Salzkammergut Salzkammergut Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

The Austrian Lake District sprawls across Upper Austria and Salzburg, a region where Habsburg aristocracy once summered and Emperor Franz Joseph held court at Bad Ischl. Seventy-six lakes punctuate the landscape, from the fjord-like depths of Hallstätter See to the vast expanse of Attersee, each ringed by villages that have catered to discerning visitors since the nineteenth century. The salt trade that gave the region its name — Salzkammergut translates as 'salt estates' — built fortunes visible today in the grand villas of Gmunden and the ornate facades of St. Wolfgang.

Dining here reflects both Alpine tradition and contemporary ambition. Lakeside terraces serve freshly caught Reinanke and char, while village inns dish up Tafelspitz and Kaiserschmarrn with generational recipes. The coffee house culture imported from Vienna thrives in spa towns like Bad Aussee and Bad Ischl, where Zauner has supplied pastries to locals and emperors alike since 1832. Regional wines from nearby Wachau appear alongside local schnapps distilled from orchard fruits.