Hallstatt: A Lakeside Gem in the Austrian Alps

When asked about one of my favorite places in all my travels, there is always one place that first comes to mind. Several years ago we were traveling from the Bavarian Alps to Vienna, and we were in need of a place to stay for the night. I flipped open our travel book—I still have a fondness for paperbound books in our digital world—and I found a one page synopsis of a town called Hallstatt, Austria. It were as if the writer wanted to keep this hidden gem a secret. And after visiting, I could see why.

We emerged from a tunnel to a historic town tucked into the Dachstein Mountain range. Charming inns and homes painted in pastels clung to the steep mountainside. Swans glided over a pristine lake. It was hard to believe such a place actually existed. It seemed the stuff of fairy tales, and yet there it was.

We stayed at a five hundred-year-old guest house perched right on the lake. The rooms were outfitted with pine furniture. Open doors to unoccupied rooms invited my curiosity. I wandered the house, wide-plank wood floors creaking underfoot, fully exploring our little temporary home.

Our guest house was just steps away from the World Heritage Museum, which showcases prehistoric artifacts from the Celts to Romans to Hallstatt’s salt-mining days. If you want to explore this rich history even further, you can tour the old salt mines themselves.

We visited the Catholic Church of Hallstatt and lit a candle before the Gothic winged alter. Probably the most intriguing addition to the church is the infamous Charnel House, a small chapel full of over six hundred decorated skulls sorted by family.

A cable car can be taken up to the top of the range, where you can dine at the Restaurant in Rudolfsturm, a medieval defense tower dating back to the thirteenth century which has been turned into a cafe. We enjoyed lunch on the patio beneath brightly colored umbrellas, where we had an aerial view of the town and lake hundreds of feet below. It is quite possibly the most scenic restaurant I have ever visited.

In the evenings, we wound our way through the maze-like paths and alleyways admiring the old buildings dripping with character, the air fragranced with hearth fires of peat moss, a scent so unique and inviting it remains one of my most indelible memories of Hallstatt.

In the end, I think Hallstatt is a place that transcends any description, a place so artfully positioned, so full of history and character, that a photo can only hint at what the town offers. It truly is a region that you need to visit to fully appreciate.