This fairytale village was a must visit location on our  Austrian road trip. As stunning as it is, be prepared – everyone wants a piece of this beautiful town and tourism is in overdrive. Read on to discover what we really thought about our family day out to the iconic Austrian village.

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Where is Hallstatt?

This beautiful village is located in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, on the shores of Halstatersee ( Lake Hallstat).

This tiny village is home to only 700 people, and the beautiful buildings, with a picturesque church overlooking the deep blue lake, is surrounded by the Dachstein mountains, which form part of the Austrian alps. This backdrop creates a pretty stunning scene – it is a UNESCO world heritage site.

What did we do?

We knew it was going to be busy – very busy. Not only was this one of the most visited villages in Europe, it was also mid summer – peak season. We got to the car park for 8am. This allowed us to find a parking spot easily in the nearest car park to the village. There are 3 or 4 car parks, and we wanted the closest one to minimise walking with the kids.

From the car park, it is a short walk into the village along the lakeside. The village itself is pedestrianised, which is fantastic, especially when travelling with kids, but be mindful of bikes – there are quite a few.

There were a few people milling about – but by and large we had the place to ourselves, especially when we reached the village square, the small centre with a hotel and a handful of restaurants. 

It was early, so everything was closed, apart from a bakery, which suited us fine. We grabbed some coffee and a pastry to go and continued our relaxed stroll.

We knew it wouldn’t stay quiet for long, so we headed straight past and up the street to a small lay by – this is the ” Instagram spot” where everyone takes the famous picture of the church with the lake and scenery in the background. We are not immune to the lure of getting ” the picture” so we went, got our selfies and wandered back down to the square. There were one or two influencers here in beautiful dresses, posing, which was quite fun to watch, but not too busy that we couldn’t squeeze in for a family pic.  

We walked back to the main square and took a few more pictures, admired the buildings, and brought a few souvenirs.

There isn’t much for kids to do – it’s more about the pretty buildings and views, which doesn’t really interest our boys that much, although they are always happy to mooch around for a bit with us. We always get them a treat like a cookie, or ice cream, and let them choose a small trinket from the souvenir shops which keeps them happy enough for us to have a walk and take it in.

We toyed with the idea of taking the boat trip that goes to 2 or 3 stops around the lake, but decided it was too much money. It wasn’t overly expensive (especially after Switzerland!) But we were nearing the end of our holiday and the budget was low.

In Hallstat, we walked down to the water, behind the famous church that is in every picture of the place. Here, we found a small play area with swings and some climb on toys. The kids played on there for a bit and  then played at the edge of the lake (under close supervision!) Everywhere they go, rocks and water will always keep them entertained.

It was approaching 10 am. All the cafes were opening up – it seemed a little late but there were signs on some of the doors that looked like they said ‘rest day’or similar. Perhaps the reason for the late start? Anyhow, we went for our second coffee of the morning, and while we were there, had a chat to the waitress who lived there. We talked about the effects of tourism and how busy it gets (more on that later).

We finished our coffee and started heading back through the village to the car. It was starting to feel busy, and as more and more people started to fill the streets, we decided it was time to go. We got back to the car at 11am, and it was one in one out at all the car parks, save the furthest one out on the other side of the lake. We make it a rule to always get to where ever we are going as early as possible, and doing this has always been a success so far.

James wanted to see if we could hire bikes, and a quick google brought up a bike hire place in a village on Halstatersee, but on the opposite side to Halstatt, called Obertraun.

On the way, we saw the cycle path, which looked like it followed the main road most of the way to Hallstat  and wasn’t as close to the lake as we had imagined, so we weren’t very keen after all. It also was heading back to Hallstat which we had already visited and was getting more crowded by the second! We had been spoilt for cycling in Lake Annecy early on in the year, which has an amazing fanily friendly cycle path around the lake, particularly on the west side of the lake, which is traffic free and stunning scenery.

We still called in to the bike hire shop to inquire about taking the route the other way, but it turns out that was far to hilly for the likes of us so we gave it a miss this time, and headed back to camp.

A note on tourism

The day before we visited Hallstatt, something on the radio pricked my ears. It was in German, so I couldn’t understand a word, but I did hear the words Hallstatt. When we got back to the campsite I googled Hallstatt news and what seemed like local protests about tourists came up. Oh dear.

Once again, they were in German, and I found it difficult to translate it on my phone. However, what did come up, in English reporting, were some articles from 2023 about mass tourism protests by local people, where they blocked the road tunnel to stop cars and coaches from entering the village.

I wasn’t surprised to hear that Hallstatt had a visitors’ problem. We had last been in 2017, and it was busy then – and now, due to the post covid tourism boom, it made sense that this issue was getting worse and worse, not better. Of a village with just 700 inhabitants, they experience up to 10,000 people per day in peak season. 

Me and James discussed not going – mainly, I admit, because I didn’t want me or the kids to be on the end of a Barcelona style water pistolling!

The other reason, of course, is it must be awful for the locals, and we love the places we visit – we didn’t want to be part of the problem. We also live near a mass tourism location in the Cotswolds in the UK, luckily far enough out for it not to affect our day to day life. However, we noticed the problems that over tourism creates, so close to home, and have lots of sympathy for the local people.

In the end, selfishness won out (doesn’t it always?) And we still went – we had come so far and really wanted to see the beauty of Hallstatt once again. We wanted the same picture as everybody else to put on Instagram (just being honest). And we can’t really be so hypocritical to be serial tourists, complaining about other tourists ruining it.

In the end, I do wonder what is going to happen in the tourist industry. The desire to explore the world is not going anywhere, and the means to do it are getting more accessible and exposure of previous hidden gems is also, going nowhere.

So where does that leave me? A person who lives to travel and experience foreign cultures and landscapes, but also does not want to be a dick about it?!

This are the rules that me and James try to stick to, to find that fine balance.

Get there early. ( There’s  that selfishness again!) Nevermind the locals. I don’t want to share the scenery with coach loads of tourists and hordes of selfie sticks, either! It is always quieter first thing in the morning, and you won’t have to worry about finding a car parking spot.

Contribute to the local economy. We always eat in restaurants, drink in the cafes and buy souvenirs from the local shops. One of reported complaints from locals protesting in Hallstatt was that coach trips were coming and not spending in the local shops, therefore not contributing to the economy in any way.

Consider your accomodation options carefully. It has been widely reported  about the impact of  Air B and B and similar on availability for homes for local people, driving up house prices, and community breakdown in popular tourist hotspots. We love a self catering option, and find holiday parks like eurocamp or similar, self catering aparthotels, bed and breakfast, or hotels are great alternatives that minimise the negative effect on local people and provide jobs and money in to local businesses.

Respect the locals, their way of life and their culture.