Lakes and Lake Towns Across Austria's Alpine Shores

The Salzkammergut is Austria's lake district between Salzburg, Upper Austria and Styria, and the practical way to plan it is by lake and valley rather than by a best-of list. This guide covers Hallstatt and the Dachstein side, Bad Ischl and the Traunsee, the Wolfgangsee, Mondsee and the Attersee, the Ausseerland, and how trains, Postbus lines and lake boats link them.

Almsee is a small nature-reserve lake at the foot of the Totes Gebirge in Upper Austria, reached from Grünau im Almtal by bus, taxi shuttle or car. Here is how to walk the loop, what parking costs, where the toilets are and how the lake fits a Salzkammergut route.

Fuschl am See is one village on Lake Fuschl, a small emerald-green lake between Salzburg and the Salzkammergut. Here is how the seven-resort Fuschlsee area is laid out, which peaks ring the water, where to swim, and how the lake fits a route past the Wolfgangsee and on to Bad Ischl.

Mondsee is a small market town on its own lake in Upper Austria, with a compact center and a 13-square-kilometer lake, a short stop on the road from Salzburg toward the Salzkammergut. Here is how the town fits a route and what to expect from the town and the water.

The Salzkammergut holds more than 67 lakes, and they are not interchangeable. Hallstätter See is for the village and the salt mine, Mondsee and Fuschlsee are the easiest swims, and the smaller lakes reward anyone with a car and an hour to spare. This guide runs through each lake's character, its beaches and boat options, and how it fits a route from Salzburg or Bad Ischl.

Traunsee is a long Salzkammergut lake with Gmunden at the north end, Traunkirchen on the western shore and Ebensee at the south, all under the Traunstein. Plan the shore town by town, ride the train along the water, and treat the Grünberg attractions above Gmunden as a separate paid stop.

Wolfgangsee is the Salzkammergut lake with three distinct shore towns: St. Gilgen at the western end, St. Wolfgang in the middle below the Schafberg, and Strobl on the quieter eastern shore. This guide explains how the lake is laid out, how the boat and the rack railway link its towns, and how the lake fits a route from Bad Ischl or Salzburg.

Austria's share of Lake Constance is a short Vorarlberg shoreline centered on Bregenz: a floating festival stage, a cable car to 1,064 meters, four different lidos, cruise boats from the harbor and a bird-rich river delta. Here is how the pieces fit together, and what to leave for the German and Swiss sides.

Lake Neusiedl sits in Austria's easternmost province, Burgenland, close to the Hungarian border, and its shallow water is wrapped in a wide reed belt. Plan around the shore towns of Rust, Mörbisch am See, Podersdorf am See and Neusiedl am See, the ranger and canoe tours of the national park, and Eisenstadt inland.

Neusiedl am See is the practical north-shore town on Lake Neusiedl: a compact center around the Hauptplatz, a lido and harbor a short walk away, a tower ruin above town and flat cycle paths into the reed belt.

Podersdorf am See is the only town on Lake Neusiedl with direct open-water access, which makes its two-kilometer beach the main event. Here is how the village, the PODOBEACH zones, the lighthouse and the boat connections fit together, with the beach price in euros and the Burgenland Card option.

Gosausee is the green alpine lake under the Dachstein glacier near Gosau, west of Hallstatt. The 4.5 km lakeshore loop around the Vorderer Gosausee is level and mostly paved, and two more lakes sit farther up the valley.

Plansee is a narrow alpine lake in the Reutte district of Tyrol, set at roughly 976 meters between Breitenwang and Heiterwang. It pairs with Heiterwanger See, and the stop makes most sense as a scenic leg on a route through the Außerfern.

Klopeiner See is the warm swimming lake in Austria's far south, with St. Kanzian as its shore village and a rail halt at Kühnsdorf. Here is how the lake is laid out, what sits around it and how it fits a Carinthia route.

Velden am Wörthersee is a small market town at the western end of the Wörthersee in Carinthia, built around a lakefront promenade, a casino, and a castle hotel by the water. This guide walks the center, then covers the castle, the zoo, the ruins above Köstenberg and how the town fits a train or car route through the lake district.

Wörthersee is not one resort but a chain of shore towns and villages stretching from the edge of Klagenfurt to the bay of Velden. This guide explains how the lake is laid out, what each shore town is for, how the boats and the Pyramidenkogel tower fit into a route, and how the northern and southern shores differ for a trip without a car.

Achensee is Tyrol's largest lake, and the villages on its shore each give you a different way in: Pertisau and Maurach on the water, Wiesing down in the Inntal, Steinberg in the Rofan. Here is how the lake, the boats and the steam cog railway from Jenbach fit into a Tyrol route.

Faaker See is a small, strikingly turquoise lake in southern Carinthia, sitting just south of Villach and below the Mittagskogel peak. This guide explains how the shore is laid out, where the villages sit, what the Dobratsch road costs and when it runs, and which nearby sights justify a short drive.

Ossiacher See is a long, narrow lake in Carinthia in southern Austria, and it works best as three separate outings: the water itself, the abbey village of Ossiach, and the heights of the Gerlitzen and Landskron above the shore. This guide explains how the lake is laid out, what each shore adds, and how to slot it into a Carinthia route.

Weissensee is a nature-park lake in southwest Carinthia, sitting at the foot of the Gailtal Valley Alps with largely unspoilt shores and quiet bays. This guide covers what the shoreline is like, the mountain railway, the 13 signposted mountain-bike trails, the Slowtrail, and how the lake slots into a Carinthian route.

Zell am See pairs a compact old town with a lakeshore a few blocks away, and the Schmittenhöhe cable car gives you a summit view without a car. Here is how to split a day between the Vogtturm, the lake boats and the mountains, and what the Summer Card does and does not cover.

Lake Zell (Zeller See) is a compact Alpine lake with a town on its west shore, a quieter village opposite and three official lidos. This guide covers the promenade and lake loop, the sightseeing boats, swimming spots, dogs, train access and how the lake fits a SalzburgerLand route.