We continue to explore Salzburg. Let’s see what interesting things there are outside the old center of Salzburg (and first of all this is Hellbrunn Palace), which Salzburg museums you can visit and where to go from Salzburg.
around Salzburg
Salzburg old town
Salzburg was ruled by prince-archbishops. Since they were archbishops, there are so many churches in Salzburg old town. But at the same time they were princes and led a completely princely and secular lifestyle. For wartime, they had the Hohensalzburg fortress, which was never taken and was only once surrendered without a fight to Napoleon’s troops. Below, under the fortress, they built the Residence for themselves, and then (obviously, it seemed a little crowded) the New Residence.
Across the Salzach River, a 15-minute walk, Archbishop Wolf Dietrich arranged for himself, his mistress and 15 children a “country” house – Mirabell with a garden. And an hour’s walk from the fortress, another archbishop, Markus Sittikus, built himself a “cottage” – the Hellbrunn Palace with a vast park and water play.
Werfen Ice cave
Werfen has long attracted my attention with its castle and the Werfen ice cave Eisriesenwelt. On my first journey in Austria, I prefered an ice cave in Dachstein. But I always doubted – what if the cave in Werfen is more interesting? Now I can say that the choice was correct. Not because it is not interesting in Werfen, but because the visit is made with too much effort.
Salzkammergut best places to visit map
Salzkammergut best places to visit and a little around it – on the map. The lakes mainly offer relaxing, water activities and hiking / biking tours, and many horse farms. There are not many additional entertainments except natur.
Hohenwerfen Fortress
After a crazy visit to the ice cave, we decided that we still have strength for the Hohenwerfen fortress. Moreover, one can climb into it by funicular, and not just on foot. The parking lot at the fortress is large and free.
Liechtenstein gorge Austria
The Liechtenstein gorge (Liechtensteinklamm) can be visited if you are staying somewhere in the Werfen area (in Bischofshofen, Altenmarkt in Pongau, St. Johann in Pongau).
Visiting from Salzburg is also possible. From Zell am See it is possible by distance, but it does not make a deep sense, since there are many attractions of its own (also a good gorge in Kaprun).
In 2017, there was a landslide in the gorge, after which it was closed for a long time for path repairs. Now the gorge is open again. The photographs, therefore, will partially not coincide – everything is clearly rebuilt there, although the gorge, of course, remained the same.
What to do in Zell am See in summer
There are a lot of things, that you can do in Zell am See in summer. Zeller Lake is a great option for holiday for ten days to a couple of weeks, especialy if the weather is expected to be rainless. Hikers will be at home on the lake: on the one hand Zell am See has the highest alpine massif after Mont Blanc (Grossglockner, Hohe Tauern), on the other hand, lower, accessible mountains. This is accompanied by several picturesque gorges, mountain lakes and reservoirs, the powerful Krimml cascade of waterfalls.
In this topic, we will focus on the lake itself, the city and the cable cars to the nearest mountain.
Tennengau, Pongau, Dachstein attractions map
Some of the attractions of Tennengau, Pongau, Dachstein attractions map are reachable from Salzburg on a day trip, but Dachstein deserves at least a week and belongs rather to Salzkammergut region.
Dachstein caves. Three different caves for every taste
The karst mountains of the Dachstein and the massif opposite, called the Dead Mountains, are dotted with numerous and longest cave systems. In fact, 240 caves and cave systems have been discovered in the area and new ones are found every year. But three Dachstein caves are open to the public: ice, very large and “roaring” cave.
If you want to see two caves in one day and walk along the plateau, then plan for this all day and arrive early. But it is better to do it within two days.
Dachstein attractions. Dachstein Krippenstein cable car
Dachstein is a region around a mount Dachstein. Dachstein attractions include cable car system, rocky plateau Dachstein Krippenstein, observation point Five finger, three caves. All this are near Hallstatt, and that makes a region one of the best travel destinations in Austria.
We visit caves in the second post. In this post beautiful views of the lake and walk along the Dachstein Krippenstein glacial plateau.