The village of Hallstatt appears enchanted and it is located in Austria’s Salzkammergut mountains. Pastel-coloured houses resembling 16th century architecture are seen in the Austrian town. The town is filled with cobblestone streets leading to cozy cafes, beautiful churches and Alpine inns. The tourist spot is pleasing to the eyes of nature lovers.
The beautiful town of Hallstatt is mesmerising to tourists from all over the world. Despite being a tiny town, Hallstatt had received a million visitors in 2018. At Halstatt, tourists could browse artisan goods and food, including their local salt in the market square. Salzwelten, Hallstatt’s UNESCO-recognised salt mines, has contributed to the wealth of the town and made it one of the prominent tourists’ attraction spots. Visitors could go on a guided tour and travel to the mines by cable car. You would get an opportunity to wear a jumpsuit and access every level of the mine by wooden slides.
For a panoramic photo, visitors could go to the top of the Salzberg (salt mountain) and get a perfect view of the snow covered high valley with the beautiful Plassen mountains. A few minutes’ walk from the mountain would be the Skywalk in Hallstatt, a breathtaking viewing platform, high above Hallstatt’s salt production town. Directly from the Skywalk is one of the oldest defence towers of the Sakzkammergut which is now a home-style restaurant.
In the morning, Hallstatt’s traditional cafes such as the lakefront Seecafe Frundsberg would serve breakfast pastries to customers. For a leisure lunch, you could visit the Restaurant am See where they also serve Austrian beers and lagers. If you are a seafood lover, you would enjoy a dining experience at the Gasthof Zauner where fishes are caught from Lake Hallstatt. The fishes are then freshly cooked and served.
For a scenic view of the mountain town, visitors could rent Hallstatt’s signature swan-shaped pedal boats or row boats at Lake Hallstatt. Visitors who are ready for an adventure could also visit the Hallstatt Charnel House where over 600 painted skulls are displayed. There is an interesting story about the place and it was said that due to the lack of space in the small town, overcrowded graveyards were an issue to the residents of early 17th century as proper respects to the dead couldn’t be paid. Thus, the villagers dug up the bones of their loved ones and cleaned, sun-bleached and even painted them. Meanwhile, another interesting place is the trendy stairs leading up an old lookout tower. Each step gives a different fascinating view of the snow covered high alley and ancient burial fields.