Top 25 Places To Visit in Austria - Travel Guide

What's up guys, my name is Ryan and I've spent the last few years exploring the country of Austria and I want to share with you my favorite places and experiences so here is my Austria top 25. Located in Central Europe, Austria is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. From picturesque lakes to via ferratas that will get your heart pounding, Austria is waiting to be experienced. Let's start this video off at Hallstatt. Of all the places in Austria, Hallstatt is one of the most famous and with reason, it literally looks like a town straight out of a Disney movie. Located just an hour's drive from Salzburg, Hallstatt began as a salt mine nearly 7,000 years ago and today it's one of Austria's most visited villages. When I was there, it was hard to find parking in Hallstatt so I decided to go to the nearby town of Obertraun which is across the lake and from there we took the ferry into Hallstatt. It was about 15 euros a person and the ferry was awesome because as you come into Hallstatt, you get a perfect view of it from the lake. I highly recommend taking the ferry into the village. After we had a great time just walking around Hallstatt, there were swans hanging out on the lakeshore and after we decided to walk over to the photo spot that gives you the famous view of Hallstatt with the church. Afterwards, we went to the Marktplatz which is the market square and it was a really interesting walk through and there were some beautiful timber houses. I personally enjoyed just wandering throughout the village. It's easy to see why it's one of the most famous places in Austria. Another cool thing that you can do in Hallstatt is go up to the skywalk. You take up the Salzburg and you can check out the skywalk and also go into Hallstatt's salt mine. After it, we're going to visit the nearby village of Gosau. It's located just 20 minutes from Hallstatt and when I was in Austria the first time, I came across this town by accident. I was just driving through and I couldn't believe the mountains accompanied it with the beautiful churches of Gosau. It would be a dream to live here. Just up the road from Gosau is a lake called Gosausee. It's an incredible spot surrounded by the impressive Dachstein mountains. I was really surprised by the clarity of the water. It was just so blue. There's a nice trail that goes along the lake and it was really nice to walk along and there's also a great hotel and restaurant up there. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to this area was to do the famous sky ladder Via Ferrata. I've been wanting to do this Via Ferrata for years and it took me four tries to do it mainly due to poor planning on my end and some bad weather. Now to get to the start of the Via Ferrata, I took out the gondola from Gosausee and from there it was about a 20-minute hike to the spot where you start climbing up the mountain. I was so excited to finally do it. I got hooked in and started climbing up the mountain. I will say it was pretty exhausting and there were some parts that were really exposed but it was fairly easy to do. It took me about two hours of climbing to reach the famous sky ladder. I didn't realize how big it was. I did it on a Saturday morning in fall and there was a decent amount of people so eventually I waited my turn. I was a little nervous as I got going. It was wobbly at times but overall it was pretty easy and you're always hooked in so it's basically impossible to fall. After a few minutes of climbing, I made it to the end of the sky ladder. Now from here, you can either end the Via Ferrata or you can continue climbing. I decided to keep going and this part was probably the hardest. Some sections were climbing straight up the mountain. It took me about another hour and I finally made it to the summit. The peak on top is called Grosser Donnerkogel and there's a cross up there which I thought was pretty cool. From here, I got an insane 360 view of all the peaks in the area. The mountains up here are just amazing. Afterwards, I had to descend back down to the gondola and that took about an hour so if you decide to do it, expect to take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to complete the whole Via Ferrata. It was very exhausting but it was an incredible experience and one of my favorite things that I did during my time in Austria. After it, we're going to visit the Dachstein Glacier. Located about an hour and 10 minute drive from Glusau, the glacier is situated on the Dachstein Massif which is the same mountain you can see from the top of the Via Ferrata and also from Glosser See. To get up the glacier, you can take a gondola which costs about $55. It rises up to this beautiful mountain station and it looks like a James Bond lair. When you're up top, you're at an elevation of 2,700 meters. There were people skiing on the glacier in October when I was there. Another cool attraction up here is a suspension bridge that you can walk on and there's also this stairway that goes up to nothing that gives you a great view of the area. The mountains are on another level up here. Afterwards, we're going to visit the beautiful city of Salzburg. Surrounded by the Alps and Western Austria, Salzburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Austria and Europe. Salzburg literally translates to salt castle. It's got its name because the main source of income for the city during medieval times was salt extraction. Today, Salzburg is renowned for its Baroque architecture and it's one of the best-preserved cities north of the Alps. The crowning feature of the city is the Hohenzelsberg Fortress. Its construction began nearly 1,000 years ago and it