Giethoorn-Spending a day in "Venice of Netherlands"
This dreamy little town in the eastern part of Netherlands is unreal and leaves Disneyland behind with its magical beauty. I went on a day trip there and absolutely fell in love with Giethoorn.
Giethoorn stands for “Goat Horn” as few farmers in the 13th century saw horns of wild goats there, and the name just stuck.
Just 120kms from Amsterdam, this peaceful town is car-free as there are no wide roads for cars to be driven. But visitors can explore this town on foot, by bike or boat.
With a population of just around 3000 people, Giethoorn is famously called “Dutch Venice” or “Venice of Netherlands”. And rightly so as this town is based on canals and one of the main modes of transport within the town is through the boat.
There are around 180 small bridges in Giethroon and they help connect the entire town with houses dating back to the 18th century.
Giethoorn became extremely popular as the Dutch director Bert Haanstra made his famous comedy film “Fanfare” there in 1958 with actor Albert Mol as the main lead. Infact there is a man sized bronze statue of Mol to celebrate the film.
How to reach Giethoorn?
1. By Car:
Giethoorn is easy to reach from major cities of Netherlands like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Haarlem, The Hague and it takes 2-3 hours on average to reach.
2. By Train:
There is no train station based in Giethoorn but the closest one is Steenwijk. From Steenwijk station, you can either take a bus or rent a bike or even book a cab to reach Giethoorn.
3. By Bus:
Bus line 70 and line 270, both starting from Steenwijk town are great options to reach the town.
Tips:
My personal tip would be to first enjoy this town on foot, explore the different pieces of land. Walking on the cute bridges, you will come across different stores like pottery, jewelry, various restaurants, museums showing the history of Giethoorn, and much more.
Once done with the walking tour, a 1-hour rental boat ride is a must in Giethoorn and any tiredness during the day will just disappear.
Planning a trip to Spain? Read about the perfect 3-day itinerary plan to Madrid.
Traditional Dutch Wooden Shoes on display in Giethoorn
Boat Ride is a must to enjoy beauty of Giethoorn
I will highly recommend watching my youtube video to see the beauty of this town.
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