What to Know About Visiting the Hallstatt Christmas Market

This is not an exaggeration: when I spent a year traveling the world full-time, I planned my entire itinerary around visiting the Christmas market in Hallstatt, Austria.

Yes, really. I first visited Hallstatt in 2017, on a day trip from Salzburg, and found it so charming that I immediately resolved to return one day and stay overnight — ideally in the winter, when I could potentially see snow and attend the Christmas market.

But here’s the thing: the Hallstatt Christmas market takes place on just one day per year, so I had to make sure my itinerary worked out to land me in Hallstatt on that particular day.

Was it worth the effort? Yes! Of the 20-some Christmas markets I visited during a month in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany, Hallstatt’s tiny, unique market was one of my favorites.

In this guide, discover everything you need to know about visiting Hallstatt’s Christmas market, including when it is, how to get there, where to stay, what you’ll find at the market, and more.

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My Experience at the Hallstatt Christmas Market

Here’s what it’s like to experience the Hallstatt Christmas market.

Location of the Market

Hallstatt’s Christmas market takes place in the town’s main square (which is not at all large) and a bit on the streets at the edges of the square. It’s quite small!

The fountain in the main square is boarded up during the winter, so the main features of the square during the Christmas market are a tall Christmas tree and a large wooden nativity (which is crafted at a local technical college!).

Food and Drinks

One thing I really appreciated about Hallstatt’s Christmas market is that the food and drink offerings had a distinctly local flair (compared to markets in some of Europe’s bigger cities, where the food offerings can feel a bit generic and same-y).

In particular, fish were a big thing at the Hallstatt Christmas market. No surprise, since Hallstatt sits on a lake! I ate a fish that was cooked and served on a long (really long) skewer, and it was delicious.

Never fear: if you’re not a fish person, there were other food options available as well. Plus, I was visiting the market with my vegetarian friend, Emily, and even though the market was quite small, she was also able to find some food that suited her needs.

The market also had lots of smaller snacks and treats. We ate roasted chestnuts — a first for both of us (eh, they’re okay) — and chocolates, and bought a container of great homemade cookies (again, a nice local touch!) that we enjoyed as we continued to travel in Austria and Germany after visiting Hallstatt.

My favorite treat, though, was definitely the fried apple donut thingies (apologies to Hallstatt for not catching the actual name!).

There were also several stands with bottled beer and hot drinks.

If you know anything about European Christmas markets, you may know that many markets create a special mug that’s unique to the city or market (and may even be labeled with the year of your visit). Mulled wine (which you’ll find in most Christmas markets) is served in this mug, and for just a few euros, you can keep the mug and take it home as a souvenir.

Hallstatt didn’t have a personalized mug with the year and/or town’s name on it — presumably because it’s so small, and the market lasts just one day (surely it wouldn’t be economical!). But the fish association stand did serve its mulled wine in mugs you could keep (for a small fee). One had fish on it, and the other was kind of generically winter-y.

Crafts and Souvenirs

In addition to food and drinks, Hallstatt’s Christmas market also had several stands with people selling crafts, souvenirs, and other non-consumables.

Items for sale included jewelry, wintry attire like socks, hats, and mittens (both handmade and not), Christmas tree ornaments, handmade wooden decor, and more. Personally, I snagged some excellent, warm socks that successfully got me through several more weeks of exploring chilly Christmas markets in Austria and Germany.

As with the food, I appreciated that the objects for sale at Hallstatt’s market generally felt like a departure from the souvenirs on offer at some of the markets in larger cities, which sometimes (not always!) are mass-produced and imported.

~Vibes~

Vibes at the Hallstatt Christmas market? Immaculate. The mood in the square was very cheerful and chill, with small groups of people laughing and chatting around tables and a live band playing Christmas carols from a balcony just above it all. Emily and I definitely weren’t the only foreign tourists, but there also seemed to be plenty of locals (or perhaps domestic tourists).

Given the small area, Hallstatt’s market is quite cozy — a huge contrast from the large and often incredibly crowded markets you find in big European cities like Vienna and Munich. I loved it.

Other Things to Do in Hallstatt

Even if December 8 is your one and only day in Hallstatt, you probably won’t only want to hang out at the market. It’s such a small area that it would be weird to just linger there for an entire day — and really, you have plenty of time to thoroughly explore the market and see what else Hallstatt has to offer.

Here are a few other things to do while you’re in Hallstatt.

