Hi, I'm Tanya

I’m the person behind Dutch Story Walks.

I’m originally from Ukraine, where I worked in finance for many years. But history, travel and discovering new places have always been a big part of my life. I also worked as a tour guide — something I eventually returned to after moving to the Netherlands in 2024.

How it started here

When I arrived in the Netherlands, I became curious about the country around me.

Why do these cities look the way they do? How did such a small country become so influential? Who lived behind those beautiful canal-house facades? And how much of the Netherlands we see today was shaped by what happened hundreds of years ago?

The more I learned, the more interesting the country became.

I started spending my free time reading, visiting museums and exploring Dutch cities street by street. I loved discovering the stories hidden behind places I had walked past many times without noticing.

Eventually, I wanted to share that feeling of discovery with other people.

That is how Dutch Story Walks began.

The kind of walks I wanted to create

I love history, but I don’t believe a good walk should feel like a history lesson.

I also wanted to create something more than a collection of separate facts and stories about buildings. My walks follow one bigger story, with its own characters, ambitions, difficult choices, unexpected turns and sometimes real drama.

As we walk through the city, that story unfolds around us. We imagine the choices people faced, look for clues in the streets and buildings, ask questions and discover together what happened next.

You don't just listen. You think, make your own guesses and sometimes decide what you would have done if you had been there.

For me, this is what makes history interesting: not memorising dates and names, but understanding the people behind them and seeing how their decisions shaped the city we are walking through today.

And most importantly, I want you to enjoy the experience — to spend a few interesting hours together and leave seeing the city a little differently.

Who are the walks for?

Some people join me while visiting the Netherlands for the first time. Others have lived here for years and realise how much of the country they still haven't explored.

You don't need to know anything about Dutch history.

You just need to be curious.

If that sounds like you, I’d love to have you along.

Tanya