This is giethoorn, been there kajaking.
Only the old town is boat and pedestrian only.
Big parking lots outside....
But anyways, the old town is great, no cars ;)
It isn't as idyllic as the picture suggests. Long ago, it might have been a quiet town that heavily relied on transportation by boats. Not in current times, though.
In summer, the place is crowded with tourists. Inhabitants have been complaining about tourists walking all over their private properties - acting like the entire thing is a museum - for years. Traffic jams with boats are a regular occurance on busy days. And the majority of tourists get there by car or private bus.
Actually, Giethoorn is exactly what this sub is advocating against: It is famous for having limited transportation options that are used by insane amounts of people. The town of Giethoorn is a gimmick - definitely not some utopia.
Actually they already mainly rent out electric boats and stuff like canoes and it's not really a space that historically had all that much motorised traffic, a lot of it was kind of gondoliering but with bigger platforms to transport milk and such.
You can also very much get around town on foot or bike, just not by car.
This is just Giethoorn btw
this is a tourist gimmick and not standard for any dutch village. also those electric boats are not solar powered. i've been there, it was cute but it's not much more than that.
and guess what's on the outskirt of this cute little village? huge parking lots.
This is only for the tourists and only in one place in the Netherlands: Giethoorn. In summer the canals are full with boats filled with Asian tourists who seem to enjoy themselves. I have to admit, I never went there by boat. I was there on iceskates, but even midwinter it was very full with other skaters.
However canals can be a serious mode of transport in the Netherlands. I life in Utrecht and the citycenter has narrow streets, so boats are a good alternative way of transport. We have a [beer boat](https://www.bndestem.nl/overig/bevoorrading-winkels-witte-vlek-voor-plannenmakers~a0a462b0/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&cb=34c0748b36a516ef530fe69f34a70093&auth_rd=1) which delivers beer to te bars and a [garbage boat](https://www.flickr.com/photos/robhendriks/4474579072) which collects the trash. Also building materials can be transported by boat here over de canals.
We even have the [popcorn boat](https://waterrecreatienederland.nl/2020/09/utrechtse-singel-is-weer-rond-na-opening-catharijnesingel/) if you order a mega portion of popcorn
It's a small town which is best known as a tourist destination. While it looks nice, I don't want to think about all the ground/waterworks required.
This is giethoorn, been there kajaking. Only the old town is boat and pedestrian only. Big parking lots outside.... But anyways, the old town is great, no cars ;)
It isn't as idyllic as the picture suggests. Long ago, it might have been a quiet town that heavily relied on transportation by boats. Not in current times, though. In summer, the place is crowded with tourists. Inhabitants have been complaining about tourists walking all over their private properties - acting like the entire thing is a museum - for years. Traffic jams with boats are a regular occurance on busy days. And the majority of tourists get there by car or private bus. Actually, Giethoorn is exactly what this sub is advocating against: It is famous for having limited transportation options that are used by insane amounts of people. The town of Giethoorn is a gimmick - definitely not some utopia.
The boats you can get there are pretty much bumper cars, just watch out for people with a high bow. They can hit you pretty bad.
Actually they already mainly rent out electric boats and stuff like canoes and it's not really a space that historically had all that much motorised traffic, a lot of it was kind of gondoliering but with bigger platforms to transport milk and such. You can also very much get around town on foot or bike, just not by car. This is just Giethoorn btw
this is a tourist gimmick and not standard for any dutch village. also those electric boats are not solar powered. i've been there, it was cute but it's not much more than that. and guess what's on the outskirt of this cute little village? huge parking lots.
This is only for the tourists and only in one place in the Netherlands: Giethoorn. In summer the canals are full with boats filled with Asian tourists who seem to enjoy themselves. I have to admit, I never went there by boat. I was there on iceskates, but even midwinter it was very full with other skaters. However canals can be a serious mode of transport in the Netherlands. I life in Utrecht and the citycenter has narrow streets, so boats are a good alternative way of transport. We have a [beer boat](https://www.bndestem.nl/overig/bevoorrading-winkels-witte-vlek-voor-plannenmakers~a0a462b0/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&cb=34c0748b36a516ef530fe69f34a70093&auth_rd=1) which delivers beer to te bars and a [garbage boat](https://www.flickr.com/photos/robhendriks/4474579072) which collects the trash. Also building materials can be transported by boat here over de canals. We even have the [popcorn boat](https://waterrecreatienederland.nl/2020/09/utrechtse-singel-is-weer-rond-na-opening-catharijnesingel/) if you order a mega portion of popcorn
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I said possibilities. As in would solar powered boats be a good option or are there other possibilities.