Autumn in Hallstatt, Austria

We visited Hallstatt exactly one year ago today, and I couldn’t believe I’ve had this blog post sitting in drafts for so long since this was one of my favorite stops on our trip! Our visit to Hallstatt was very spontaneous, as we had 10 days “to kill” between truffle hunting in Istria, Croatia and heading to Venice, Italy to catch the Orient Express. We decided on a last minute road trip around the Alps to see the fall colors and then onto the Balkans. 10 days, 3,000 miles, booking hotels each night as we went along.

Hallstatt is Austria’s oldest village and a UNESCO World Heritage site, with archeological evidence that the area has been inhabited since Europe’s Iron Age, as early as 800-450 BC. Today, the town is a beautifully preserved 16th century Alpine village on the western shore of a glittering Lake by the same name. We arrived at Hallstatt at 8am in the morning and I highly recommend going early, as this postcard perfect town attracts visitors from around the world and starts getting crowed by 10am. You can see the whole town in a couple of hours, but there are several adorable little hotels sprinkled around (many with lake views) for longer stays if you wanted to linger to take in the fall color. Hallstatt’s alpine charm convinced us we wanted to spend Christmas in Austria, which you can read about here if you missed it.

Thanks as always for reading!

xx, SF