This Alpine lake town has 16th-century wooden houses, ancient salt mines, and a unique ossuary with 600 painted skulls. A skywalk offers mountain views from 360m above.
Boating on Lake Hallstatt
Clear alpine waters stretch between limestone cliffs, where wooden salt boats glide past 41km of cycling paths and beaches.
Explore Dachstein Ice Cave
Natural ice formations fill this Alpine cave system, where frozen waterfalls and a 9-meter ice mountain create spectacular chambers.
Panoramic View at 5 Fingers
A viewing platform extending like a metal hand over a 400-meter cliff in the Dachstein Mountains, with views of Lake Hallstatt.
Hallstatt Cultural Museum Tour
Located in a 400-year-old parsonage, this museum displays Europe's oldest salt mining artifacts, including prehistoric textiles, Bronze Age tools, and 3D holographic mining demonstrations.
Skywalk "World Heritage View"
A glass-floored viewing platform perched 2,700m high on a 250m cliff, with a suspension bridge, ice palace, and a transparent stairway descending into mid-air over the Austrian Alps.
Ossuary at Hallstatt Bone House
Inside St. Michael's Chapel, 1,200 human skulls line the walls, with 610 painted in traditional patterns. Each skull bears unique decorations - roses, laurels, or ivy - marking family connections and life stories.
Visit Hallstatt Salt Mine
Deep within Austria's mountains, this 7,000-year-old mine invites visitors to slide down original wooden miners' slides and cross underground lakes.
Between Lake Hallstatt and the Dachstein Alps lies the small Austrian town of Hallstatt. You can explore wooden houses with flower-decorated balconies from the 1500s, descend into salt mines that date back to 5000 BC, or take a boat ride across the Alpine lake. The town's unique Ossuary contains over 600 hand-painted skulls, while the Skywalk observation deck sits 360 meters above the town, giving you views across the mountains and lake.
Salt Mine
Take the funicular up to the salt mine, running from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in summer and until 4:30 PM in winter. The mine maintains a temperature of 8-10 degrees Celsius throughout the year. Guides will show you mining techniques used since the Bronze Age, and you can try the wooden slides and ride the underground train.
Hallstatt Lake
You can rent electric boats from the town center to explore Lake Hallstatt. Regular ferries connect the train station to the town center throughout the day. Visit before 11:00 AM or after 4:00 PM when fewer people are around - these times work well for taking photos and spending quiet time by the lake.
Market Square
The Market Square sits at the center of old Hallstatt, with painted houses from the 1500s on all sides. Look for the Holy Trinity Column from 1743 in the center. Inside St. Michael's Chapel, you'll find the Ossuary with its collection of painted skulls, each marked with dates and designs. The 18th-century Evangelical Church stands as one of the town's main landmarks.
Hiking and Viewpoints
From the Skywalk, you can see the UNESCO-protected landscape 360 meters below. Walking trails lead to the Waldbachstrub waterfall and the Glacier Garden, where you can see rock formations from the last Ice Age. The Salzberg trail (also called the "Serpentine Trail") winds through the mountain area.
When to Visit
The town has fewer visitors from September through May. In December, you can visit the Christmas Market on the 8th. Summer stays mild because of the Alpine location, but expect large crowds in July and August. Come early in the morning or late in the evening to see the town with fewer people.
You can walk from one end of Hallstatt to the other in 15 minutes. The town center doesn't allow cars, and since 2020, tour buses must follow a time slot system. Park your car in lots P1 or P2 at the town's edges. Visit the tourist office at Seestraße 114 for maps and current parking information.
Practical Information
Take a train from Salzburg (3 hours) or Vienna (4 hours) to Hallstatt station across the lake. A ferry meets incoming trains to bring passengers to town. Restaurants and shops typically close at 8:00 PM. You'll find both traditional guesthouses and modern hotels, but book several months ahead during summer and holiday periods.
