Three Amazing Experiences To Enjoy When Spending A Day In St. Gilgen, Austria

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With spectacular alpine, lakeside and country landscape views at nearly every turn, I once read that visiting the whole of Austria is like stepping into one large national park. While I have not visited all of Austria to confirm this, my most recent experiences of St. Gilgen and Salzburg do confirm the beauty of this country. Austria holds many little picturesque towns and with a population just under 4,000 people, St. Gilgen is chief among them. Delightfully nestled between the Alps and Wolfgangsee, St. Gilgen is a fabulous find at any time of year with a quaint city center, hiking and panoramic views in the summer and skiing adventures in the winter. Located just 30 minutes from Salzburg and a little over 2 hours from Munich or 3 hours from Vienna, St. Gilgen is a must see if you want to experience the charm of small town Austria while taking in the great outdoors. While I certainly have not experienced all that St. Gilgen has to offer, so far these are three amazing experiences to enjoy when spending a day in St. Gilgen, Austria. 

Ride The Zwölferhorn Seilbahn

To immediately step into the beauty of the Alps seen from St. Gilgen, take a ride on the Zwölferhorn Seilbahn, a cable car that takes you to the top of a mountain. Accessed in the center of town, the Seilbahn sweeps you up into the sky, giving views of St. Gilgen and Wolfgangsee (shown this post’s feature image above!), until reaching the top which hosts cross marked hiking summits, restaurants and the perfect plateau to watch paragliders sail off into the breeze. With hiking trails (and skiing / snowshoeing trails in winter) are all over the mountain, you also have the option to hike up the mountain and cable car down. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of cloud cover the morning that we ventured up the mountain, however the views were still incredible on the way up and riding into the fog added its own drama to our experience. Overall, if you are looking for a gorgeous place for lunch or dinner achieved with varying levels of physical excursion while still taking in stunning views and picturesque scenery, then I highly recommend riding the Zwölferhorn Seilbahn. 

Explore St. Gilgen Town Center

Once you have seen the sights from the Zwölferhorn Seilbahn, you must check out the town center of St. Gilgen. The charming crooked streets of the town wind with shops, restaurants, churches and lakeside views. I definitely recommend a stop in for delicious coffee, pastries or lunch at the most adorable Liva am Mozartplatz 5 before strolling down for a lakeside ice cream cone. Check out the beautiful details within Pfarramt Röm Kath church (open to view throughout the day like most European churches), enjoy a bench beside Wolfgangsee (or even cross the lake on a boat ride!), and overall just embrace St. Gilgen living. For dinner, experience local cuisine at the Kendler Hotel restaurant (it was very good!) and even sit streetside to take in the views on a pretty day. St. Gilgen has a multitude of good restaurants, but these were the two that we tried throughout our day trip and most certainly would return too! For being such a small town, St. Gilgen has loads of charm and plenty to explore throughout your visit. 

Take Off On A Hike

While Zwölferhorn offers great hiking options, take off out of town just a bit (less than a five minute drive!) and you will discover a multitude of hiking and biking trails (of various lengths and difficulties) that lead to glorious alpine views. Many of the trail heads jut off the main road and are marked with yellow signs describing the length and direction of each hike. Throughout the trail, markers of red and white stripes are painted on rocks, trees or other items to display that you are on the trail, while additional yellow signs are shown if the trail ever splits in multiple directions. 

Having done some prior research, we landed on a hike to Almkogel ab Krottensee which is a moderate out and back trail a little over 5 miles. With the additional walking from our parking lot (we parked HERE which cost around 4 euros but had nice public restrooms!), it probably took around 3 to 4 hours to complete but definitely provided a great workout and stunning scenes. Even on a cloudy day, this hike has gorgeous overlook views of Krottensee at the top (also marked with a cross as custom) and passes through fields dappled with wildflowers, mossy woods and babbling creeks. To be most prepared for this hike (and most in the Alps), I would highly recommend good hiking boots (preferably that are waterproof) and dressing in layers. While called moderate, the entire path of this particular hike to the summit (which was cold and windy!) is uphill and some areas of the trail are quite narrow, muddy and rocky, so wearing the proper shoes and layers to add at the summit is super important for an enjoyable experience. That being said, regardless of whether or not you try the hike to Almkogel ab Krottensee or another one all together, getting out in nature to explore the natural beauty of St. Gilgen and it’s surrounding area is definitely a must do!

Final Thoughts

Nestled between alpine lakes and sharp mountains, St. Gilgen, Austria provides a delightfully quaint experience for an Austrian mountain town and is most certainly worth visiting if you have the time. While Salzburg might have more musical and artistic interest (stay tuned for a weekend travel guide!) as it is the home of Mozart and a hub of the former Austrian Hungarian Empire, St. Gilgen provides equally stunning charm with mountain explorations and small village experiences. Similarly, this daytrip is easy on the budget without sacrificing the enjoyment of local culture. So, have you visited St. Gilgen? If so, what were your favorite things to experience? And if not, would you add this visit to your bucket list? I would love to know your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to pin this post for later!

Happy hiking!

Chloe

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