Wellness right on the lake – reside like an emperor

View over lake Wolfgang and the fantastic heated pool

The Weisses Rössl (White Horse Inn) by Wolfgangsee is one of the most famous hotels in Austria with a history and even had an operetta and a movie dedicated to its name. For 500 years, the name is known for hospitality, although the hotel itself was opened only in 1878. Even Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth (commonly known as Sisi) have stayed in the hotel overlooking the lake. Ever since then, guests can stay in the exclusive Emperor room with a beautiful view from the windows and balcony.

The Salzkammergut mountain range reflect in the peaceful lake

That the hotel has developed into a fantastic wellness hotel is not surprising considering the large lake and the healthy mountain air! Relax in a heated pool built into the lake after sweating it all out in the sauna with a stunning view onto the mountains and lake, or in the steam baths, for example the sole steam bath, which will cleanse your pores and smoothen your skin with natural salts. This hotel is particularly great for its rich tradition and offers. Finish off your trip with a bath in the ‘emperor tub’ to have a complete and unforgettable experience in the White Horse Inn at Lake Salzburg.

Bathe like an emperor – the golden bathtub

Would you care for a night in a castle?

Schloss Fuschl in its royal spot overlooking lake Fuschl

On over 1,000 m², Schloss Fuschl, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa offers more than just spa relaxation. Yes, you can enjoy the steam bath, pool, sauna or whirlpool and let your worries fly far, far away. But what would all this be without this scenery? Especially in autumn, the view from the terrace of this hotel is breathtaking. From high to low on the mountains, the magnificent colors give you the impression to be in a fairytale and the fresh air will cleanse your lungs from the city air. In the up to 67 meter deep lake with its crystal clear water you can enjoy especially your summer holidays. In the winter, the region is especially fantastic to go skiing or hiking and watch the snow fall from the hot sauna. Countless other sports can be practised here, and forgetting everyday life is guaranteed.

Room of romance – when housekeeping gets creative

Also in terms of food and drinks, you will feel like kings and queens in the castle’s own restaurant with a view onto the lake. Their expertise lies in the regional delicatessen, fresh fish from the hotel’s own fishery, and much more. Also the wines are regional and convince with excellence!

In perfect harmony

Peaceful Seehotel Das Traunsee with its charm

Not every hotel has a 12 km long and 2 km wide lake to offer as their main swimming pool, and if you find Traunsee lake too cold, Seehotel Das Traunsee offers a wide range of heated wellness. From the sauna, you have a terrific view of the lake and mountains while the stress from the city practically melts away, just like in the steam bath or the grotto with a lake-water-fall. Let yourself get pampered all over, it is worth it – a wide range of massages, treatments and beauty care offers await you.

Modern flair in a traditional hotel – the rooms at Das Traunsee

On the second largest lake of Upper Austria, you can use the hotel’s own sailing boat to feel the fresh mountain breeze run through your hair. Especially for hotel guests, there are sailing courses, so there is no need to be a sailing pro! Other sports like hiking, golf, biking or diving are favourites in summer and make sure your stay is not only the relaxing, but also the exciting kind of wellness. In winter, the region is practically made for skiing and hiking through the beautiful white landscape. Also, how much nicer is it to enjoy the view onto the lake and hills when you are sitting in the hot sauna of the hotel?

Great view onto lake Fuschl and the mountains

Finally, let us not forget the dining. The Austrian cuisine is full of wonderful dishes, and in the hotel’s boat house restaurant you will experience the crème de la crème! Especially fresh fish from the lake is recommendable, while meat is a delight as well, considering the great hunting lodges in the greater Salzburg area.

When it comes to wellness, the tranquillity of a lake can really make your experience, but of course it is the overall image you get from the hotel and its surroundings, the service and the value you receive for the money you pay. We all like to escape from our daily troubles, and Salzburg is one of the great destinations for diving into a different world of peace, quiet, and wellness.

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Tyrol is one of the most popular Austrian lands at all – not only because of its landmarks such as mountains, forests, mountaineering and winter sports, but also because of traditional folklore. Land, situated to the west of Austria is divided into a larger North Tyrol and smaller East Tyrol. Those two parts are separated by the city of Salzburg. But its metropolis and the largest city of the Land is Innsbruck.

