Planning to visit Hallstatt in between Salzburg and Vienna. My itinerary will allow one night in Hallstatt, if it's worth it, or we can just visit it for several hours as a diversion off the Salzburg/Vienna rail route and spend an extra night in Vienna.
Another way of asking the question is, is there much of a reason to be in Hallstatt at night (after 6pm)? This is similar to the Sienna issue, where people often daytrip from Florence but everyone says the best part is at night.
I was there about a month ago. I can see boring. I can also see quiet, peaceful, and a place to relax. I drove from Salzburg early morning and left just after lunch. I really could have stayed the night, or even two. I really enjoyed the Dachstein lift and the ice caves. If you are a go go go traveller, then NO, don't stay the night. If you would like an evening to relax, sit by the lake, and enjoy some peace and quiet, then by all means, stay the night.
I suggest spending one night. Yes it is true that there isn't a whole lot to do there. But in my situation I had purposefully planned Hallstatt between Munich (Oktoberfest) and Vienna. Both of those were high energy and crammed itineraries - so it was nice to have a stop in between for peace and rest. I did a fair amount of reading, hiking, picnicing and window shopping while in Hallstatt.
So I would say that if you think that you would be at a point in your trip where a little R&R wouldn't be a bad thing, this is a great spot to just take in the beauty and relax.
Unfortunately, not many people seem to appreciate Hallstatt for the historically significant place that it is.
Because of archeological discoveries in the Hallstatt burial grounds, the Early Iron Age (800BC - 400BC) is called The Hallstatt Period. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited towns in the WORLD. The salt mine above Hallstatt is the world's FIRST known salt mine.
There is a wonderful Cultural Museum in Hallstatt that all visitors should see.
Hallstatt can be "done" in a few minutes but you have to stay longer to appreciate all those thousands of years of history.
Personally I'd skip it in favor of some other place such as Mondsee which has much more to see and do. The salt mine in Hallstatt is nice and worth a visit if you haven't seen one. But other than that, if your idea of a good time is walking down a street and looking at the houses of people that have a good view of the lake (blocked for you by those same houses) then you'll love Hallstatt.
As far as nightlife, which you asked about in your opening post -- sure didn't see anything while we were there! Completely dead.
The options I'm presenting myself with are either
(a) arrive by 1:30pm, spend the afternoon, evening, departing the town around 10:30am the next morning;
(b) arrive by 11:30am, spend the day, and depart around 4:30 pm (same day)
or
(c) arrive by 5:30pm, spend the night, then most of the following day, departing from the town around 4:00pm,
Options A and B both give me about 5 hours to explore, with option A letting me sleep in town.
Option C lets me sleep in town and then have a little more of a day there (depending on what time I get started after breakfast but also steals a few hours from Salzburg because I'd need to switch things around - it also adds an hour of train travel overall to my particular itinerary - on the day coming into Hallstatt). The risk with option C is that arriving this late - will I be able to get a room for the night? Rick says its hard to book a room in advance if only staying one night but can "fill in" when showing up for just one night.
If I were to make Hallstatt and daytrip from Salzburg, instead of a stop-off mid-route between Salz/Vienna, would it be better to take the bus or stick with the train routes through Attnang-Puchheim?
Lee - I know you're out there and will probably have some insight on this.
Stay the night if a b&b accepts one night stays to experience the beauty and peace of the area. choose a restaurant for dinner with view over the lake. Otherwise just passing thru is a long tiring drive.
The tranquility is part of a visit to Hallstatt imo.
To be clear - we will be traveling by train (or bus if we end up daytripping from Salzburg and that is the best way). we will not have a car.
Here's one of my issues. If I go to Hallstat mid-train-route, I believe that I have to decide in advance whether I'm going to spend the nights, because the only place to check our backs is at the Attnang-Pucheim train station an hour away.
Does anyone know a place in Hallstatt where we could check our bags? Doing so would allow us to make a late day call whether we wanted to stay over for the night.
Hallstatt is great and I highly recommend an overnight stay. I still go back to www.hallstatt.net to check the webcam. (It's 5:30 am and already light there just now). We spent one night there, and I would have gladly spent another night if we had had the time. The fact that you catch the boat after arriving on the train just seemed so quaint, like a throwback to a simpler time.. or place.
You are asking the same question. Only you know if you "think" you want to stay the night or not. If you do, then pick option A. If not, pick another. Arriving and leaving the same day will extremely limit your experience as you will always be checking your watch to ensure you get back on time. I had a car and was still doing that. I wish I had stayed the night and will next time.
I am planning a two week stay in Hallstatt next year and i can't wait! I plan to hike, rent an E-Boat and relax in my beautiful room I've already booked with a stunning view of the lake. Most people do go to Hallstatt as a day-trip which means the town will be quiet after they leave. Little places like Hallstatt, or any small town, have their own charms. I wouldn't expect a rockin' nightlife, if that's what you're after. But I hate going to big cities, since I live in one, and always stay in small towns. Day-trippers rush through them, declare them boring, and then leave. I feel sorry for them, but hey, more peace and quiet for me-no tourists crowding my fantastic lake view!