Search for the Best Views

For a tiny town, Hallstatt is absolutely loaded with remarkable views.

The most famous can be found here. If you’ve seen one photo of Hallstatt, it was probably taken at this spot.

There’s also a fantastic view looking back toward the main section of Hallstatt from the southern end of town, right about here.

For a more unique view of Hallstatt, take the cable car up the mountainside, where you can look down on the town from high above — but more on that in a minute.

These gorgeous views draw visitors from all over the world in numbers that are totally disproportionate to the size of the town and its number of full-time residents. In recent years, this has inspired some protests by locals, who are frustrated with the behavior of some tourists and the burden on the town.

As a tourist, what’s your role? One option, of course, is to opt out and not go to Hallstatt at all.

Assuming you still choose to go, be respectful of the locals. You will see some signs, particularly around some of the spots with the best views, requesting quiet and consideration of those who live there. Obey them. And avoid flying a drone over town, especially where signage explicitly prohibits it. (Look, I like drone footage as much as anyone, but seriously: it is annoying, especially for those who live there. Would you want a random tourist flying a drone a few feet over YOUR backyard?)

Visit a Graveyard and Ossuary

Climb up to the historic Catholic church, which is perched just above the ferry dock, and walk through its beautiful graveyard. The views from there are wonderful, although the graves themselves are also quite lovely — as graves go.

Next to the church is a ossuary housing hundreds of painted skulls and other bones. This is because the graveyard is so small that medieval residents had to periodically dig up graves to make space for new tombs.

Take the Funicular to the Skywalk

If you were visiting at another time, you could journey up the mountain behind Hallstatt and tour a salt mine that’s been in use for thousands of years.

While the salt mine isn’t always open in December (thanks to annual renovation work), you can still take the funicular up the mountain and appreciate the views from above — even if the salt mine is closed. Most notably, there is a triangular viewing platform (the “Skywalk”) that juts out sharply from the mountain, providing remarkable views over Hallstatt below and across the lake.

Some of my favorite views of Hallstatt (and the lake in general) can be found from the Skywalk. Note that the Skywalk may be closed if the weather is particularly bad, but it was open during my most recent visit even despite some snow and ice on the platform.

How to Get to Hallstatt

There are three ways to get to Hallstatt: train + ferry, bus, and car.

Where to Stay for the Hallstatt Christmas Market

While it’s possible to visit Hallstatt as a day trip from Salzburg or even Vienna (I’ve done it from Salzburg), I do recommend staying overnight. That way, you can enjoy the town in the quiet of the early morning and the evening, without the crowds of day trippers!

When my friend and I visited Hallstatt during its Christmas market, we stayed at Weisses Lamm, which we loved. We were given what has to be the best room in the place — a large, top-floor room with a balcony that has views of the town’s two famous steeples.

Views from inside our room (left) and the room’s balcony (right)

Weisses Lamm also had a really good breakfast (included in the price of the room) and was within very easy walking distance of everything in Hallstatt, including the ferry station. I would happily stay at Weisses Lamm again, and have no qualms recommending it to other visitors!

However, on my next trip to Hallstatt — especially if I again visit during the Christmas market — I plan to do my level best to snag the balcony room at I Da Mitt. This hotel is located directly on Hallstatt’s main square, where the Christmas market is set, so you can sit on your balcony and watch the Christmas market unfold right below you. A dream!

In case you can’t snag the balcony room at I Da Mitt, there are a few other hotels with balconies facing the square:

• Seehotel Grüner Baum has rooms facing the square AND rooms facing the lake, so be sure to select a room “with balcony facing the market square”!
• Seewirt Zauner has a number of rooms with balconies, but only a few of them have views of the square, so you’ll need to send them a request after booking if that’s a priority for you (and no guarantees that they’ll be able to fulfill your request!).

Hallstatt Christmas Market: Interactive Map

Below is a map with the locations included in this post. To use this map during your own trip to Hallstatt, click the star next to the map’s name (which saves the map to your account). You can then find and use the map from your Google Maps app by going to “Saved,” then “Maps.”

Final Thoughts

Though it’s no hidden gem, Hallstatt is one of my favorite destinations in Austria, and one of the prettiest places I’ve seen, period.

Thankfully, Hallstatt’s Christmas market is also pretty special, and worth a visit if you can figure out how to make it to Hallstatt on December 8. I recommend finding a way to get there, if at all possible — it’s a refreshing departure from the markets you’ll find in larger European cities!

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