Utrecht Open Boat Canal Tour with Live Guide

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Ships from Germany, England and Flanders sailed directly here to trade. At its peak, Utrecht was one of the most important trading cities in Northern Europe, competing with Amsterdam before Amsterdam took the lead during the Dutch Golden Age.

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2. The Dom Tower. Standing at 112 meters tall, it has been the tallest church tower in the Netherlands for more than 600 years, watching over the city since 1382. Its construction took more than 60 years.

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3. Parts of Utrecht’s old city wall still survive today and date back to the Middle Ages, when the city was protected by walls, gates, towers, and a defensive moat. The fortifications were built from the 12th century onward to defend the rapidly growing trading city from attacks and rival armies. Although much of the wall was demolished in later centuries as Utrecht expanded, several sections and towers can still be seen today, offering a glimpse into the city’s medieval past.

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4. Castle Vredenburg was completed around 1534. It was an advanced Renaissance fortress; a five-pointed star shape with enormous bastions, built exactly on the site of the city’s old castle. Its strategic position was no coincidence.

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Cancellation

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

Reviews

Ratings come from 7 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

How it compares in Utrecht

• Its from-price is 20% below the median of the 59 experiences we list in Utrecht.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 18 of 59.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Utrecht

Utrecht is a Dutch university city of old canals with sunken wharf cellars, a soaring cathedral tower and museums from music boxes to Miffy.

Utrecht began as a Roman fort and has been a religious and trading centre ever since, and its heart is the Dom Tower, a 112-metre church tower that is the tallest in the Netherlands. The Oudegracht, the old canal, runs through the middle of the city with quays set below street level, and the cellars of the old warehouses along the water are now cafés and restaurants. The university, founded in 1636, fills the streets with students and bicycles.

Top-ranked sights in Utrecht: Dom Tower, De Haar Castle (Kasteel de Haar), Museum Speelklok.

See all 59 experiences in Utrecht