The life of days gone by seems to be mirrored in the Dorpsgracht (Village Canal). The time that everything was done via the water. Transport with punts and narrowboats. The farmer and his cattle and hay, the postman and the baker. The canal was the lifeblood, with thatched cottages on both sides. This is still how it goes all those years later. The water, the little bridges and the wooden boardwalks for pedestrians and cyclists alike give Giethoorn an air of Venice. The little boats zoom past silently in the village canal, past the Binnenpad. Glasses clink at the café terraces and the doors of museums and galleries are open to welcome you in.