Discovering Hallstatt, Austria

Hello friends. In this post, I'll share our journey from Vienna to Hallstatt using public transportation. There is a direct train from Vienna to Hallstatt. It operates once a day. We checked the departure times on the official website because they said it could vary depending on the season. We also bought the tickets online from the website right away. The prices can vary depending on the date and the one-way ticket starts from 25 euros. The journey took approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Our train departed from Vienna's main train station, Hauptbahnhof Wien and we arrived at the Hallstatt Bahnhst station. Along the way, we saw beautiful landscapes of Austria from the window. During our journey, we had the chance to have a pleasant conversation with a local family. According to what they told us, all the lands in Austria are private property and owners do not have the right to change the landscape. If your documents specify a forest, you cannot turn that area into a field. Even if you cut down all the trees, you have to plant new ones.

We reached the station and got off the train. To reach the beautiful spots in the town, we had to transfer to a ferry 80 meters away from the train station. The one-way fare was 3.5 euros, or 7 euros for a round trip. We didn't have to wait for the ferry for a long time because their schedule is synchronized with the train schedule, so we didn't need to worry about missing it. By the way, the train also returns only once a day, so we had already bought our tickets in advance.

Hallstatt is a small town. Its population is less than a thousand people. It is one of the most popular places among tourists in Austria. You can explore the whole town within a few hours because it is small and only has 2 main streets along the shore. As we walked along the main street, tightly packed hanging wooden houses were perched on rocks or directly along the shore.

The streets here were quite narrow, but they were also very charming and created a fairytale-like appearance for the town. By the way, according to what we heard from the family on the train, the local people have appealed to the mayor several times to limit the number of tourists because around 10,000 people come here every day in the summer, which is disturbing for the small local population. And many tourists sometimes cannot distinguish public attractions from private residential areas and often enter private property to take beautiful photos, which understandably displeases the local people, so many have put up signs prohibiting entry into their homes.

In fact, wandering around Hallstatt is easy because there is a straight path where tourists walk. Along the way, we saw the famous church depicted in many photographs and Austrian postcards, as well as the main square of the town, Marktplatz, with a fountain, benches and seating areas.

There were several scenic terraces with views of the mountains, lake and church as well. The Lutheran Evangelical Church in Hallstatt was built in the mid-19th century. We frequently came across this church in all the famous paintings and postcards of the town. Hallstatt is considered the oldest town in Europe. There is only one cemetery and since the town area is limited and very small, a grave can only stay underground for 10 years. After that, the bones need to be exhumed and transferred to a place called the "bone house."

Before the 19th century, there was no direct road to this town. One could only reach here either by boat from across the lake or through a very narrow road. As for food, prices at cafes are 10-15 euros and above; there aren't many cafes in this town, so you can prepare a snack before setting out on your journey.

And there were various stalls filled with souvenirs. The prices were above average, but essentially similar to all of Austria. The attractions of Hallstatt were all close to each other and in fact, the ferry dock we needed to get off at was right next to Marktplatz. By the way, this town can be visited in any season and each season offers its own charm and unique views. Of course, coming in the warm period of spring or summer would be more comfortable since the days are longer and the nights shorter. The temperature, even in summer, generally does not exceed 23 degrees Celsius. However, there are quite a lot of tourists during this time and because the town is small, it can feel a bit crowded.

Hallstatt is loved for its clean air, unique nature and breathtaking views. It was delightful to stroll around slowly and enjoy the mountain scenery. This town is also famous for having the world's oldest salt mine, as salt has been mined here for over 3,000 years. Local salt is exported worldwide for both medical and culinary purposes. Undoubtedly, the salt mine has contributed to the development of this town and the welfare of its local people. The salt mine is located directly above the town and you could reach it either by walking along paths and stairs or, of course, by the more practical cable car. The ticket price started from 40 euros per person and included both the visit to the salt mine and the cable car ride up and down. We had bought the tickets online from the official website.

By the way, even in the warm period, it's better to wear warm clothes if you're going to a salt mine because the caves are cool and humid. And when we came out of the salt caves, we visited the shop selling souvenirs and various types of salt. There were also queues at the mine and the cable car, so this attraction took a few hours. It wasn't hard to find these places because, as I mentioned earlier, the town is small and consists of only 2 streets. It was a pleasant trip. I recommend visiting this beautiful town if you ever get the chance.