AUSTRIA - Best of Europe 2014 - page 192

Cost and Hours: €7.50, May-Sept daily 10:00-18:00, shorter hours off-season, closed
Mon-Tue Nov-March, adjacent to TI at Seestrasse 56, tel. [phone], www.museum-
hallstatt.at . On Thursdays in summer, when candlelit boats run, the museum stays open until
20:00 (see “Nightlife in Hallstatt,” later).
▲ Lake Trip
For a quick boat trip, you can ride the Stefanie across the lake and back for €4.80. It
stops at the tiny Hallstatt train station for 30 minutes (note return time in the boat's
window), giving you time to walk to a hanging bridge (ask the captain to point you to
the Hängebrücke —HENG-eh-brick-eh—a 10-minute lakeside stroll totheleft). Longerlake
tours are also available (€9/50 minutes, €10/75 minutes, sporadic schedules—especially off-
season—so check chalkboards by boat docks for today's times). Those into relaxation can
rent a sleepy electric motorboat to enjoy town views from the water.
▲ Salt-Mine Tour
Ifyouhaveyettotourasaltmine,considervisitingHallstatt's,whichclaimstobetheoldest
in the world. The presentation is very low-tech, as the mining company owns all three mine
tours in the area and sees little reason to invest in the experience when they can simply mine
the tourists. Still, it gives an interesting look at mining through the centuries and culminates
with a fun banister slide.
CostandHours: €24combo-ticketincludesmineandfunicularround-trip,€18formine
tour only, €2 audioguide (leave ID as deposit), buy all tickets at funicular station—note
the time and tour number on your ticket, daily May-mid-Sept 9:00-16:00, mid-Sept-Oct
9:00-14:30, later funicular departures miss the last tour of the day, closed Nov-April, no
children under age 4, arrive early or late to avoid summer crowds, tel. [phone],
www.salzwelten.at .
Funicular: You can also just take the funicular without going on the mine tour (€7
one-way, €12 round-trip, 4/hour, daily May-mid-Sept 9:00-18:00, mid-Sept-Oct 9:00-16:30,
closedNov-April).ThefunicularstartsintheLahn,closetothebusstopandLahnboatdock.
Visiting the Mine: After riding the funicular above town, you'll hike 10 minutes to the
mine (past excavation sites of many prehistoric tombs and a glass case with 2,500-year-old
bones—but there's little to actually see). Report to the mine 10 minutes before the tour time
on your ticket, check your bag, and put on old miners' clothes. Then hike 200 yards higher
in your funny outfit to meet your guide, who escorts your group down a tunnel dug in 1719.
Inside the mountain, you'll watch a slide show, follow your guide through several cav-
erns as you learn about mining techniques over the last 7,000 years, see a silly laser show
on a glassy subterranean lake, peek at a few waxy cavemen with pickaxes, and ride the train
out. The highlight for most is sliding down two banisters (the second one is longer and ends