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Hallstatt is a small market town in Upper Austria, on the shore of Lake Hallstatt, in the Salzkammergut. Day trips from Vienna, Salzburg and Munich bring you here to walk through the village and along the water, often together with other lakes of the region, the spa town of Bad Ischl or a Christmas market.
Hallstatt belongs to Gmunden District, in the federal state of Upper Austria, and on 1 January 2026 it had 741 inhabitants. Its neighbours are Obertraun, Gosau, Bad Goisern am Hallstättersee and Ramsau am Dachstein.
Lake Hallstatt also reaches into Obertraun and Bad Goisern am Hallstättersee. The Traun flows into the lake and leaves it again, the Gosaubach and the Waldbach feed it too, and its water, about 0.558 cubic kilometres, belongs to the Danube basin.
At Salzberg, one of the places that make up the municipality, the Hallstatt salt mine produces rock salt and is also open as a show mine and a museum.
The Hallstatt culture covers the centuries from about 1200 BC to about 450 BC and came after the Urnfield culture. The municipality also has an archaeological site that carries the village's name.
In the village, the Catholic parish church and the ossuary, which is a chapel, are both listed monuments in Austria, and so is the Christuskirche, a church right by the lake.
The Dachstein is an Alpine mountain group within the Dachstein Mountains. In Obertraun, a rural municipality next to Hallstatt, the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave is protected as a natural monument of Upper Austria.
The Salzkammergut is a region that is also seen as a cultural area of its own. Bad Ischl, in th. The Wolfgangsee is shared by St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, a market town in Gmunden District, St. Gilgen and Strobl, and like Lake Hallstatt it belongs to the Danube basin. The Mondsee, whose name refers to the Moon, lies in the market town of Mondsee, in Vöcklabruck District.
From Salzburg, the small-group day with Hallstatt and the film locations gives you the morning in the village, with time to explore its narrow lanes, the market square and the views over the lake on foot, and the afternoon around Salzburg at the places where The Sound of Music was filmed; a guide leads both parts and the day is rated easy. The private trip to Bad Ischl and Hallstatt collects you from your accommodation in Salzburg and stops first in Bad Ischl, at the Kaiservilla and its park and in the town centre, before free time in Hallstatt; the Kaiservilla ticket is not included. The private trip to Hallstatt and Admont Abbey also begins with free time by the lake and in the market square, then crosses Styria to the abbey, its library and its museum collections; admission is not included.
From Vienna, the small-group trip to the lake region collects you from your hotel and travels by minivan, with stops at the Attersee, at Unterach am Attersee, a village linked to the painter Gustav Klimt, at the Mondsee and at St. Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee. In Hallstatt a local guide leads a walk past the main sights, and then you have free time; the trip is rated easy. In the festive season, the Christmas trip from Vienna visits the basilica in Mondsee, where the wedding scenes of The Sound of Music were filmed, and the Christmas market of St. Gilgen, adds the guided walk and free time in Hallstatt, and ends at the Christmas market of St. Wolfgang.
From Munich, the private day to Hallstatt and Salzburg collects you from your accommodation. At your own pace you stroll along the lake, cross the market square and look into the parish church of Hallstatt, then continue to the old town of Salzburg, with the Getreidegasse and the Residenzplatz. Carry a passport or photo ID for the border crossing.
More trips that stop in the village are on the Hallstatt destination page.
Yes. Every tour on this page goes there and back within the day, from one of these three cities, and leaves time to walk around the village.
The two small-group trips from Vienna include one with a local guide, followed by free time. On the private tours you explore on your own.
No. None of these tours includes a visit to the mine, so check what each one covers before you book.
Yes, a small-group trip from Vienna combines Hallstatt with the markets of St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang. Dress in warm layers and wear sturdy shoes.
Comfortable walking shoes. The lanes of Hallstatt are cobbled and uneven in places.
Sources: Wikidata (CC0).
