Austria: Salzkammergut Lakes Walking, Hallstatt and the Wolfgangsee

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Salzburg

   Salzburg Airport to your hotel in the old town

   • Environ 15 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Salzburg
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Salzburg Airport (SZG), about 4 km west of the city, or arrive by train at the main station; a driver meets you either way and takes you to a central hotel within walking distance of the old town. The rest of the afternoon is free. Salzburg's old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the easiest first walk is along the Salzach river to the Mozartsteg, then into the lanes behind the cathedral. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: how the walking days work, what to pack for the mountain tops and the ice cave, and where the easy and active options fall. Then we walk to a welcome dinner of Austrian cooking in the old town, about ten minutes from the hotel. Plan to land by about 4 pm to reach the briefing; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Salzburg Airport (SZG) or Salzburg main station
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner in the old town

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

2. Jour 2 : Salzburg: the fortress and the Mönchsberg

   Salzburg old town, Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Mönchsberg

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Salzburg
   Détail du jour 2

   We start early, before the tour groups, with a walk through the old town: the Residenzplatz, the cathedral, St. Peter's cemetery tucked under the cliff, and the narrow Getreidegasse with its wrought-iron shop signs and Mozart's birthplace at number 9. At about ten we ride the funicular up to Hohensalzburg Fortress, one of the largest medieval castles in central Europe still standing, for the state rooms and the view south to the mountains we head for tomorrow. From the fortress your guide leads a footpath along the wooded Mönchsberg, the ridge above the old town, with lookouts over the domes and the river, and down by the lift or the steps near the modern art museum. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the old town. The afternoon and evening are yours: the Mirabell Gardens, a concert, or coffee and cake by the river.

   Compris

   • Guided walk of Salzburg's old town: the Residenzplatz, the cathedral, St. Peter's cemetery and the Getreidegasse
   • Hohensalzburg Fortress with the funicular
   • The Mönchsberg ridge walk with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in the old town

   Activités en option

   • An evening concert in the old town (tickets on request)

   Option plus facile : Ride the funicular back down from the fortress instead of walking the Mönchsberg.

   Option plus active : In the free afternoon, cross the river and climb the steps to the Kapuzinerberg for the view back over the old town and the fortress, about 1.5 hours more and about 200 m of climbing.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 2 to 3 hours on foot on cobbles and a gentle ridge path.

3. Jour 3 : To the Wolfgangsee on the pilgrims' path

   Salzburg to St. Gilgen, boat to Fürberg, then on foot over the Falkenstein to St. Wolfgang

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : St. Wolfgang
   Détail du jour 3

   After breakfast we drive about half an hour east to St. Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee, the village where Mozart's mother was born, while the van takes the luggage on to St. Wolfgang. A short boat ride along the north shore drops us at the landing at Fürberg, where the walk begins. We follow the lake to the foot of the Falkenstein, then climb the old pilgrims' path over the cliff, past the little chapel and the stations that pilgrims have walked since the Middle Ages, to the viewpoint high above the water. The path drops through beech woods to Ried and along the shore into St. Wolfgang. Lunch is on the way, at an inn on the shore. In the afternoon look inside the pilgrimage church for Michael Pacher's carved and painted altar, finished in 1481, then check into the hotel for three nights. The evening is free on the lakefront.

   Compris

   • Drive from Salzburg to St. Gilgen
   • Lake boat from St. Gilgen to Fürberg
   • Guided walk over the Falkenstein pilgrims' path to St. Wolfgang
   • Lunch at a lakeside inn
   • The pilgrimage church and Pacher altar in St. Wolfgang

   Option plus facile : Stay on the boat to St. Wolfgang and meet the walkers for lunch, or walk only the flat lakeside section from Fürberg.

   Option plus active : Walk the lakeside path from St. Gilgen to Fürberg instead of taking the boat, about an hour and 4 km more on the flat, before the Falkenstein climb.

