Hallstatt itinerary for first-timers

At the northern end of the village, a bend in Seestrasse gives the view that made Hallstatt famous: pastel houses stacked against the mountain, the slim spire of the Protestant church at the water's edge and the whole scene reflected in the lake. It is the most photographed spot in town, which is exactly why it is worth coming first, while the light is soft and before the tour groups arrive.

• Classic photo view
• Lake Hallstatt
• Church spire on the shore
• Dachstein mountains

People live in the houses around the viewpoint; keep the path clear, keep your voice down early in the morning and don't climb on walls or private steps for a photo.

From the viewpoint, Seestrasse runs south along the shore into the heart of the village. Wooden boathouses stand on stilts in the water, swans drift past the jetties, and narrow passages lead off between the houses towards the hillside. Look up as you walk: some houses have fruit trees trained flat against their façades, a traditional way of growing in a village with almost no garden space.

• Lakeside promenade
• Wooden boathouses
• Pear tree on a façade
• Narrow passages between houses

Covered stairways climb from the lanes to the Catholic parish church, set on a terrace above the roofs. Its small cemetery looks straight out over the lake and mountains. Because there was so little room to bury the dead here, bones were later moved to the charnel house, the Beinhaus, where hundreds of skulls are stacked on shelves, many painted with names, dates and garlands of flowers.

• Catholic parish church
• Hillside cemetery
• Bone House (Beinhaus)
• View over the lake

The cemetery is still in use; walk through it quietly and respectfully.

Back down by the water, the Evangelical Church stands right on the shore, the spire you saw from the postcard view. A few steps away, the Market Square is the centre of the village: a small sloping square of colourful old houses around a Holy Trinity column, with cafés where you can sit for a while and watch the village go by.

• Evangelical Church
• Market Square
• Holy Trinity column
• Colourful old houses

A short walk from the square, a mountain stream tumbles down behind the houses as the Hallstatt waterfall, one of the few places in the village where you hear water louder than voices. Nearby, the World Heritage Museum tells the long story of the place, from the prehistoric salt miners whose finds gave their name to the Iron Age Hallstatt culture to village life today.

• Hallstatt waterfall
• World Heritage Museum
• Prehistoric finds

From Lahn, at the southern end of the village, the Salzbergbahn funicular climbs the mountainside in a few minutes. At the top, the Skywalk platform juts out over the cliff edge, with the village, the church spires and the whole length of the lake far below. Higher up the valley is the salt mine, worked for around 7,000 years and the oldest known in the world; guided tours go deep inside, with miners' slides between the levels.

• Salzbergbahn funicular
• Skywalk 'World Heritage View'
• Salt mine tour
• View over Lake Hallstatt

Allow a good part of the afternoon if you add the salt mine tour; on clear days the Skywalk is busiest around midday, and the view is softer later in the day.