I made some posts recently, talking about the ski trip in the Austrian Alps we did earlier this year. When we drove back to Salzburg to catch our flight back to Estonia, we still had time because our flight was late in the evening.
We decided to make a detour and go check out the town of Hallstatt, which is about 50km from Salzburg, in the Austrian Alps. It's an incredibly picturesque place, but it's the most touristy place in the Alps and it shows...
First of all, there is one parking lot to be used, which, of course, is paid. This is okay in itself but they charge 20Eur in an HOUR! It was a first WTF moment for us because that is not normal, it's extortion. Well, having no other choice, we parked there and decided to make it quick.
The streets of Hallstat
Charming, distinctive buildings and small-town vibes are sure there. Hallstatt is surrounded by huge 1600m high mountains in every direction, and it's also right next to the Hallstätter lake, which adds to the amazing beauty.
These are taken next to the lake, there is a promenade-like path to walk on.
It was in January so the sun does not go very high yet. The town itself gets little direct sunshine since the mountains in the south block much of the sunshine.
We wanted to get a bite to eat and checked out some of the places on Google Maps. The prices were crazy high, 20 euros for a small meal. To make matters worse, the ratings of those places were mostly very low. Like 2.5 and so on. Most likely because the prices and quality of the food do not match at all, one restaurant reviews said that the staff is very rude. We decided not to eat out there and eat somewhere else on the road.
After a longer drive, most of us needed to relieve ourselves. Guess what, you can't, unless you pay. And not 20 cents, as most public toilets are. They ask 2 euros so you can pee, crazy extortion again. None of us was a fan of paying for that and tried to search for a free toilet, but there aren't any. So it's either pay that, go to a bad restaurant, or relieve yourself at the corner somewhere.
One of my friends paid the price and the other ones jumped over a small fence since it was possible to do so in one toilet. I was ok at the time and decided to wait until we drove away.
Otherwise, the place is beautiful and has some interesting shops, like a honey shop where you can find a lot of different honeys.
We were there in January and there were quite a bit of tourists even then. I can only imagine what the masses are like in the summer. My friend said that this is the most touristic town in the Austrian Alps.
This is the spot with the most beautiful view for sure. You can see the town, the lake and a great view over the mountains.
This view makes it clear why it's such a touristy place. This is quite a million views and worthy of an Instagram photoshoot.
I took this panorama, stitched together of two horizontal photos, it's a great one.
So is it worth it?
To very quickly walk through Hallstatt and to see this view in the photo above, yes. To stay there for longer than 45 min, no. Unless you want your wallet emptied. There are many better places( cheaper and just as beautiful) to spend that money in the Alps. Still, glad to at least have seen this place, doubt I ever go back.
Great pictures! Your post perfectly describe a certain process in tourism, "a snake eating his own tail".
In short it breaks down like this: A small village is attractive because of its size, location and quiet atmosphere. That attracts tourists, which is good at the beginning, as the word about a great place to visit spreads, more and more tourists are coming, that changes the place's vibe, which becomes less and less attractive. Thank you for the post. 👍
Yeah, exactly. Its a shame that it hapens to such a beautiful places but sometimes its inevitable unfortunately.
This is totally crazy dude. 20 euros per hour for parking? That is weird, because I find Austrians in general quite reasonable with their prices of stuff.
Never heard of this place before honestly, and I bet there are similar prices in the alps by the lake that have also these awesome views but less extortion. Weird....
Yeah, same. 20eur/hr parking is not normal and nowhere else to park too. I heard that this is one of the most famous Austrian mountain towns for tourists so they inflated the prices to hell hah. For sure, other beautiful and cheaper choices in Austria.
It does seem many of the beautiful places are becoming increasingly more expensive to spend time in. I am glad you posted these photos though, they are very well done. I love the design of the buildings, it seems like lovely little town perfectly built to complement the natural mountain setting. I hope some day to visit this region of Europe, but maybe I will keep an eye out for the cheaper and better place when you find it haha
Thank you for sharing!
Yeah true. Fortunately, not everywhere in Austria is that expensive so you still have a lot of locations to choose from hehe.
Ah well that is good to hear. Looking forward to that day!
I’ve only seen Hallstatt on Instagram and it looked like a dream, but wow I didn’t know it was that pricey
I definitely seems like that when you see photos only yep and indeed looks gorgeous but yeah, the downsides haha...
Despite the experience you had, the prices were high.
I congratulate you on the photos.
It shows a wonderful and magical place.
It makes you want to visit. Of course, be prepared to look for a second option, considering those exaggerated prices.
Fortunately it wasnt my first option, our trip had other places and ski mountains in plan. That was only unexpected visit due to time we had.
Such an amazing place! The landscape is absolutely stunning. The lake is nature's masterpiece, its power and beauty are overwhelming.
The nature part is stunning for sure, pretty unique sight.
True! Thanks for sharing. 😍
Beautiful Shots, great post
!DIY
Wow, very beautiful place. Pictures at the top. Good job, thanks for sharing 🙂
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Amazing photography work!!!
Travel Digest #2533.
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