The entire area of Tyrol is covered by Tyrolean Alps. Broad and deep valley of the Inn river forms a natural border between the northern – limestone Alps and central – crystalline Alps.

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Tyrol is now mainly known as winter ski vacation, the most famous centers include Kitzbühel, St. Anton im Tirol, Kaiserwinkl or Lienzer Dolomiten. All Tyrolean ski areas have high quality facilities and offer a wide range of sports. Great selection of slopes, sun and snow will satisfy even the most demanding skiers. Evening staying in a nice warm pub with good food and “schnapps” with a typical Tyrolean background music enhances the mountainous romance.

Equally attractive is the Tyrol in the summer, which is a popular destination for hiking. The most beautiful trails leading across the Stubai Alps, Ötztal Alps, Kitzbühel Alps and Zillertal Alps, can be defeated on foot or by bike. Natural beauty of mountain valleys, streams and snow-covered Alpine peaks scenery guarantee an unforgettable holiday. The more experience you can enjoy by visiting the renowned summer Festival of Early Music at Ambras Castle. You can stay in Tyrolean metropolis and enjoy the quality and hospitality of Innsbruck hotels or after a hard sporty day relax in numerous thermal baths and water worlds.

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And how did the period get its name? Just after Hallstatt village, which was at that time an important trading center. There was the salt mined in its vicinity, which was also exported to far away places. The history of the local salt mining extends at least from 2nd millennium BC up to the present and gave the region not only wealth and prosperity, but also created a specific cultural landscape, where nature blends with human activity in unusual harmony. It also led the Commission of UNESCO to add this area “Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape” on the list of World Heritage in 1997.

Very interesting on Hallstatt is that it has long been accessible only by boat across the lake, or along narrow mountain trails. The first road was built along the shore in 1890, but only thanks to the power of explosives. Despite of this apparent inaccessibility the people settled here anyway seven thousand years ago. The rich history recalls not only architecture of Hallstatt, but also the local museum, which collects extensive archaeological excavations. Many of them come from the necropolis on the plateau above the town, where were discovered the remains of 4,000 people. And those remains were the main reason to name the period as “Hallstatt period”.

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It is understandable that many places in Hallstatt are related to salt. The local salt mines are reportedly the oldest in the world and you can see them in an unusual museum. Why unusual? Well, how many museums have you visited which had 64 metres long wooden roller coaster…? But the underground salt mines offer much more than this unusual attraction. You can learn about the life of people who mined salt here for thousands of years. The body of one of them was found here in 1734, perfectly preserved by salt. Notable is also an underground salt lake with an area of ​​1400 m2.

If you already have enough salt, you can target the other wonders of the underground world – Dachstein ice caves. And because we are in the Alps, it is not necessary to say that you can see lots of interesting also on the surface. Whether it’s a remarkable historical buildings, or simply “just” beautiful countryside with fresh air and a nice panorama of mountain giants.

There are lots of Austria hotels in the town as well as camp sites at the shores of the lake. Hallstatt is also a great starting point for your hiking tours around the mountains.

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The Butterfly House is the perfect imitation of their natural environment, so they lay eggs here, pupate and turn into caterpillars and eventually became colored beauties, whose wings range can be in some cases up to 30 centimetres.

Butterfly House was built several years ago and now, on 280 m2, it is a home to about four hundred butterflies, that come from special farms in Thailand, Belize, Costa Rica or the Philippines.

Visitors can observe the entire butterfly life cycle. Information boards explaining what they eat, how they develop, or how long they live. The Butterfly House is suitable for both small kids and adults.

Practical Info

The Butterfly House is located in the heart of Vienna’s emperor’s private gardens, about 200 meters from the Vienna Opera. It is open all year round and the basic admission is €5,50. Parking is available at the Opera House.

For more information visit Official site of Butterfly House.

You may need to browse through some Vienna hotels if you would like to stay here and visit other great attractions in Vienna as well, as it is not possible to see all of them in one day.

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We can find it in the Land Salzburg, in the Hohe Tauern National Park, at the beginning of the mountain trail Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, near the village Ferleiten. Walcher Waterfall is accessible on foot from parking spot in Ferleiten, from where you can get to the first part of the waterfall. Then you can go ahead to the other parts of the waterfall following the trails.

