The Giethoorn City Guides answer what catches most visitors out: when to get onto the canals before the tour coaches roll in, which boat to hire instead of a packed group tour, where to eat well once you leave the main canal behind, and what lies beyond the village when you want lakes, reeds and quiet little towns. Each guide is a short, honest list that says why a place is worth your time, what to order or look for and one practical tip, and it opens in your browser the moment you have paid.
About the Giethoorn City Guides
- 58 places
- 3 guides
- 7 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The three Giethoorn guides
Food guide
19 places
A starred tasting menu and other special dinners, canal-side lunches and Dutch classics such as pea soup and pancakes, calmer tables in Dwarsgracht and Blokzijl, then fried fish, cake and ice cream.
Things to do guide
22 places
Whisper boats and the open Bovenwijde lake, the farmhouse and mineral museums along the footpath, the reed beds of the Weerribben-Wieden national park and the harbour towns nearby.
Day trips guide
17 places
Reed lakes and Blokzijl by bike or boat, the former island of Schokland, Urk and Sloten, dolmens and heath in Drenthe, then the towers of Zwolle, Leeuwarden and Groningen by train.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Grand Café Fanfare
Binnenpad, Giethoorn centre
The name comes from Fanfare, Bert Haanstra’s 1958 film comedy, which was shot in the village and put Giethoorn on the map. Expect a big, dependable café open all day, bread baked in-house, a terrace over the canal and, once the weather turns cold, thick Dutch pea soup with smoked sausage. From the food guide.
Bovenwijde
East of the village, reached by boat
Peat digging left this wide, shallow lake behind Giethoorn, and steering out of the tight canals onto it is the high point of any boat trip. Cut the motor, drift among the reeds and watch the birds in all that open space. From the things to do guide.
Waterloopbos
Marknesse, about 25 min by car (1 hour 15 by bike)
Engineers once tested harbours, dams and the Delta Works on concrete scale models in this wood; when the lab moved away, the trees took over. Trails wind past model ports and wave basins, a few of them restored and working again, and wandering round costs nothing. From the lakes and day trips guide.
Plan your days in Giethoorn
Day one: walk the Binnenpad footpath from Noord to Zuid before half past nine, then hire a self-drive whisper boat at one end of the village and steer out onto the Bovenwijde while the coach groups queue for tours in the centre. Spend the busy middle hours at the ’t Olde Maat Uus farmhouse museum and over a quiet lunch one street back at Het Wapen van Giethoorn, and book dinner in Noord at De Harmonie. Day two: cycle the flat paths through the national park to Dwarsgracht and on to Blokzijl, where Sluiszicht looks out over the lock, or start at the De Wieden visitor centre for a boat trip across the lakes. For a rainy or slow day, browse the minerals at De Oude Aarde and the shells at Gloria Maris, then take bus 70 to Zwolle, climb the Peperbus tower and spend the afternoon in the Fundatie museum.
Questions about the Giethoorn guides
What do the Giethoorn City Guides include?
Three guides with 58 places in total: food, things to do, and lakes and day trips. Every entry tells you why it is worth going, where it is, notes on opening times and one tip you can put to use.
How do I receive the guides once I have paid?
The links appear on your order confirmation page and in the email that follows. They open in the browser of any phone, tablet or laptop, with no app to install and no account to set up.
Can I use the Giethoorn guides without internet?
Yes. Open each guide once while you are online and it keeps working offline after that, ticks and notes included. Only opening a place in maps needs mobile data.
Which languages are the Giethoorn guides available in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
How much do the guides cost?
One guide is €4.99, two are €8.99 and all three together are €13.98.
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