Salzburg or Hallstatt for night stay

Hi,
If you don't plan on doing any of the "activities" around Hallstatt and just want to walk around and see the beauty, that can be done in 15 minutes. Hallstatt can be walked end to end in about that time. Seriously, we spent a few hours there and that was plenty for us. Salzburg is magical at night, in my opinion. Been many times and never get tired of just strolling around.

I will probably be the only one responding with this view.

Paul

I agree with Paul about Salzburg. Something so beautiful and serene about walking around the old city. That was my experience two different times, once just with my teenage son and it is not often you have those experiences with a teenager.

I will probably be the only one responding with this view.

Nope, I share it completely. We spent a nite in Hallstatt, would not do so again. RS writes it up big in his book and features it in one of his PBS shows. If you've seen the show, you've seen Hallstatt. It is a small place that takes 20-30 minutes to walk around and snap a few photos. The salt mine tour was fun. But all this can easily be done in a few hours, lunch included. Other than that, if you like walking up small streets and thinking to yourself "gee, I bet the view blocked by this house is amazing!" then you'll enjoy wandering the streets.

I was about your age when I spent one night in Hallstatt and 2 nights in Salzburg on the RS tour. Agree with what others have said. Hallstatt is pretty but small and you can see it in a short amount of time. I'd vote to stay in Salzburg.

Agree with others,

if you don't like idea of visiting the oldest salt mine in the world, or taking the cable car on the top of summit Krippenstein to aev wonderful view over the lake and valley, I would just go for a half day and than stay in Salzburg. for Accomodation check Obertraun, which is on the other side of the lake, I would rent a car, spend day on the way to hallstatt there is tons of places to see, where you can just drive and chill.

cheers Jan

Thanks to all! You all just said what I was hoping to hear :) Looking forward to the trip now.

Make sure you hike up the Welterbe Rundweg trail up to the Rudolfsturm for the amazing views of the lake and mountains ! Wow!
There is a trail guide map in town, and the trail starts as you head towards the church.

Then eat a delicious bowl of Hungarian goulash soup.

Yep, Hallstatt is great, for an afternoon, but Salzburg is the best choice for overnight.

I would stay overnight in Salzburg. An option for a day trip that's closer to Salzburg would be to go to St. Wolfgang. You can catch the bus to St. Gilgen and take the boat to St. Wolfgang. The quaint town has some nice restaurants & cute shops, and there's some nice hikes in the area. Or, you could rent a small boat and play on the lake. Also, on the edge of town is the Schafberg Cog Railway (Sound of Music scene - train to climb the very steep mountain).

We stayed in St. Wolfgang for two nights last year and enjoyed it so much - had a hard time leaving that location!