Giethoorn is just like a beautiful postcard that you can’t wait to share with the loved ones. Called little Venice of The Netherlands, Giethoorn is a village in the northern of Overijssel province, mostly pedestrian. The car access is only partial, but you can visit the beautiful village walking or by rented boats and bicycles. In the old part of the village are no roads at all, and the transport is exclusively on the water, by boats. Giethoorn has 2 620 inhabitants and more than 180 bridges, giving the village a special charm.
You can visit Giethoorn by car or by train till Steenwijk, then, from the train station, you have to take bus no 70, till Dominee Hylkemaweg station. You can find bus tickets to the train station in Steenwijk. When you arrive, on the over side of the bus station you will see ‘t Zwaantje Restaurant. Here you can rent boats and bikes. It’s a must to rent a boat and discover the village along its channels. Check for rental rates on the photo below.
It is such a lovely, quiet place, so simple, it will just melt your heart with its wooden bridges, with its picturesque houses with reeds roofs surrounded by green lawns, blooming trees, and small channels. Giethoorn is a natural reserve that is a part of National Park Weerribben-Wieden. The small village became famous in 1958 when the movie Fanfare, a comedy by Dutch producer Bert Haanstra, was made here. Since then, Giethoorn became famous as a touristic place, today gathering tourists worldwide.
What to do in Giethoorn? Well, you can do a boat tour, you can bike (during summer, when it is really crowded, biking can be more difficult), you can just walk hand in hand, enjoy coffee at one of the terraces along the water, or you can just relax on a lawn dreaming with your eyes wide open 🙂 If you like museums, you can pay a visit to De Oude Aarde Museum, with a crystals and minerals exhibition, to Olde Maat Uus Museum, a typical Dutch farm from 1800 and to a unique museum of shells, Gloria Maris. Although small, the village has many restaurants and coffee houses. If you get hungry, you can eat at one of the many restaurants along the channels, how else? Try Fratelli, Grachthof, or ‘t Achterhuus. Every August, Giethoorn is hosting Gondola Tour Festival and Floating Blues Festival. During winter, when the water is freezing, you can skate on the channels. Wonderful, isn’t it?
My accommodation was a few kilometers farther from Giethoorn, in a silent oasis, however, you can find many bed&breakfast in the village. My bed&breakfast was De Opkikker, a farmhouse with a huge wonderful garden, two ponies, a hammock perfectly for reading there and a welcoming host, Carmen. In the evening, we had dinner and a walk-in Blokzijl, a little fishing village a few kilometers from our sleeping place, an old fortress from 1580 with narrow, cobbled streets. If you visit the Netherlands, include on your tour Giethoorn and Blokzijl. You are going to enjoy these charming villages!
