Hallstatt
I dreamt of going to Hallstatt, Austria when I was young because of that iconic view.
When I Went:
Mid-October 2019
Itinerary:
Hallstatt (day trip)
How long:
Day trip, 7-8 hours
Notes:
Get there early or later in the day. There is a larger tourist rush in the middle of the afternoon.
How I got there:
We rented a car from downtown Salzburg near the train station and drove 1 hour, 20-30 minutes to get to Hallstatt. The drive was very easy, but you can search for a video on YouTube that tells how to get there via train and bus if you don’t want to rent a car.
How I got around:
The town is so small. You can walk the whole street pretty quickly.
Accommodations:
We stayed at Altstadt Hotel Hofwirt in Salzburg and took a day trip to Hallstatt.
Activities/Sights To See:
Hallstatt Skywalk “Welterbeblick” - you can get a nice view overlooking the town and Lake Hallstätter. There’s a little part that sticks out like a triangle and I was able to get a picture quickly without having to wait for more than one person. Yet another reason to get there early!
Saltzwelten - Hallstatt is known for being a salt mining town and you can take a tour of the mines. Is this pretty touristy? Yep. Is it kind of fun though? Yep. They take you through a guided tour and you can even go down some of the wooden slides. Yes, I’m a child! Haha.
The walk to the mine from the Skywalk was absolutely gorgeous in October. I had never really seen true fall colors until this point.
Beinhaus - this is a cemetery that you have to take some stairs too, but it’s not strenuous or anything.
Classic Village Viewpoint / Postcard Angle - this is the view I had been waiting so long to see in person. It is beautiful, but the thing you don’t see is all the tourists trying to get their picture here. Also I would recommend not going mid-day because the sun will create a backlit photo. I waited until later afternoon to take my photos
Just walk around! The village is very cute, but also small so it won’t take you too much time to do so.
Food:
Rudolfsturm - this restaurant is at the top near the Skywalk and before Salzwelten. We stopped by for lunch and I had some tasty spinach meatballs there. The view is hard to beat!
Bräugasthof - this is right on the water and we stopped here for a late afternoon dessert.
Enough time?
I wanted one full day instead of a half day because I wanted to go to the Dachstein area and Eisriesenwelt ice caves.