continued to be expanded on throughout the ages. Today, it's one of the largest and best-preserved medieval castles in all of Europe. After, we're going to leave the city to visit one of my favorite lakes in Austria, Volkangsee. I remember stumbling upon this lake by accident as I was driving through Austria and I was just stunned by the beauty of this place. Located just 30 minutes drive from Salzburg, Volkangsee is one of the most beautiful lakes in the region. I mean, the water is so clear and there's so many beautiful mountains and villages that surround the lake. One of the main reasons I wanted to come to this area was to visit the Schaffberg Mountain. This is another place I was just so excited to visit. What's unique about Schaffberg is that you take a train to get to the top. The train is located in the town of St. Wolfgang. It costs about $50 a person to take the train up. As we climbed up the mountain in the train, I mean, I just couldn't believe how steep it was. After about 30 minutes, we made it to the train station. From there, we hiked up to the top. There's a restaurant and hotel, which I think would be really cool to spend the night at. I particularly love this one viewpoint that was situated between the restaurant and the hotel. It shows how steep the cliff is where they are built and offers a beautiful view of the area. I really enjoyed just walking around up here and admiring the 360 view. You can see so many lakes such as Wolfgangsee below. We also walked to the ridgeline to the east and it offers some amazing views of Schaffberg. If you're in the area, you got to take the train to the top of this incredible mountain peak. After it, we're going to head to the town of Traunkirchen. Located about 30 minutes away, Traunkirchen is this idyllic village built on this little peninsula on Traunsee. It's insanely beautiful, especially with the massive mountain across the lake. I really enjoyed just walking around Traunkirchen. People were swimming in the lake and enjoying the warm summer evening. We found this trail that took us up to the church that is built on the hill overlooking the town. After it, we explored more of the area and just walked along the lake and it was so peaceful. Austria is blessed with so many beautiful towns and villages. While we're still in the area, we're going to visit Attersee. Located just 30 minutes from Traunkirchen, Attersee is the biggest lake in the Salz-Kammergut region and the third biggest lake in Austria. When I was on top of Schaffberg, I could see this lake in the distance. It's absolutely massive. Now, the scenery here is next level. If you want to go on a good drive, you can explore the road that loops around the lake shore. After it, we're going to visit another beautiful lake, Grundosee. Located about 30 minutes from Hallstatt, Grundosee is the largest lake in the state of Austria and it's surrounded by the Dead Mountains. The scenery here is just incredible. I enjoyed relaxing on the shore. A keep driving past Grundosee, you'll come to another smaller lake called Toblitze. This lake is absolutely beautiful, especially during the fall months. I mean, this part of Austria is just blessed with so many scenic lakes. After it, we're going to visit one of my favorite castles in Austria, Burg Hohenwerfen. I remember the first time I saw this castle as I was driving on the highway and I couldn't believe it. It's situated on top of this rock pillar and the castle dates back nearly a thousand years when its first fortifications were built there. Over the centuries, the castle continued to grow and was used as a military base, residence, and prison. Today, it's a museum and you can tour it and it's also the sister castle to the one in Salzburg. I personally think it's one of the most scenic castles, not just in Austria, but all of Europe. Another one of Austria's most impressive castles is Hohosterwitz. Located in southeastern Austria, Hohosterwitz is built on this rocky outcrop and it dates back to the 9th century. My favorite feature of the castle is the 14 fortified gates that were built in the 1500s to defend against Turkish invasions. According to local legend, the castle never was conquered and enemies never managed to get past the fourth gate. I've never seen a castle with so many layers of medieval security. Today, it's possible to tour the castle during parts of the year for about $20 and you can take a funicular up or you can also make the steep but nice walk to the castle. Afterwards, we're going to head to the capital of Austria to visit Vienna. Located in the eastern part of the country, Vienna has been ranked as one of the world's most livable cities. It's a perfect combination of medieval and modern architecture. Vienna is known as the city of music. Musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart called Vienna home. One of the most impressive places is the Schönbrunn Palace. It's a summer residence of the Habsburg rulers and has over 1400 rooms. There are stunning gardens and mazes to explore around the palace. After, we're going to visit nearby Wachau. Located about an hour drive from Vienna, Wachau is this beautiful valley situated on the Danube River. The area is full of incredible scenery and vineyards. I think it's particularly scenic during the fall time. There's some beautiful villages along the river such as Dernstein. Another interesting place in Wachau is the Gottweig Abbey. It's perched on a hill overlooking the valley and it was first built in the 11th century. Today, the abbey can be toured and it's currently home to about 30 monks. After, we're going to head to Austria's state of Tirol to visit Innsbruck. Located in Western Austria, about a two-hour drive