Bad Ischl

Kaiservilla morning, Hallstatt by the first train

Day one belongs to the emperor. Book the first Kaiservilla tour of the morning, when groups are smallest, and look for the study where Franz Joseph signed the July 1914 declaration of war on Serbia. Afterwards wander the Kaiserpark up to the Marmorschlössl, Elisabeth's marble tea house, and give the photography museum inside half an hour.

Cross back over the Ischl river for lunch, but leave space: the afternoon stop is Zauner. The Pfarrgasse shop is the original; the Esplanade branch has the terrace over the Traun and is the better seat on a dry day. Walk the Esplanade upstream to the Lehár Villa, where the composer's rooms are kept much as he left them. In July or August, end with an operetta at the Lehár Festival.

Day two starts early. Take a morning train south to Hallstatt station, cross by boat to the village and see the lakefront and the church before the coaches unload. By early afternoon you will want to leave. Ride back to town and pick up bus 150 west to St. Wolfgang for a slow walk along the Wolfgangsee. If rain sets in, and here it often does, swap the lake for a long soak at the thermal baths.

Zaunerstollen, Ischler Törtchen and lake char

Cake comes first in Bad Ischl, a habit from the old summer court. Konditorei Zauner, baking since 1832 for the imperial household, sells its chocolate-coated Zaunerstollen at the original Pfarrgasse shop and the Esplanade terrace. Look for Ischler Törtchen too, then eat char, trout or whitefish from the surrounding lakes at a Gasthaus.

For a proper meal, find a Gasthaus serving fish from the surrounding lakes, such as Saibling (char), trout or Reinanke (whitefish), usually grilled or fried whole and at its best in summer. Tafelspitz, boiled beef with apple horseradish, and Kaiserschmarrn are on most menus too, both tied by legend to Franz Joseph.

Coffee here is unhurried. Nobody will rush you out over a Melange, and in summer an early supper at Zauner's riverside tables is an easy prelude to an evening of operetta.

Operetta summers, the Emperor's birthday and Salzkammergut rain

Summer is the town's season, as it was for the court. The Lehár Festival stages operetta through July and August, much of it by Franz Lehár, who wrote several of his works in his villa on the Traun. The emperor's birthday on 18 August is still marked with festivities, and Kaiservilla tours run through the warmer months.

The Salzkammergut is a wet corner of Austria, even in July. Showers and thunderstorms roll in off the mountains, so keep a rainy-day plan: the thermal baths, the photography museum in the Marmorschlössl or a long sit at Zauner.

May, June and September are the sweet spot, mild and less crowded, with the lakes warming up by late June. In December the town turns to Advent, with Christmas markets and cafés full of locals escaping the cold. In 2024 Bad Ischl led the Salzkammergut's year as a European Capital of Culture, the third Austrian city to hold the title after Graz and Linz.