Holiday in Attersee

About Attersee

Attersee is the largest lake entirely located in Austria and the crown jewel of the Salzkammergut - a massive alpine lake that stretches over 20 kilometers in length and reaches depths of up to 169 meters, with its incredibly clear turquoise water reminiscent of a Caribbean lagoon, framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Northern Limestone Alps. Gustav Klimt, Austria's most famous painter, spent his summers here and immortalized the light and colors of Attersee in some of his most famous landscape paintings. The water quality of Attersee is legendary - visibility of up to 25 meters makes it one of the clearest lakes in Europe. The turquoise-green water, which reaches a pleasant 24 degrees in summer, is excellent for swimming, diving, and sailing. Attersee is one of the best sailing areas in the Alps, and regularly blowing thermal winds also make it a paradise for surfers and kitesurfers. Divers find submerged tree trunks, steep walls, and freshwater fauna in an underwater world of almost maritime clarity. On the western shore of the lake lies the charming village of Nussdorf, where Gustav Klimt painted his famous lake pictures during the summer months from 1900 to 1916. The Klimt theme trail leads to the original painting locations, where today reproductions of the paintings stand next to the real landscape - a fascinating comparison between art and nature. The Villa Paulick in Seewalchen, where Klimt stayed, is now a museum. Further south, Schloss Kammer, also a Klimt motif, delights with its picturesque location directly on the lake shore. The hiking opportunities around Attersee are diverse. The Attersee circular hiking trail leads around the entire lake over 56 kilometers and can be hiked in stages. The peaks of the Höllengebirge on the eastern shore offer challenging mountain tours with spectacular views of the turquoise water. At the southern shore, the Weißenbach flows into the lake, and here one can hike in the footsteps of the saltworks to the historic salt storage sites of the region. From Germany, Attersee can be reached via the highway from Munich in just over two and a half hours. Salzburg is just under an hour away, and Linz Airport can be reached in 40 minutes. The region offers an excellent tourist infrastructure with guesthouses, hotels, and holiday apartments directly by the lake, without the over-commercialization of some Tyrolean tourist hotspots.