   Temps libre : Evening free in St. Wolfgang

   Activité : About 3 hours and 9 km on foot, with a climb of about 200 m on a stepped path over the Falkenstein.

   

4. Jour 4 : The Schafberg railway and the summit ridge

   St. Wolfgang to the Schafberg summit by cog railway, then on foot to the Schafbergalpe

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : St. Wolfgang
   Détail du jour 4

   The Schafberg cog railway has climbed from St. Wolfgang since 1893, and we ride one of the first trains of the day, booked ahead, before the queues build. It takes about 35 minutes to wind up through forest and meadow to the summit station at about 1,730 m. On a clear morning you see the Wolfgangsee, the Mondsee and the Attersee spread out below, and the Dachstein glacier to the south. Your guide leads a walk along the summit ridge to the rock window of the Himmelspforte, then down a well-made path across the pastures to the Schafbergalpe, the middle station, where we stop for lunch at a mountain inn. From there the train takes us back down to St. Wolfgang. The rest of the afternoon is free: swim from the lido, take a boat, or sit on the lakefront with an ice cream.

   Compris

   • Schafberg cog railway, up and back, on a reserved early train
   • Guided ridge walk from the summit to the Schafbergalpe
   • Lunch at a mountain inn

   Option plus facile : Stay at the summit for the views and ride the train all the way down, about an hour on foot in total.

   Option plus active : Walk on from the Schafbergalpe past the Mönichsee and Suissensee lakes all the way down to St. Wolfgang, about 2.5 hours more and about 800 m of descent.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in St. Wolfgang

   Activité : About 3 to 4 hours on foot, mostly downhill, on rocky paths; sturdy shoes are needed. The summit is often 10 degrees cooler than the lake.

5. Jour 5 : Across the lake to the Zwölferhorn

   St. Wolfgang by boat to St. Gilgen, the Zwölferhorn cable car, and back by boat

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : St. Wolfgang
   Détail du jour 5

   Today the lake is the road. We cross the Wolfgangsee by boat to St. Gilgen, about 40 minutes with stops, watching the Schafberg slide behind us. From the edge of the village the Zwölferhorn cable car lifts us to about 1,520 m in small gondolas. At the top your guide leads a walk across the high pastures to the summit cross and along the ridge towards the Pillstein, with the lake on one side and the peaks of the Osterhorn group on the other. We stop at a mountain hut for lunch and come down by cable car in the early afternoon. There is time in St. Gilgen for the small Mozart house museum or a coffee on the waterfront before the boat back to St. Wolfgang. The evening is free, a good one for a swim from the St. Wolfgang lido or a long dinner on a terrace.

   Compris

   • Lake boats St. Wolfgang to St. Gilgen and back
   • Zwölferhorn cable car, up and back
   • Guided walk on the Zwölferhorn summit plateau
   • Lunch at a mountain hut
   • Time in St. Gilgen

   Option plus facile : Stay near the top station and the summit cross, about an hour of easy walking, and meet the group for lunch.

   Option plus active : Walk down from the Zwölferhorn to St. Gilgen through the alpine pastures and forest, about 2.5 to 3 hours and about 1,000 m of descent.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 3 hours on foot on grassy and rocky mountain paths.

   

6. Jour 6 : Bad Ischl and the Gosausee to Hallstatt

   St. Wolfgang to Strobl and Bad Ischl, then the Gosausee, then Hallstatt

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Hallstatt
   Détail du jour 6

   We leave the Wolfgangsee by the east shore and stop at Strobl for a short boardwalk through the Blinklingmoos reed marsh. Twenty minutes on is Bad Ischl, the spa town where Emperor Franz Joseph spent his summers; we cross the river to the Kaiservilla and its park, then have time in the town for coffee and cake in one of its old cafes. From Bad Goisern the road climbs the Gosau valley to the Vorderer Gosausee, a green lake under the white wall of the Dachstein glacier. The walk round the lake is flat and takes about an hour and a half; lunch is at the inn by the shore. The active group carries on along the valley to the Hinterer Gosausee. In the late afternoon we drive back down the Gosau valley and along the lake to Hallstatt, about 40 minutes, and check in for two nights. About 2 hours of driving in all, broken by every stop; by the time we arrive most day visitors have gone.

