🇳🇱Giethoorn

Rent an electric boat on the canals

This is the defining Giethoorn experience and one that children find particularly exciting. No boating licence is needed, the boats are electric and quiet, and the canals are gentle enough for complete beginners. You drift past thatched farmhouses, under low wooden bridges, and through gardens that back right onto the water. Give yourself at least a couple of hours and let the kids take turns steering.

Cycle the canal paths

The network of paths running alongside Giethoorn's canals is perfect for a family bike ride. The terrain is completely flat, the routes are well-signposted, and you can extend your ride out into the surrounding countryside and national park. Bikes are available to rent in the village. It is one of those rare activities where toddlers in a cargo bike seat and older teens on their own bikes are equally happy.

Explore Weerribben-Wieden National Park

Right on Giethoorn's doorstep, this vast wetland reserve is one of the largest of its kind in northwest Europe. You can paddle through it by kayak, canoe, or paddleboard, and keep an eye out for otters, rare birds, and plants you will not spot anywhere else. It is a brilliant half-day add-on that gives your family a real sense of the wild landscape surrounding the village.

Museum Giethoorn 't Olde Maat Uus

This open-air farmhouse museum is the most family-friendly way to understand how people actually lived in Giethoorn. It holds over 20,000 historical documents, photographs, and objects, with exhibits on peat extraction and early settler life. The traditional farmhouse setting makes it feel more like stepping into someone's home than visiting a museum, which keeps kids engaged far longer than you might expect.

Museum De Oude Aarde

A cabinet-of-curiosities style museum packed with minerals, gemstones, fossils, crystals, meteorites, and exotic rocks from around the world. It is compact but genuinely impressive, and children who are into science or nature tend to love it. The meteorite collection alone is worth the visit. A great option if the weather turns grey.

Schelpengalerie Gloria Maris

This shell and coral museum is a hidden gem that surprises almost every family who visits. The gallery features changing exhibitions inspired by the sea, with an extraordinary collection of shells and coral specimens. It is intimate, beautifully displayed, and gives Giethoorn an unexpected cultural dimension that goes well beyond the canals. A lovely quiet stop that works well after a morning on the water.

Walk the bridges and photograph the village

Giethoorn has over 176 wooden bridges, and simply walking from one to the next is an activity in itself. The well-maintained gardens, thatched rooftops, and reflections in the canal make this one of the most photogenic villages in the Netherlands. Give the kids a challenge to count the bridges, spot the oldest farmhouse, or find the narrowest canal path. It turns a leisurely stroll into a proper adventure.