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2 Hours Walking Tour Throughout History and Highlights of Hoorn

5.06 reviews

  • 2 hours
  • Free cancellation up to 24h before
  • 2 languages
  • Instant confirmation

Highlights

Step into the storybook streets of Hoorn, once one of the wealthiest cities of the Dutch Golden Age. This 2-hour walking tour takes you through centuries of trade, shipbuilding, religion, and resistance. Hear about heroic sailors, explosive naval battles, the shadow of the VOC, and the clash between Remonstrants and Gomarists. Walk past the Hoofdtoren and former VOC warehouses where ships once set sail for the East Indies. See the weigh house, the controversial statue of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, and the mighty church that sparked riots. Learn how the Baltic grain trade quietly made Hoorn richer than spice. Your expert guide brings local legends, architecture, and hidden history to life — from underground tunnels to a pirate who climbed the Spanish flagship’s mast. The tour is conducted in English. Dutch is available upon request.

Inclusions

What's included

  • Expert local guide
  • Visit to historical landmarks and hidden sites
  • 2-hour walking tour of Hoorn

What's not

  • Food or drinks
  • Transport
  • Gratuities for the guide
  • Entrance tickets

Itinerary

  1. The Maria Tower is a historic tower originally used for storing gunpowder in the 17th century. It is one of the city's oldest buildings and offers a glimpse into Hoorn's military and maritime past.

    Passes by

  2. De Doelen is a former target building on the Achterstraat in the centre of the North Holland city of Hoorn . The building consisted of two parts, one for the Sint-Sebastiaansdoelen and one for the Sint-Jorisdoelen.

    Passes by

  3. The VOC Warehouses were used by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the 17th and 18th centuries to store valuable goods like spices, silk, and tea.

    Passes by

  4. Provincial guesthouse and meeting place for regional rulers

    Passes by

  5. Former Reformed church, site of religious conflict and riots

    Passes by

  6. Gable stones recall the heroic Battle of the Zuiderzee

    Passes by

  7. (Main Tower) – Iconic harbor defense tower from 1532

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  8. The Boys from Bontekoe refers to a group of young sailors from Hoorn who were part of the famous 17th-century Dutch expedition led by Willem Ysbrandtszoon Bontekoe.

    Passes by

  9. Former seat of regional government, now a museum (exterior visit)

    Passes by

  10. Renaissance building once key to Hoorn’s grain trade

    Passes by

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

5.0

  • 56
  • 40
  • 30
  • 20
  • 10

Ratings come from 6 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

Meeting point
Look for the guide with the orange umbrella. Meeting point in between the station and the park He/she will stand next to the small statue inside the park in front of the central station.
Pickup
Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
Ticket type
Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group size
Up to 15 travellers
Operated by
360 Haarlem Tours
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • Not recommended for People with mobility impairments

How it compares in Hoorn

  • Its from-price is close to the median of the 16 experiences we list in Hoorn.
  • Its length is typical for the group.
  • By number of reviews it ranks 5 of 16.
  • The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Hoorn

Hoorn, on the IJsselmeer north of Amsterdam, was a Golden Age trading port, and its harbour, gabled houses and steam tram recall that era.

Hoorn was a base of the Dutch East India Company, and its seventeenth-century wealth is plain in the streets around the harbour. The Roode Steen square holds the old weigh house and a statue of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the company's governor-general, who was born here. A squat harbour tower, the Hoofdtoren, guards the entrance to the basin. Cape Horn takes its name from the town, after the navigator Willem Schouten, born in Hoorn, first rounded it in 1616.

Top-ranked sights in Hoorn: Museum Steamtram Hoorn-Medemblik.

See all 16 experiences in Hoorn

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Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.

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