How to spend one day in Hallstatt and see it all

Located by the side of a lake between the Austrian Alps, the small town of Hallstatt looks like it came straight out of a movie.

A few years ago, this was a true hidden gem in Austria but nowadays it is a really popular tourist spot, attracting crowds of visitors every day.

We have been to Hallstatt twice during the summer of 2024, so we prepared this guide to help you figure out the best way to spend one day in Hallstatt, including our personal tips on how to avoid crowds.

What to do in 1 day in Hallstatt

Hallstatt is a very small village in Austria with less than 1.000 inhabitants.

Even though it is a touristy place nowadays, you can easily see the most interesting places in Hallstatt in less than one day. 

That being said, I recommend staying overnight so you can explore before or after the day-trippers visit. I’ll share more tips on that later, so keep on reading.

Market Square – the main square of Hallstatt

Market Square is the main square in town and the best place to start this one-day itinerary through Hallstatt. 

The square itself is quite small, but it boasts the traditional Austrian architecture that makes this town so lovely. The little houses around the square are all colorful, creating an even cuter scene!

Pro tip: At the Market Square, you’ll notice bars and small shops selling the local beer called Das Bier. We’ve never seen this brand before and it’s brewed right here, so we of course had to give it a try. If you’re a beer lover like us, I recommend buying one! It’s quite soft, but a local specialty.

Visit the Parish of the Assumption Church

Parish of the Assumption Church is the main catholic church in Hallstatt. 

Don’t confuse this one with the Evangelical Church of Hallstatt, which is the one with the tall tower that appears in every picture. The Catholic church is located a bit more inside the village.

If the church is open, I recommend going inside. The altar is beautiful!

Visit the Bone House and cemetery of Hallstatt

Right by the Catholic Church, you will find one of the most unique and peculiar places in Hallstatt: the Bone House (Beinhaus in German).

As the name suggests, the Bone House is a little chapel where you can find hundreds of decorated skulls like the ones above. It’s a place worth checking out on your day in Hallstatt because you can’t find this anywhere else.

Since Hallstatt has always been a very small village, the town’s cemetery became too small to host its inhabitants. 

To honor the dead and still make space for the newly deceased, they came up with a creative solution: when a grave had to be reused (usually after 10-15 years), they would exhume the body and transfer the skulls to the Bone House and honor the memories of that person by decorating it.

This practice started to fade away in the 60s when cremation started being allowed.

See Hallstatt from its most famous viewpoint

Before our visit, almost every picture I had seen online of Hallstatt was from this exact angle, and I caught myself wondering why no one took different shots.

The reason is there are almost no places in town with panoramic views. The narrow streets make it hard to come up with innovative angles.

So, if you want to take a panoramic picture of Hallstatt, the best place to go is this viewpoint.

It’s very easy to get there, you just need to follow the main road and keep walking past the Catholic Church. The photo spot is right on the road itself. As the road turns, it gives people a really open view of the city.

The place is quite wide, so there’s no line or rush to take a picture. You can take as long as you want, just be polite and not disturb the people who actually live on this street.

Hallstatt Waterfall

Before visiting Hallstatt, I didn’t know that there was a waterfall right behind the village because none of the guides I read before mentioned it. I don’t know why people overlook it so much, but this was one of my favorite attractions in Hallstatt!

You will see the waterfall from the city center when you get to the street called Badergraben.

You can also get closer to the fall by following the signs.

Wander around the streets of Hallstatt

Honestly, I could list here a bunch of options of things to do in Hallstatt but our favorite part of the visit was the time we spent just walking around random streets.

You will notice that the majority of visitors only stay within the main street that follows the lake, which is a pity!

If you get out of this main street, you will find that the alleys and other streets are super empty and quiet. It was very refreshing to see this more residential side of Hallstatt, without crowds.

Visit the Salt Mine

One of the most popular things to do in Hallstatt is to visit Salz Welten, known as the world’s largest salt mine.

This is a very touristy thing to do, but I think it’s quite worth it because it’s very unique and the tour is quite interactive.

The mine is located on the top of the hill behind Hallstatt. To get there, you can either hike or get a funicular. The hike is free but it’s a really steep climb! If you want to avoid that, the funicular ride takes only 3 min.

The only way to visit the Salt Mine is via a guided tour that operates at predefined times. You can buy tickets online or at the ticket counter, right on the spot. 

