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.
