What brought me to Austria was my intention to visit Hallstatt. This beautiful place was added to my bucket list very spontaneously after I walked by a beautiful picture during a visit to an Art`s Festival in Columbus, Ohio. I pointed to the picture and said: I will visit that place one day!

Vienna

I started my journey from Vienna. Also a beautiful city in Austria. It is very easy to get from the Vienna Airport to the city. The public transportation is well connected making it very easy to get around.

Belvedere Garden and Palace

The Belvedere offers a perfect place for a nice walk. The access to the big garden and the grounds of the Belvedere are free. You will find some benches to sit down and enjoy the view. There is also a museum with paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, and the famous Austrian painter Gustav Klimt . The entrance fee is 16 euros.

Maria Theresien Platz

This is a large public square in the middle of the city of Vienna. You will find the Art Museum and the National History museum in that area. It is definitely worth a visit to admire the beautiful and grandiose architecture of the buildings. That was my main impression of Vienna : big, historical, beautiful buildings. You don`t need to look hard to find them, just walk around the city and they will be everywhere. It is impressive!

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

In the heart of Vienna center city you will find the big cathedral. This is a 12th century construction and one of the most important Gothic structures in Austria. Beautiful and peaceful inside.

Hallstatt Town

It took me four hours by train to get to Hallstatt. A town with approximately 760 inhabitants located on Lake Hallstatt. This little town exceeded my expectations and it was the best part of my trip to Austria. Fortunately at the time I visited, beginning of July 2020 , it was not crowded. You can only reach the town by ferry so either you get a hotel inside the village or you have to make sure to take the last ferry to leave it. I highly recommend to spend a full weekend here so you can explore the beautiful nature and do some hiking.

To get to the most famous viewpoint of the town, you need to walk only 10 minutes from the ferry stop. You can put in The Google map : Aussichtspunkt Hallstatt, and it will take you directly there. The view will definitely not disappoint, that was what brought me to this village in the first place. But it does not stop there…

Hallstatt Skywalk 

Another must do is the World Heritage Skywalk – a platform 360 meters above sea level offering a unique view of the UNESCO World Heritage town of Hallstatt and the hiking region of Dachstein Salzkammergut. You can get there by foot or you can pay the funicular to get to the top in 10 minutes. I would not recommend to go up by foot if you are not in your absolute best shape, it is really steep. In my case, I took the funicular to the top and hiked down through designated path. This short hike was the best part of my visit because I got to enjoy the beautiful nature and see some beautiful views on the way down.

Tip: There are two paths to hike down back to the city. The easiest path that takes approximately 40 minutes is demarcated with a sign and it is on the right side when facing the platform.

Once you are back in the village just walk around and enjoy the picturesque views. The Central Square is really cute with several restaurants and cafes. There is also little alleys and small bridges with streams of water creating a perfect and calming sound everywhere. If there is one thing that I loved about Hallstatt was the constant peaceful and soothing sound of water.

This place is pure Magic! I would recommend a visit at any time of the year. If you look it up, the views during winter time are also breathtaking.