Hallstatt: a postcard town

Hallstatt: postcard town.

Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about Hallstatt. It has been some time since I have told you about my visit about this town that it seems like for all the years that have gone by, it hasn't gone out of fashion. It is so touristy that in China they have created an almost exact replica of this tiny town situated on the bank of the Hallstättersee lake. It is incredible. I have to say that its fame is deserved since it has a lot of charm. All the houses that make it up have a similar architectural style and give it a sense of harmony. And at the same time, each little house has its own details which make it different. I have been to Hallstatt three times now. Honestly, I never imagined that I would visit it so many times, but it seems that destiny always brings me towards it. Today I am going to tell you the different ways to get to Hallstatt, what you should do there and also give you some suggestions. Let's go!

How to get to Hallstatt

The two first times that I visited Hallstatt were in Summer, so the town was crowded. We tried to park in the car parks which were around the town but it was possible. All the spaces were full so we had to go around the lake, park near to the train station (the other side of the town, just in front) and get a boat which cost us 5 euros for a return ticket. It is true that the trip on the boat is really pretty since you can see the lake from a different perspective so I do recommend it. However, this time we went very quickly and during Easter, so we could leave the car parked in the car park, which cost us 8. 50 euros altogether. As we split the price between five of us, in the end, it worked out cheaper than the boat journey. To get from the car park to the centre it barely took 10 minutes. As it was quite early, around 10 am, there weren't many people compared to in rush hour, so we could enjoy a certain calmness in the streets until the morning had really come.

This day we had woken up really early, so we decided that it would be a good idea to have a coffee to get us going. We decided to sit and relax in the main square which I have left you a photo of.

The waiter in the cafe that we went to was very nice. We ordered three cappuccinos and two berry teas. I don't remember the price, but it was nothing ridiculous and prohibitive, especially if you bear in mind the number of tourists that visit this town every year.

What to see in Hallstatt

The main square

For me, this small square is one of my places with the most charm in this Austrian town. Here you can find the small houses, each one a set colour, whose balconies are decorated with different coloured flowers that leave the square looking very picturesque. In the centre, there are little banks to sit down on and relax. On the first floor with the buildings, restaurants and cafes with traditional Austrian food.

Also on an aesthetic and superficial level, this square has a hidden history. Formerly, it was a market square and where they sold salt. The job of selling salt was unique and one of the most privileged ones. These sellers, because which then was a job as much for women as for men, recieved salt from the mines, dry and packaged in wooden containers. After selling all of the salt, they used these containers to bring supplies as well as wine to the whole Salzkammergut area on the return journey. Interesting, right?

The most famous point

Once rested and a bit more awake from the coffee, we decided to go for a stroll and lose ourselves in the streets of Hallstatt aimlessly. We got closer to the bank of the lake, where there is a mini-port where the boats park up full of tourists and there we could see the ducks and swans, who were calm, I assume that they are already used to the bustle of visitors. As you can see in the following photo, there are lots of residents in Hallstatt that have their own dock with their corresponding little bote.

In the photo, it was still covered with a tarpaulin because perhaps summer still hadn't come yet. We continued walking and we got to the most characteristic spot, where you can see the church perfectly along with the mountains behind. I'm not sure how many times I will have seen this photo on the internet, this view is the one that is always mentioned about Hallstatt. Here, we took our time to admire the landscape and take photographs. The light was beautiful.

The waterfall

After, we continued walking uphill on the route towards the mountain we went by another church and a quite picturesque cemetery as well. Finally, we got to Hallstatt waterfall which not everyone knows is there. The two last times that I visited this town, the waterfall was a ridiculous trickle of water, but now, because it has been raining almost continuously and there was still snow on the mountains, the waterfall was flowing with great force. I'll leave you the photo.

From here you can also see the town from a different perspective, I'll leave you some photos that I took of it. I specifically like these ones because they aren't the usual ones that you always see on social media or on tourism websites.

Afterwards, we decided to go back down and have a look at the shops and the food stalls. They had several of them with pastries and cakes which looked delicious, with lots of blueberries and berries on top. There was also a small crepe stand that smelt amazing. In addition to this, there were lots of shops with typical Austrian souvenirs, magnets of the town of Hallstatt and neither could they lack the famous sweets filled with pistachio and covered in chocolate and in a packet with Mozart's face on it. Whatever city you go to, you will find them. They are in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck... Y Hallstatt is not going to be less than that. They make the most of them because they know how popular they are.

The cablecar and the "5 fingers" viewpoint.

After being there for around 2 hours, we decided to go back to the car-park and go to a different part of the lack to eat and go for a swim, as I already told you in the last post (which you can read by clicking here). Saying that, I should say that from where we parked we could see a cable car that went up to the top of the mountain, where there is a viewpoint called "5 fingers". It is called that because it is a metal structure which has 5 ledges, which look like 5 fingers, suspended in the air and from it you can see the entire lake. The truth is that after having visited the town and lots of lakes already during the preceding days, we didn't fancy going up to it, as well as the ticket would probably be really expensive.

And this was my visit to Hallstatt. I have to say that this time was the one that I enjoyed the most as it was not in high season, there wasn't that many people as there were the other times, you could walk through the streets without bumping into other tourists and enjoy a nice atmosphere. As a piece of advice, as you already know, try to travel in low season because it can make the difference between you loving or hating a place, honestly. Saying that, it is always interesting to visit new places that you have already been to. You see it with different eyes and at the same time, discover new things. It is like watching a film twice. The second time you almost focus more on the best things and the small details. And that is the post for today. I hope that you have liked the photos, I think they are really charming. Thank you for reading until the end. See you next time! Best wishes!

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