If you're a seasoned traveler, then it can sometimes be tough trying to find a new destination for your next trip. You might want to go somewhere quiet and peaceful, somewhere truly off the beaten track, somewhere that isn't overcrowded and commercialized. Somewhere, to be honest, that's a well-kept secret.
So if that's the case then might I suggest a charming little town in Europe, which boasts the nickname the 'Venice of the Netherlands', which has no roads and looks like something from a fairy tale.
For another otherworldly town, check out this video of the 'Ghost City' seen recently in China:The little village of Giethoorn, in the province of Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands, is a place so green and still that you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was suspended in time.
However, the serenity of this quiet place, with a population of just 2,620 people, is due to one important factor. There are almost no roads in the sleepy little town, only a complex series of canals connecting the streets to each other.
According to the town's tourism website, the village was founded way back in 1230, and because of its relative isolation, it has managed to avoid a lot of the painful issues of congestion, overcrowding, and pollution which blight modern infrastructure.
The name "Giethoorn" stems from the discovery of hundreds of goat horns (gietehorens) in the marshes by the village's first inhabitants in medieval times.
But if you want to visit then you might want to learn how to paddle properly: the townspeople are said to be dependent on the waterways, and as such many of the houses and shops are reportedly inaccessible except by boat.
Luckily for the rest of us, there are scores of motorboats to rent. Instead of using conventional outboard motors, these boats boast so-called ‘whisper boats’, which have much quieter electric motors while you traverse the 90km of canoe trails.
So why not make this cute town your next vacation destination? It'll certainly give you some much-needed peace and quiet...