The Hallstätter See is a glacier-carved Alpine lake eight kilometres long and up to 125 metres deep, ringed by limestone cliffs that rise nearly vertically from the water. It is clean enough to drink in places and cold enough to take your breath away even in August — surface temperatures rarely exceed 20°C.
A small electric ferry shuttles all day between the railway station on the east side (the train from Salzburg or Bad Ischl stops there) and the village, a ride of about 15 minutes with a spectacular approach. Wooden rowing boats can be hired from several jetties; an early-morning row on a still day, with mist coming off the water and the village reflected upside-down, is the kind of memory that justifies the long journey here. In winter the lake rarely fully freezes, but the surrounding peaks are blanketed in snow from November to April.