9 Beautiful Hallstatt Photo Spots for the Winter

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Hallstatt is a haven for capturing amazing pictures. Are you searching for the best Hallstatt photo spots for your Instagram, adorn your living room with great pictures from your trip, or for something special maybe? For whatever reason you choose, Hallstatt has some stunning picture nooks to take the perfect photo.

Hallstatt is a tiny village in Upper Austria that looks right out of a fairy tale. It is the kind of place that is too good to be true. It is a village filled with colorful houses built into the side of the mountains overlooking a vast lake. Hallstatt has a cute little railway station on the opposite side of the lake, and the village can be reached by ferry.

Winter in Hallstatt has its own charm, with snow-capped mountains surrounding the beautiful lake. You could see a white blanket of snow covering the roofs of the beautiful gingerbread houses. As if it is not magical enough, the lake is filled with beautiful white swans spreading the aroma of love and romance. Although I love wearing sweaters, I am really not a fan of being out in the freezing cold except when there is snow. It brings out the inner child in me, and oh, also, I do like to get some nice pictures for Instagram. (I totally am too lazy to post them, though, no idea why!)

The Best Hallstatt Photo Spots

Although Hallstatt is a picturesque village, it is also very popular among tourists and could become a little overwhelming. So we might end up missing some of the best Hallstatt photo spots to click our perfect pictures. I thought it would be helpful to compile them all, so you don’t have to miss them. Let’s discover all the best Hallstatt photo spots to click your perfect shots, shall we?

1. The Hallstatt Ferry

Oh yes, the ferry! How else do we cover the stunning lakefront view of this village without a drone? You will take a ferry from the Hallstatt station to get across the lake and arrive at the village. It just takes around 10 minutes to get to the destination. But you get stunning views of the entire place from the waters when the ferry approaches the village. It could be freezing cold in the winter, and probably some other tourists might even choose to occupy the seats inside the ferry, which gives the perfect opportunity to capture the beauty. (Being out there in the cold wind is so worth it.)

Tip! Try clicking your pictures when you’re returning to the train station from Hallstatt village. You could click better pictures with Hallstatt in the background as the ferry moves away from it.

Sunsets behind the mountains smear fantastic shades of orange and pink over the sky above the village, which can be perfectly captured from the ferry.

2. The Classic Hallstatt Viewpoint

It could be a cliche to take pictures here, but it sure offers some amazing views of the church’s tall spire, marking a signature of the landscape. It could be a little crowded with tourists as it is the most popular place to take pictures in Hallstatt, but with a bit of planning, you could avoid the crowd to some extent.

Tip! Start your day early. Yes, most tourists don’t arrive very early in the day as it is a popular place to take a day trip from Salzburg or Vienna. If you are staying in the village or any nearby villages like Obertraun, where we stayed, you could come as soon as the dawn breaks and have this entire place to yourself.

But if you are visiting as a day trip yourself, you could wait and plan your timing a little before the next ferry arrives at Hallstatt. Ferry timing, but why? Yeah, as this place is the first thing most people look for, you will have more crowds as soon as they arrive. But they will almost be done in a while, and the time before the next ferry arrives is the sweet spot. So don’t head here immediately as soon as you arrive in Hallstatt.

How to Reach Hallstatt’s Viewpoint?

From the ferry point, just enter the village and turn right, and you will see an arch. Just walk through the arch and continue for 300m; you will know it when you see the view. It is not a separate platform or a place marked as a viewpoint, but you will know when you see it.

3. The Beautiful Road on the Way to the Viewpoint

Wanna play with lights and shadows? Suppose you want to take some interesting pictures. In that case, adding some characters using light and shadows and playing with patterns is better. On the way to the famous viewpoint, you will see a small patch of road with a side fence which creates some interesting shadows in the day, especially when the sun is at the right angle. Also, both sides of the pathway have some adorable houses in lovely pastel shades and mountains to make it more dreamy. Get creative, take some unique pictures, and enjoy the views here.

4. Marktplatz (The Main Square of Hallstatt)

Hallstatt has a very impressive and cozy little square adorned with characteristic pastel-colored houses on all sides. You get different views from different angles. It also has some restaurants and cafes around to explore and capture some casual pictures of the square. If you visit during Christmas time, you will see a lovely tree decorated up at the center of the square. We were a month too late, but it was still picturesque, even without a Christmas tree.

How to Reach Marktplatz?

