Giethoorn is a village in the province of Overijssel, with a population of approximately 2,800 people.
It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk. As a popular tourist destination both in the Netherlands and abroad, Giethoorn is often referred to as the Venice of the Netherlands. It is just 130km from Amsterdam.

It was founded 790 years ago by Mediterranean monks, when its first inhabitants discovered a large population of wild goats nearby. At the time, the horn and milk trade was part of the Dutch economy.

The village used to be a pedestrian area and became famous after 1958 when Dutch filmmaker Bert Haanstra made his famous comedy Fanfare in its beautiful surroundings. There were no roads in the old part of the town and all transport was done by water, through its canals. The lakes in Giethoorn were formed by excavating peat, a type of moss that is used as fertilizer and fuel,

Fortunately, little has changed there. The tall wooden bridges are still in use and you can still cruise the canals on a punter boat and admire the beautiful farmhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries.