, on all these islands in Giethoorn village 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
No roads can be found in this Giethoorn village area. Therefore, we can speak of a car-free zone. Visitors and residents of Giethoorn have to park their car outside the village on special parkings. That's unique in the Netherlands. However, this car-free area is also referred to the commercial heart of Giethoorn. For instance, Places where you can rent whisper boats, board a guided cruise, enter a restaurant or visit a museum are all in this area. This cycling/foot path ''reffered as'' (Binnenpad) is like walking on a film set. We live in a social media era. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to wait for your turn to get that perfect picture of that roof thatched house. Above all, your social friends must of course be impressed by your holiday photos.
Dutch fairy tale
All these roof thatched houses 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 imagine yourself in a romantic fairy tale. However, Giethoorn in the Netherlands is one of the top-10 tourist locations in the Netherlands. In other words, you are never alone when you visit Giethoorn.
Bigger cities like: Zwolle, Steenwijk, Heerenveen and Meppel are located near Giethoorn.