Nothing is difficult to find as it is a small village and it’s hard to miss a thing. From the ferry point, you enter the village and take a left to go to the Marktplatz, and there it is.

5. The Magical Swans in the Hallstatt Lake

It would be a sin to go to Hallstatt and not capture the romantic swans in the lake. (Not really, maybe I am a bit overreacting). But they are insanely cute and pretty and such good posers. They just graciously glide through the lake so close to you and just throw some nice poses. If you are lucky, you can capture them, making the heart shape. It is so lovely to see them just do their thing. I literally sat down on a snow-covered bench by the lake and watched them for a while. (Of course, I cleared the snow off the bench, and yes, it was freezing.)

Any specific place? Not really! You could access the lake from almost anywhere from the road along the lake, and you could easily spot a few swans, ducks, and ducklings quickly.

6. The Colorful Houses of Hallstatt

Yes, the village is filled with all beautiful pastel shades, and oh, the snow really just makes the color pop and adds such a vibrant effect to a dull winter day. I love how all the houses look like the locals sat with their neighbors and decided to pick colors to paint their houses. They all complement each other so well that it almost looks like a studio. I particularly liked the road along the main street, which was so good for pictures.

You will reach the road when you go straight past the Marktplatz through the narrow road along Gasthof Simony. After a few meters, you will see a nice stretch of houses colored in delightful tints of red and yellow, which along with the beautiful views around, made me fall in love with them.

7. Hallstatt’s Frozen Waterfall

Well, the winter wonderland would be incomplete without a frozen waterfall, wouldn’t it? Yes, Hallstatt has a lovely little frozen waterfall which can be spotted from the lakeside from a road a little further from the square. Also, you could climb up a few flights of stairs to get a closer look at it. It was beautiful from both near and from a distance. Also, it makes for a stunning backdrop for your pictures, or you could just capture the beauty of the place. You could see a frozen or partially frozen waterfall based on the weather, but it is beautiful either way. There was also a house next to the waterfall. Imagine waking up to those stunning views.

To get to the top, just take up any stairs and keep climbing. If you find a road, then walk and explore the area and follow the sounds; you could most easily spot it from a distance.

8. The Narrow Winding Staircases of Hallstatt

Climbing the staircase, especially when covered in snow or ice, could be exhausting and quite demanding at times. But trust me, the views up there are totally worth it, and it is also the best way to escape the crowd. Keep climbing, and you will lose the crowd sooner than you think. And the stairs lined up with the cute houses, which have mostly decorated doorways are some of the perfect picture spots.

Also, you could take some good shots of the church and the village from above. Even the signboards indicating the street names look pretty. Not all stairs look the same. There was even a wooden staircase that also had a roof, with a bench halfway up just to sit and relax and take a moment. This is also a perfect little spot for Instagram pictures.

Okay, the next Hallstatt photo spot is not actually in the village. It is on the other side of the Hallstatt lake where Hallstatt’s railway station is located.

9. The Snow-Covered Trails Around Hallstatt

From the Hallstatt railway station, you could walk along the lakeshore. On a clear day, you could get good views of the village and also the route is so scenic and would just melt your heart. It is mostly crowd free. Many people only go up to the ferry point to visit the village, so it is quieter and more peaceful. You could have your own little photo shoot there. There is a little suspension bridge on one side of the station. On the other side, you could even walk up to the nearby village of Obertraun in just about 30 minutes.

The scenery changes every few meters, and something will always make you go “Aww”. When we visited, it was snowing then, and the roads were already covered in snow from the previous night. It was like a totally different world. Walking along the beautiful trails, I felt the crushing sound of the snow as I walked. The fresh, crisp cold morning breeze and stunning views of the lake surrounded by mountains and pine trees were like heaven on earth. And obviously, I took a gazillion pictures. Still, I also took some time to put my phone off and soak in the beauty around me before I bid adieu to the place.

These are some of the Hallstatt photo spots I remembered from the top of my mind, but you could find many picture-perfect places in Hallstatt. All you have to do to find them is take a walk and keep exploring the village. Hallstatt also has a viewing platform that can be accessed through a cable car. I skipped it as I had visited the 5 fingers viewing point and wanted to just enjoy the village below. Let me know if you find more interesting scenic Hallstatt photo spots.

I enjoyed my time in Hallstatt and have written a detailed post about my experience. Also, if you plan a trip to Hallstatt, consider visiting the nearby village of Obertraun. I have written a comprehensive guide for visiting Obertraun in winter, which also includes information about the winter activities in Dachstein Krippenstein.