The whole trip takes about 3-4 hours. However if you still have some free time, you could also visit a local park Wildpark Ferleiten where you can see many interesting natural attractions as well.

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Stuibenfall Waterfall was created about 8000 – 9800 years ago during the glaciers melting. At that time there was a thawing of permafrost which moved the huge masses of rock. The stream Horlachbach was created after a landslide of approximately 3 billion cubic meters of rocks from the Tauferberg area to Horlachtal valley. There was thus created a large water reservoir from which the water broke the way and thus created a Stuibenfall Waterfall.

You still can see the rocks, which originally formed the dam of the lake. Stuibenfall Waterfall is 159 meters high an it is therefore the highest waterfall in Tyrol and the fourth highest in Austria.

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Stuibenfall Waterfall is easily accessible from the village Umhausen, where you can also visit the archaeological park of Ötzi Dorf (Ice Man Village). The whole trip is also suitable for the children and take approximately 3 hours. If you still want to visit the archaeological park, be prepared for an hour and a half more. Stuibenfall Waterfall is open all year round for free.

Large paid car-park is available at Ötzi Dorf. At the Stuibenfall Waterfall there is also climbing arena available. It is 450 m long hedged way, that leads just at the left side of the waterfall. Reportedly it is also suitable for the children from 10 years and older.

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Near Lake Wörthersee you can find other lakes, which are much smaller. They are located mainly south of Wörthersee and extend to the borders of Slovenia. This area is surrounded by mountain peaks of Karawanken mountains, which together with the lake create a beautiful scenery.

Lake Wörthersee is surrounded by a number of resorts – a new modern town of Velden, Krumpendorf or Pörtschach am Wörthersee.

What to see in the neighborhood
Vintgar gorge about 26 km
Minimundus 8 km
Klopeiner See about 33 km
Ski resort Kranjska Gora about 33 km
Planica about 37 km
Waterfall Pericnik about 29 km

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This alpine lake is one of the most visited places in the Austrian Gletscherpark area (the area south of Innsbruck). Rifflsee Lake is accessible only by cable car from the town of Mandarfen. The cableway takes you to the height of 2300 meters, where is a magnificent view of the lake itself and the surrounding Austrian Alps. In the building of the final station there is a restaurant with a renowned panoramic terrace.

Austria is ideal for mountain hikes, and Lake Rifflsee is the famous starting point. It is ideal for young cyclists but also for the older people. There are many tracks of various lengths and complexity. All the tracks definitely have one thing in common – great views of the Alps! Rifflsee is well-known also among skiers and this area belongs to one of the best skiing destinations in Austria.

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The local animal park was founded in 1752 by Emperor Francis Stephen of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa, in order to invite his noble guests, and simply to show them what his summer residence Schönbrunn could offer. Since those times a lot of time have passed so today’s zoo elegantly combines baroque menagerie with the most modern pavilions for animals. From historical events could be mentioned that in 1906 the first elephant in captivity was born here, which was a rarity as it was previously considered impossible.

The staff in Zoo Schönbrunn do their best to get customer satisfied and Zoo offers even night tours with a guide and a night vision device. Such kind of visit you have to book in advance and the maximum number of participants is 20 persons.

The Day Pass costs €14 for adult, but there are discounts for children, family, and Year Pass.

Zoo Schönbrunn is one of the best and most modern in the world. Visiting it either in day or night means you take a lot of experiences, impressions and knowledge.

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Alploch Gorge, Austria by Bernhard Maeser

Both gorges Rappenlochschlucht – Alploch, which are about 1 km from each other, are divided with Staufensee lake with beautiful blue water. After appointment you can also see here 100 years old hydroelectric power plant.

Rappenlochschlucht – Alploch Gorges are a beautiful place suitable for hiking. On the rock walls there are romantic narrow wooden trails and the beauty of the canyon is doubled with amazing local waterfalls. The trail is also suitable for families with children. Rappenlochschlucht – Alploch Gorges are open from April to October. In the summer months (July and August) tourists have the opportunity to enter the gorges free of charge every Thursday.

Rappenlochschlucht, Austria by Bernhard Mäser

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