Hallstatt

The postcard view, with the slender spire of the Lutheran church in front of a cluster of houses and the mountains behind, is taken from the lakeside lane at the northern edge of the old village. It is the most photographed spot in Austria, and at midday there's a queue for it. Come at dawn or after the last coaches leave, when the lake is often mirror-calm and you'll have it largely to yourself.

TipThis is a residential street, not a stage. Keep the lane clear, don't climb on walls or private jetties, and move on once you have your picture.

The little market square is the heart of the village, ringed by painted houses with window boxes and anchored by a stone fountain with a statue of the Holy Trinity. Most of the buildings went up after a fire destroyed the centre in 1750. From here narrow lanes and stairways climb between the houses, and the lakeshore promenade leads to the ferry landing and the small Lutheran Christ Church, built in the 1860s.

TipThe Hallstatt Museum, a short walk away, explains the prehistoric finds that made the village famous among archaeologists.

Beside the Catholic parish church, reached by steps above the rooftops, the tiny churchyard is so cramped that graves were traditionally reused after a decade or two. The exhumed bones were bleached, and from the eighteenth century many skulls were painted with garlands of flowers or ivy, along with the person's name and dates. Around 1,200 skulls are kept in St Michael's Chapel, roughly half of them painted, making this one of the most moving small sights in the Alps.

TipThere's a modest entry fee. The churchyard is still in use, so keep voices low and don't wander among the graves during funerals or services.

A steel platform juts out from the cliff some 350 metres above the village, giving a bird's-eye view down onto the rooftops and along the length of the lake to Obertraun and the Dachstein. It sits at the top station of the Salzbergbahn funicular, which climbs from the southern end of Hallstatt in a few minutes; you can also walk up a steep zigzag path in under an hour.

TipRide up early, before the tour groups, and walk down if your knees allow: the path passes the Rudolfsturm, a medieval tower guarding the mine valley, which now houses a restaurant.

Beyond the Skywalk, a gentle walk up the high valley leads to the entrance of what is billed as the world's oldest salt mine. Guided tours take you in on a miners' train, down long wooden slides polished by generations of visitors, past an underground salt lake and through displays on Bronze Age miners, whose leather caps, tools and even a preserved body, the "Man in Salt" found in 1734, survived in the salt. The surrounding high valley also holds an important prehistoric cemetery.

TipIn autumn 2026 the combined mine and funicular ticket costs €49 for adults, tours start until 4.30pm, and the mine stays open into early January. Inside it is about 8°C all year, so bring a layer.

At the other end of the lake, cable cars rise from Obertraun to the Krippenstein, just over 2,000 metres up on the edge of the vast limestone Dachstein plateau. A short walk from the top station leads to 5fingers, a hand-shaped viewing platform whose five "fingers" project over a drop of around 400 metres; one has a glass floor and another a frame for photos. Hallstatt and its lake lie far below. Nearby trails lead to the Welterbespirale, another viewing platform, and the Heilbronn Cross memorial.

TipThe summer cable cars run daily until early November, starting at 8.40am. Check the webcams first: in cloud you'll see nothing from 5fingers.

Both caves are reached from Schönbergalm, the first cable-car station above Obertraun. The Giant Ice Cave (Rieseneishöhle) is filled with frozen waterfalls and columns of ice up to many metres thick, formed as cold winter air sinks into the cave and freezes the meltwater; tours run for about an hour along walkways and stairs. The Mammoth Cave (Mammuthöhle) is a dry system of enormous tunnels carved by ancient rivers, with a lighting installation in its great halls. They share the cable-car season, so both are closed in winter.

TipThe ice cave hovers around freezing even in August, so pack a warm jacket and sturdy shoes. Allow most of a day for cable cars, both caves and 5fingers.

West of Hallstatt, a road winds up the Gosau valley to the Vorderer Gosausee, a small, clear lake that reflects the glaciers and jagged towers of the Dachstein and the Gosaukamm. A flat path circles the lake in around an hour, and longer trails continue to the Hinterer Gosausee. On calm mornings the reflection is near-perfect; in late afternoon the sun lights the mountain faces.

TipThere's a large car park at the lake, and in summer regional buses run up the valley from Bad Goisern and Bad Ischl. The Gosaukammbahn cable car climbs from here to the Zwieselalm for more views.

The spa town of Bad Ischl was the summer capital of the Habsburg empire. Emperor Franz Joseph spent most summers of his long reign at the Kaiservilla, a wedding present from his mother after his engagement here to Elisabeth, "Sisi". Guided tours show the family rooms, still full of hunting trophies, and the desk where in 1914 he signed the declaration of war on Serbia that set off the First World War. The landscaped park has a small marble palace that Sisi used as a retreat. The town itself, European Capital of Culture in 2024, has an elegant riverside promenade, old spa buildings and the Zauner pastry shop, which once supplied the imperial court.

TipThe villa is still owned by the Habsburg family and visits are by guided tour only; it closes in the depths of winter, so check opening times before you travel.

At the northern tip of the Traunsee, Austria's deepest lake, Gmunden is a stately old salt-trading town with a long lakeside esplanade. Its symbol is Seeschloss Ort, a small castle on an island linked to the shore by a wooden causeway, made famous by a long-running TV series. The town is also known for Gmundner Keramik, hand-painted pottery with green and white patterns. Across the water rises the bare cliff of the Traunstein, and the Grünberg cable car gives views over both.

TipA historic paddle steamer, the Gisela, still plies the lake on summer excursions.

On the north shore of the Wolfgangsee, St Wolfgang grew up as a medieval pilgrimage village, and its parish church holds one of the great works of late Gothic art: Michael Pacher's winged altarpiece of 1481, a gilded wooden shrine with painted panels that open on special days. Down by the water stands the Hotel Im Weissen Rössl, setting of the operetta "The White Horse Inn". The village is pretty but small and busy in summer, and much of the charm lies in arriving by boat.

TipWolfgangsee ships link St Wolfgang with Strobl and St Gilgen, a much nicer way to travel than the narrow lakeside roads.

A rack railway has climbed from St Wolfgang to the summit of the Schafberg since 1893, the steepest in Austria. The ride takes a little over half an hour, partly behind historic and modern steam locomotives, up meadows and limestone slopes to the top station at 1,732 metres. The summit, at 1,783 metres, has one of the finest panoramas in the Alps: a dozen lakes, including the Mondsee, Attersee and Wolfgangsee, spread out below, with the Dachstein to the south.

TipIn 2026 the railway runs daily from late April to 1 November. Ascents need no reservation, but you pick your return train when you buy the ticket, so allow time at the top.

At the western end of the Wolfgangsee, just inside Salzburg province, St Gilgen is a cheerful lakeside village of flower-decked houses. Mozart's mother, Anna Maria Pertl, was born here, and his sister Nannerl later lived in the same house, now a small museum. The Zwölferhorn cable car rises from the village to a viewpoint over the lake, and the village is a short bus ride from Salzburg, which makes it a natural last stop on a Salzkammergut loop.

TipFrom St Gilgen, Postbus services head to Salzburg in under an hour, and buses also run east to Strobl and Bad Ischl.