By air
Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), ~1.5 h by road
Europe · Netherlands
Giethoorn, Netherlands
A village of canals and thatched roofs
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to September — boating season
Don't miss
Giethoorn's canals
The Weerribben-Wieden
The village museum
Things to do
A whisper boat on the canals
Canoeing
Cycling
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Bert Knot · CC BY-SA 2.0
What to pack
Layers
A quieter corner
The Weerribben-Wieden national park by canoe
Questions travellers ask
When is boating season in Giethoorn?
May to September. Bring layers.
How should I explore Giethoorn?
It's a village of canals and thatched roofs, so take a whisper boat on the canals, go canoeing or cycling, and stop at the village museum.
Where can I canoe near Giethoorn?
In the Weerribben-Wieden national park.
How far is Giethoorn from Amsterdam Schiphol?
About 1.5 hours by road. While you're there, try the smoked eel.
About Giethoorn
- Lakeside
Where it is
Giethoorn is a village in the municipality of Steenwijkerland in the province of Overijssel, in the north-east of the Netherlands, set among the lakes, reed beds and canals of the Weerribben-Wieden National Park.
History
The lakes and canals around Giethoorn were created by centuries of peat digging, as villagers cut peat for fuel and dug channels to carry it away by boat. The village became famous after 1958, when the Dutch filmmaker Bert Haanstra shot his comedy Fanfare here, and tourism is now its main source of income.
People
Villagers speak Dutch, and many old farmhouses stand on their own little islands, reached by footbridges. Reed cut in the surrounding marshes is used for the thatched roofs typical of the area, and today most people work in tourism, renting out boats and running cafés and guesthouses.
Known for
- Canals and wooden footbridges
- Thatched farmhouses
- Quiet electric whisper boats
- Canoeing in the Weerribben-Wieden
- Cycling through the surrounding polders
Did you know?
Until a cycle path was added, the old part of Giethoorn had no roads at all, and everything was carried by boat along its canals.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.