There is no road in the village!

Venice is not the only city in the world that can be visited primarily by boat. There are no roads within the village of Giethoorn in the Netherlands. There are more than six kilometers of canals. 

No roads means no cars. Visitors to Giethoorn village park their cars outside the village. After that one has to hire a boat to go around the whole village.

The picturesque village has historic buildings, ancient churches and forts. The village is surrounded by tall trees—just like a fairy tale! Visitors can take a boat trip through this picturesque environment.

Surrounded by lakes and forests, this village has beautiful farms and thatched roofs. Apart from this there are some wooden bridges, which add to its beauty. Giethoorn has a total of 176 bridges.

The village of Giethoorn was founded as a settlement of peat (a type of fuel, used in gardens) harvesters. Peat cutting created ponds and lakes. Then some islands were created here. The natives built houses on the islands. Locals developed a communication system using traditional githorn boats.

Little has changed in the village of Giethoorn. The wooden bridges are still there. Electric boats have also been added. A one or two hour boat trip will introduce you to the beautiful farmhouses of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The village is surrounded by some excellent restaurants. Many of which are beautifully situated along the water. Dutch filmmaker Bert Haanstra made his famous comedy film ‘Fanfare’ (1958) here. After that the village became famous locally.

The village still maintains its communication system only by boat. Giethoorn is known as the Venice of the North or the Venice of the Netherlands. This roadless village is one of the top ten tourist spots in the Netherlands.