The waterfall that defines Bad Gastein — an 85-metre cascade that plunges in three leaps through the very centre of town, framed on both sides by Belle Époque hotels. There are viewing platforms at several levels, and the footbridge across the top gives a dizzying close-up view. At night it is floodlit. Completely free, utterly unmissable.
Gasteiner Ache Waterfall
A story
The waterfall was not always this dramatic. In 1899, a catastrophic flood sent a wall of water through the valley, destroying much of the lower town and reshaping the river's course through the centre. The rebuilt town used the disaster as an opportunity: the rebuilt bridges and promenades were designed specifically to frame and celebrate the falls, turning what had been a hazard into the town's defining architectural feature.