← Salzburg Marathon·1 night

Wolfgangsee: One Night on the Lake

A lakeside town east of Salzburg with a flat shoreline walk, a boat to St Wolfgang and a night away from the city.

Duration1 night
TransitRegional bus from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to St Gilgen; check the timetable
DepartsSalzburg

After the Salzburg Marathon: Wolfgangsee

The Route: Salzburg → St Gilgen → St Wolfgang (by boat) → St Gilgen → Salzburg → Salzburg Airport (SZG) Logistics: Regional bus from Salzburg to St Gilgen, a night by the lake, a boat across the water the next day and the bus back. Marathon Month: May Duration: 1 night

Salzburg Hbf ──(regional bus)──> St Gilgen ──(lake boat)──> St Wolfgang
                                      │                          │
Salzburg Airport (SZG) ◄──(bus 2)── Salzburg ◄──(boat, then bus)─┘

The Salzburg Marathon is a city race, and the lakes of the Salzkammergut are a bus ride to the east. A night at the Wolfgangsee puts water, a flat path and a village within a short walk of each other.

May in the Salzkammergut: it is a shoulder month. The lake is cold for swimming, the hills still carry cloud and the weather turns quickly, with rain on many days. The Salzburg airport normal for May is a daytime high of about 19°C, and the lake shore will feel cooler. Boats and mountain railways open for the season in spring, so check that the services you want are running on your dates.

Take a regional bus from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to St Gilgen. Postbus 150 serves the route, but confirm the line and the Monday departures at salzburg-verkehr.at before you plan around it. Journey time is under an hour, so check the timetable for your date.

Night One: St Gilgen

St Gilgen is a small town at the western end of the lake. Mozart's mother, Anna Maria Pertl, was born here, and his sister Nannerl lived in the town after her marriage, so there is a small museum connection. The town's main attraction is the water, and the lakeside promenade is flat and paved, with benches along it. It is easy walking for stiff legs, and there is no gradient to speak of.

Take a boat across the lake to St Wolfgang the next morning. The boats are run by the lake's shipping company and run on a seasonal schedule, so check the timetable and the first sailing. St Wolfgang is a pilgrimage village with a church, a lakeside row of hotels and the Schafberg cog railway, which runs in the season and lifts you up a mountain without any effort from you. Check the opening date and whether the railway is open in late May.

For a bed, book a guesthouse or hotel through the Wolfgangsee tourist office and ask for a room with a lift or on the ground floor. For dinner, lake fish is on most menus, and a fresh char or trout is a good bet. Ask where the kitchen is open on a Monday.

Getting to Salzburg Airport

Take the bus back to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, then bus 2 to Salzburg Airport (SZG). The airport lists a journey of about 23 minutes on that route. Allow time for the first leg, since the lake bus is less frequent than the city network.