The Netherlands has many great options for a day trip. There are historic places with a unique charm, where you can experience culture and enjoy the friendly atmosphere. Which places are worth a visit? We will name them here.
Giethoorn
Giethoorn is sometimes called the Venice of the North, because of the many canals crossed by idyllic bridges. The best way to explore Giethoorn is by boat. Through koppers-giethoorn.nl it is possible to take a boat trip with an experienced skipper, who can tell you fun facts about the village. You can also rent a boat to visit the beautiful nature reserves in the area that Giethoorn also has to offer. For a truly authentic experience, take a punt boat trip. A punt is a narrow oak boat that used to be the main means of transport in Giethoorn. You can sail on a punt past the farms and picturesque houses with thatched roofs and imagine yourself in the Giethoorn of the past.
Appingedam
Appingedam is the only place in the province of Groningen with medieval city rights. The basis of these city rights dates back to 1327. Today, the history of Appingedam is still visible everywhere. The many old buildings provide tangible evidence of the wealth of this medieval trading city. There is the old town hall and the Gothic Nicolai Church. But the history of the residents and their everyday lives are also still visible. The ‘hanging kitchens’, bay windows that have been extended above the Damsterdiep, tell of residents who needed more living space but were forced to expand above the water due to shortages.
Thorn
A very special town is Thorn in Limburg, which is nicknamed ‘the white town’. Thorn was an independent state for eight hundred years, with its own jurisdiction and its own currency. Royal abbesses held sway there. This changed when in 1794 the French wanted to collect taxes based on the size of the windows. The poor inhabitants then bricked up their windows and painted their houses white to disguise this. These white houses can still be visited in the historic center. There is also the Gothic St. Michael’s Church, the oldest part of which dates from the tenth century.
Marken
The fishing village of Marken is located in North Holland. The village was once an island, but is now a peninsula connected to the mainland by a dike. The village is known for its characteristic green houses, which are built on mounds to provide protection against high water. These mounds are called marks. Marken also has an old city center, De Kets, where you can walk through narrow streets with houses from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