We were in Hallstatt in July which is one of the busiest months of the year and the tours were not sold out. However, if you want to go at a specific time, you might want to book it upfront.

See the view of Hallstatt Lake from the Skywalk Viewpoint

Once you get up, make sure you check out the view from the Skywalk Viewpoint.

This is one of the best places to go for a panoramic view of Hallstatt Lake with the Alps around it. Even if you have only one day in Hallstatt, I highly recommend taking the time to go up to the viewpoint because it’s one of my favorite stops on the trip.

Pro tip: We have not visited Hallstatt during the winter yet but we were told that the Skywalk Viewpoint is open all year round, which is pretty special! Most mountain viewpoints around this area are closed during the winter months, so make sure you visit Skywalk if you decide to go to Hallstatt during the winter!

What to do if you have more time in Hallstatt

If you decide to spend more than 1 day in Hallstatt, you’ll be happy to know that there are a LOT of options for things to do in the area.

Hallstatt is located in a really beautiful mountain region, so if you like nature and outdoor travel, you’ll love this part of Austria.

• Rent a boat or go stand-up paddling in Hallstatt Lake – These activities are available only in the summer so enjoy them if you can!
• 5 Fingers Viewpoint – Located on the other side of Hallstatt Lake, this is another stunning viewpoint located on the top of the Alps! The views from the top are stunning.
• Go hiking – There are so many options of hikes you can do only a short drive away. We went hiking in Losser during our stay, which is only 30 minutes away from Hallstatt Lake.

Check out a few more ideas of things to do below:

How to get to Hallstatt

Since Hallstatt is located literally in the middle of the Austrian Alps, getting here isn’t as easy as one could imagine. Here are the best options for how to get to Hallstatt:

Getting to Hallstatt by car

Driving is the most comfortable way of getting to Hallstatt because you’ll have the freedom to make your own itinerary and schedule. This is ideal if you will be renting a car for your trip. We always book our cars with DiscoverCars.

We drove to Hallstatt from our home in Slovenia so we arrived in the city by car in the middle of the morning (which is not an optimal timing but it was our best option). 

However, most people visit Hallstatt from Salzburg. Even though the distance between these two cities is not that big (less than 80km), the trip takes around 1h 20m because you’ll be driving through mountain roads.

If you decide to drive to Hallstatt, make sure you keep on reading to find our tips about parking in Hallstatt because this was our biggest issue during our visit!

Do you need to rent a car for your trip?

We always use DiscoverCars to rent our car. So far it has proved to be not only the cheapest option but also the most reliable one. We used DiscoverCars to rent our car for our trips through Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia, Italy, and so many other countries, and we never had any issues. We even convinced all of our friends and family to use it. So that’s why we are also recommending it to you!

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Getting to Hallstatt by bus or train

If you won’t be renting a car during your trip, you can use public transport to go from Salzburg to Hallstatt.

• By bus: Take line 150 until Bad Ischl and transfer to the local bus to Hallstatt. The trip will take you around 2h 30m in total.
• By train: Take the train to Bad Ischl and switch to the local bus to Hallstatt. You use Omio to compare the prices.

Pro tip: Both the bus and train rides are really scenic so make sure you get a window seat!

Book a tour to Hallstatt

To avoid figuring out the public transport by yourself, the best option is to book a day trip tour from Salzburg to Hallstatt. 

This is a very popular day trip so there are many options of providers and tours available. We recommend this one (you can also book it below).

Parking in Hallstatt

Parking in Hallstatt was the biggest nightmare of our trip. I was not aware that parking in Hallstatt was so chaotic before we got there, so hopefully this will help you plan your visit a bit better than we did.

What most travel guides seem to fail to mention is just how busy Hallstatt gets on a daily basis! Just to put things into perspective for you, Hallstatt has less than 1.000 inhabitants but there are over 30.000 tourists coming here every single day during the high season.

The sheer volume of visitors is so massive that the town had to limit the number of tour buses allowed per day. If you will be driving to Hallstatt, you’ll face another side of this coin: the challenge of finding a place to park near the Old Town.

Cars aren’t allowed in the Hallstatt city center (except for the people who live here) so you’ll have to stop in one of the official parking lots: P1, P2, P3, or P4.