from Salzburg, Innsbruck is a magical destination situated right in the heart of the Alps. It's one of the world's best destinations for winter sports and has hosted several winter Olympics throughout the years. One of my favorite features of Innsbruck is the colorful buildings that line the Inn River. I mean, they're so unique. Now, another beautiful town in Tirol is Kufstein. Located about an hour's drive from Innsbruck, Kufstein is the second largest town in Tirol. The crowning feature of the area is the Kufstein Fortress. It dates back over 800 years and has switched ownerships between Bavaria and Tirol throughout the centuries. Afterwards, we're gonna head back to the mountains to visit Lake Stillup. It's located just an hour and a half drive from Innsbruck and it's this beautiful lake in the Zillertal Valley. I love the sharp mountain walls accompanied with incredible waterfalls. It feels like you're in Rivendell or something and the area is just beautiful and there's some great hiking and a restaurant you can visit while you're there. While we're still on the topic of waterfalls, we're going to visit Krimel Falls. It's located about an hour and a half from Innsbruck and it's home to the tallest waterfall in Austria with a total height of 380 meters. It's a tiered waterfall with three stages with the largest individual waterfall being 140 meters tall. I mean, the area is so beautiful and the power of the falls is impressive to see. After it, we're going to visit Zalamsi. Located about an hour from Krimel, Zalamsi is this picturesque Austrian town on Lakesdale. This area began to grow as a luxury tourist destination back in the late 1800s for Austrian and European aristocrats. During the summer months, it's an excellent place to enjoy the water and during winter, it's an ideal place to ski. I mean, Austria is just home to so many beautiful lakes. After, we're going to take a drive on one of Austria's most famous highways, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. It's the highest road in Austria at 2,504 meters. Now, it costs about $35 to enter and I drove up the road where I was just stunned by the view of the surrounding mountains. Now, depending on when you come up here, the scenery can be very different. If you come in the summer months, it'll probably be green and there might be some snow and if you come in the fall, it gets a very dramatic brown color. While you're here, you can drive this lookout called Eitelweisspitze and I love the road leading up to it because the road is made up of hand-laid stones that wind up the mountain. I mean, the view up here was just awesome. Another cool spot up there is the Watchtower. Now, while you're up here, you can also visit the Passersau Glacier, which is just a short drive over. It's the biggest glacier in Austria and there's a nice parking and viewpoint area on top. And when I was there, I found this path that took me all the way down to the bottom. I love the color of the lake. The contrast of the blue water against the scenery of the mountains and glacier is a sight to see. Afterwards, we're going to head to the state of Uralberg. Located in the very west of Austria, bordering Switzerland, Uralberg is home to some incredible mountains and lakes. One of my favorites is Lunersee. It's this peculiar lake that is shaped like a heart. Now, to get there, you take up a gondola and you can walk around the lake and there's also some places you can hike up to to get a higher perspective to see the lake's heart shape. Another interesting place in Uralberg is the Silvretta High Alpine Road. It's this mountain pass with 34 hairpin turns and there's some beautiful alpine reservoirs. On your way up from the west side, you'll pass by Vermunstausee first and then after you'll pass by the Silvretta which is a massive reservoir with some phenomenal mountain scenery. Another cool feature about this part of Austria is that it's home to Lake Constance. Located in the northwestern part of Austria, Lake Constance is the largest lake in the country and its waters are also part of Switzerland and Germany. The lake is fed by the Rhine River and there's so many beautiful resort towns along its shores. An impressive place to get a viewpoint of the lake is from Fonder. It's a beautiful peak with a restaurant you can take a gondola or drive up there to get an amazing view of Lake Constance which shows how huge it is. For our final destination, we're going to visit Opera Hütte. This is another one of the places I was most excited to go. Located about an hour and a half from Innsbruck, Opera Hütte has become one of the most well-known hikes in Austria. To get there, you drive up the Schliegeisfeier reservoir and from there it's a steep hike up the mountain. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be but it was definitely challenging. Along the way, you get great views of the reservoir below. After over an hour of hiking, we made it to the Opera Hütte which is a restaurant and hotel but it was closed for the season when we were there. After we walked just a few more minutes and made it to the famous bridge that stretches over this mountain stream. The bridge is not that high up or very big but if you take a picture zoomed in, it looks like you're high off the ground. I know it's a really cool spot and the surrounding scenery is just incredible. With the mountains and reservoir below, it's definitely worth the hard hike to get there. Well that is it for my Austria top 25. There's still so much to explore so I gotta make up part 2. Let me know where your favorite place is in the comments below. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at shirley.films. It's Ryan and we will see you later.