Few years ago, Hallstatt was almost unknown to anyone. This romantic village in the Austrian Alps has until recently been hidden from the eyes of tourists. Who would have expected it to be visited thanks to the instagram. This popular social network has become extremely visible and today you can see masses of tourists in Hallstatt. They are posing for their new instagram photo and people are walking with selfie-stickers around.
What to do in HALLSTATT
Hallstatt is really a very small town. Count on staying there for a few hours or maybe half a day. Let’s say that in 4 hours you can walk through the city and even sit down for coffee or make a few of those pictures. If you are going on a day trip, then there is a cable car that will take you to the Salzkammergut, where you can enjoy stunning views of the city, the surrounding mountains and the lake.
Among other things, you will find in Hallstatt one very unusual collection. In the Chapel of St. Michael can find up to 600 skulls. On them are various paintings, ornaments, or names of the deceased. Reportedly, it is the largest collection of skulls in Europe.
The large clear lake and the monumental Austrian Alps surrounding the city give Hallstatt incredible charm, and the beauty of the city is, in my opinion, the most important factor for which Hallstatt is worth visiting.
When to Visit Hallstatt
It does not matter what time of year you visit the city. I went there in late February, during the spring break. The city has its charm at any time of year. But it is important to mention that the tourist here is most summer. Unless you explicitly love masses of people, summer is definitely not the best time. You will certainly want to walk around the city or sit down somewhere and this can be a real problem in summer.
After all, even in February, when I was there, they were up-to-date. How many of them are there in the summer I really do not need to find out and I do not recommend it as well.
Hallstatt has to face huge masses of tourists
Did you know that today it is modern not only to copy songs or fashion but also to the whole city? Hallstatt has been so successful with Chinese tourists that they have built a duplicate of this beautiful place in China. However, the truth is that Hallstatt adds to the beauty of the majestic Austrian Alps, and they miss it in Hallstatt, China. In my opinion, the Chinese Hallstatt is not nearly as magical as the original. But at least this seems to me extremely interesting. After all, look at the duplicate: https: //www.youtube.com
This action has made the small town even more famous, and today it is facing a burst of tourists from the Eastern Hemisphere. There are so many of them that all local information boards. Even store names, are written in four languages, namely: German (of course), English (which must simply be), and then you will find Japanese and Chinese. I don’t know a small village that is as adapted to foreign tourists as Hallstatt.
Hallstatt is crowded with tourists
However, each coin has two sides. This town is so crowded with tourists, especially in the summer season, that the locals lack all privacy. Many houses have signs that warn that they are private property. Unfortunately, these signs are really necessary there, as it is common for the households to look for a selfie in their backyard garden by looking out the window. There are so many of them that all local information boards, or even store names, are written in four languages, namely: German (of course), English (which must simply be), and then you will find Japanese and Chinese. I don’t know a small village that is as adapted to foreign tourists as Hallstatt.
This fact seems to me really interesting and during my visit to Hallstatt I was very surprised how many tourists arrived in such a small village from such a distance. Well, it is true that Hallstatt is truly a charming city. It is no wonder that it has gained great popularity with tourists in the last few years.
If you also like Austria and like Hallstatt, I also recommend visiting the historic city of Salzburg, which is only 75 km away from Hallstatt, which is approximately an hour and a half by car you should also visit Salzburg.