• P1 and P2: These are the closest ones to town, but they’re also the first to get full. Just for reference, we arrived at 10am and both were full already. Make sure to arrive early if you want to grab a place at P1 or P2.
• P3: Located 30 min by foot from Hallstatt. It’s the largest parking lot where the buses stop as well.
• P4: This is the furthest one, located around 40 min from the center.

Besides these ones, there’s also another place that isn’t properly tagged on Google Maps because it’s located on a detour inside the tunnel that leads to Hallstatt. This parking lot is small but it’s the closest one to the center!

A lot of people pass by this parking area unnoticed because the entrance is very discreet. You’ll have to be lucky to get a spot, but this is where we managed to park when we visited Hallstatt.

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Is one day enough in Hallstatt?

Yes, one day is enough to see the main spots in Hallstatt. The village is quite small and you can easily walk around everywhere, which is why Hallstatt is such a popular day trip destination.

However, I highly recommend spending the night in Hallstatt so you can explore the village before and/or after the day trippers arrive. 

The tours start arriving in town at 9am and they all leave by 17h. After this time, Hallstatt is almost empty and it’s the best time to explore and really take in this beautiful place!

How to avoid the crowds in Hallstatt

I’m not going to lie, we didn’t have the best first impression of Hallstatt on our first visit because everything was too crowded. We didn’t feel like we could really experience this place.

Later, we came back and did things differently, so we can now say with confidence that there is magic to Hallstatt if you are able to avoid the crowds.

Here are our tips to do that:

• Explore during alternative times: early in the morning or late afternoon
• Visit outside of peak season (avoid July, August, and December)
• Wander through the smaller alleys and streets, outside of the main road in the center
• Focus on alternative experiences like renting a stand-up paddle to see the city from a different angle
• Take your time to explore the local places like small shops, handcraft producers, etc
• Spend a night in or around Hallstatt to experience it during the evening

Summer vs Winter in Hallstatt

Hallstatt is one of those places that can be visited all year round because the views are stunning in every season.

Summer is the high season for visiting Hallstatt. The busiest months are between June and September, but July and August are particularly busy. This is a good time to visit Hallstatt if you want to also explore the surrounding area, go hiking, visit the mountains, etc.

Winter is also a popular time of the year to visit Hallstatt because the village looks magical and is covered in snow. The volume of visitors is lower than during the summer, but it’s still rather busy, especially during December with the Christmas season.

The lower seasons are the shoulder months, for example, November or April.

So, is Hallstatt worth visiting?

Now that you know all our tips for making the best of your one-day trip to Hallstatt, it’s time for us to share our unfiltered opinions.

To be very honest, we did not love Hallstatt and I don’t think it’s a place we’ll be going back to.

Don’t get me wrong, the village of Hallstatt is stunning and it does look like it came out of a fairy tale… but we were not prepared to face such a crowd!

Apparently, a popular TV show in China filmed some episodes in Hallstatt a few years ago and, since then, tourism has exploded!

The part that was most frustrating for me was that most people seemed to visit this place for the pictures. The main attractions like the church or the Bone House were empty, while the main street and the viewpoint were so busy, that it was hard to walk without bumping into people.

And on top of that, we saw people being quite disrespectful, trespassing into private gardens and doors just to take a picture. These are actually people’s homes!

If you follow us on Mauka, you know we really focus on promoting travel from an experience perspective, and not this type of tourism “only for the gram”.

So we think the city is beautiful, it was worth a visit so we could experience it ourselves, but I don’t think we’ll be coming back.

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FAQ – Popular questions about visiting Hallstatt

Is it worth doing a day trip to Hallstatt from Vienna?

No, the distance between Hallstatt and Vienna is too big to make for a pleasant day trip. 

It will take you around 3h 30m by car between both cities, so you’ll have to drive 7h in one day and won’t have much time left to explore Hallstatt. If you will be coming from Vienna, I recommend you spend a night in Hallstatt instead of visiting as a day trip.

What to do in Hallstatt during winter?

You can follow the same itinerary I outlined here for a one-day trip to Hallstatt if you are visiting during the winter because most attractions are open all year round.

The only thing to keep in mind is that working hours might change! Also, hiking and renting a boat is not possible during the winter.

What to eat in Hallstatt?

As a true traditional Austrian village, the best things to eat in Hallstatt are things like schnitzel, stews, and other typical Austrian dishes. Most restaurants in town serve a mix of Austrian and international cuisine.