   Compris

   • Blinklingmoos boardwalk at Strobl
   • Bad Ischl: the Kaiservilla park and the town with your guide
   • Guided walk around the Vorderer Gosausee
   • Lunch by the Gosausee

   Activités en option

   • The Kaiservilla interior tour in Bad Ischl (when open; the park walk is included)

   Option plus facile : Walk half the Gosausee loop and wait at the inn with a view of the Dachstein.

   Option plus active : Continue from the Vorderer to the Hinterer Gosausee and back, about 2.5 hours more on a gently rising valley track.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Hallstatt

   Activité : About 2 to 4.5 hours on foot depending on the option, on mostly level paths.

   

7. Jour 7 : The salt mine and the Dachstein ice cave

   Hallstatt salt mine, then Obertraun and the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave

   • Environ 15 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Hallstatt
   Détail du jour 7

   Hallstatt is at its quietest early, so we walk through the village before the day visitors arrive and ride the funicular up to the salt mine for the first tour of the day. Salt has been mined in this mountain for thousands of years and gave its name to a whole period of European prehistory. Underground you ride the miners' wooden slides, cross a lit salt lake and see how the mountain was worked. On the way back down the Skywalk viewing platform hangs above the village and lake. After lunch we drive about ten minutes round the lake to Obertraun and take the Krippenstein cable car to the Schönbergalm, where a short climb leads to the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave: halls of frozen waterfalls and ice columns, close to freezing all summer, seen on a guided tour. Back in Hallstatt there is time to walk the lakeshore past the old wooden boathouses before a farewell dinner by the lake.

   Compris

   • Hallstatt salt mine tour with the funicular and the Skywalk
   • Lunch in Hallstatt
   • Dachstein Krippenstein cable car to the Schönbergalm
   • Dachstein Giant Ice Cave tour
   • Farewell dinner in Hallstatt

   Activités en option

   • The Hallstatt Museum on the village square

   Option plus facile : Skip the ice cave, which has many steps, and spend the afternoon in Hallstatt or on a lake boat.

   Option plus active : Walk down from the salt mine to the village on the old miners' path instead of riding the funicular, about 45 minutes and about 350 m of descent.

   Activité : A full day with one pace. The salt mine tour is about 1.5 hours underground. The ice cave tour is about an hour, near freezing, with a lot of steps (about 700 is the figure commonly quoted; we confirm it at booking): bring a warm jacket, hat and good shoes.

   

8. Jour 8 : Back to Salzburg and home

   Hallstatt to Salzburg Airport (SZG) or Salzburg main station

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   Take one more early walk along the lakeshore while the water is still and the village is waking up, then breakfast. Mid-morning we drive back towards Salzburg, about 85 km and an hour and a half, past Bad Goisern and Bad Ischl and along the Wolfgangsee you crossed earlier in the week, with a short stop by the lake at St. Gilgen if time allows. We reach Salzburg Airport around midday, and your guide sees you to the check-in hall. If you are staying on, we drop you at the main station or a hotel in the old town instead. Salzburg has direct flights to a handful of European hubs; Munich Airport, the larger option for long-haul connections, is about two hours further by train or shuttle, so leave a generous gap if you fly from there.

   Compris

   • Drop-off at Salzburg Airport (SZG), Salzburg main station or an old town hotel

   Activité : Book a flight from Salzburg leaving after about 2 pm.

Faune et météo : Summer in the Salzkammergut is warm in the valleys and cool on the tops, with afternoon thunderstorms in July and August; we walk in the morning and switch the order of days if a storm is forecast.

• Salzburg2 nuits
• St. Wolfgang3 nuits
• Hallstatt2 nuits