Bad Gastein, Austria: A Charming Mountain Town in the Alps

Bad Gastein, Austria is a beautiful ski and spa town located up in the Alps. The winding roads twist up and around the mountains and the town of Bad Gastein can be found right on the steep mountain slopes. The staggered town has great mountain views and an old, gothic church in the center.

It’s an incredibly picturesque town in Austria and seems to be a bit underrated or unknown. When we first decided to go to Bad Gastein, nearly all our Dutch friends’ responses were, “Where?” It seemed like no one had heard of it and I started to question if we made a good decision or not.

We finally came across one couple who had not only heard of it but had been to it themselves. They described it as a ritzy ski town and after having been, it does have a bit of a ritzy, wealth vibe to it. Though it felt quiet and chill at the same time.

It has some beautiful buildings, nice hotels, spas, and the fact that the buildings are staggered on the mountain mean that most places have a great view of the mountains.

How to Get to Bad Gastein, Austria

Bad Gastein, Austria is located about 45 minutes southeast of Zell Am See or an hour and twenty minutes directly south of Salzburg. Another nearby-ish town is Hallstatt, which is about an hour and forty minutes away and considered one of the best day trips from Munich.

The drive into Bad Gastein was pretty straight forward, taking us through the Austrian mountains, small towns and eventually up the mountains into town.

Getting Around

The main road winds around the mountains and the narrow streets are right up next to the buildings. There’s a parking garage in town next to the waterfall which is a convenient place to park and walk around.

Hotels will have little to no parking–ours let people park out front but only if you had a nice car and evidently our rental did not make the cut lol.

When walking around (which you will be walking around because of the limited parking) be prepared for lots of steep hills. I was panting at some point because we walked from the center of town up to the gondola. It was fine and doable, but the 15 minute walk on the Maps app felt a lot longer when it’s all uphill.

Another thing I kept thinking about while exploring was how people get around in the winter. We went during an in-between time–when there was snow but not a lot of snow. Because of how steep some of the roads and sidewalks are (and the winding roads), I’m not sure what people do in the winter.

If it snowed/iced over, it could be a nightmare to get around. But it’d also be the most beautiful time to go, so I’m curious what it’s like after a snowfall!

Things to Do in Bad Gastein

This town is beautiful and we didn’t really plan on doing too much while we here besides relaxing and taking in the views. If all you do here is ski and go to the spa, you’ll have a great trip. It’s such a beautiful spot in the mountains and the best way to enjoy it is slow-paced travel.

Visit Pfarrkirche Bad Gastein

In the center of town is a beautiful church that can be seen from most places around town. It was built in the 19h century and has Baroque and Neo-Gothic sculptures inside. You can go inside during certain times or admire it from afar.

We were really lucky in that our hotel room had a fantastic view of the church and mountains!

Walk by the Gasteiner Waterfall

One of the more unique things about Bad Gastein is that there is a waterfall running through the middle of town. The Gasteiner Waterfall cascades between buildings down a rocky slope and continues underneath the main road in town.

It’s also located right next to one of the few parking garages in town, so there’s a convenient place to park if you want to stop and see it. Otherwise, it’s easy to see it while walking through town. And if you stay at the same hotel as we did, you can see it from the sauna’s floor-to-ceiling windows!

Spend time at a Therme

Thermes, or thermal baths, are very popular in the Alps. They’re essentially a spa and consist of pools, saunas and relaxation rooms. Many of the hotels in Austria have a therme and they’re a great place to go to recover from skiing and warm back up.

A popular place to go in Bad Gastein is the Felsentherme. You can relax in the hot spring pool (indoor or outdoor) or head to the sauna and steam rooms. A 3-hour ticket is €31,00 or you can get a full-day ticket for €36,00.

I had every intention of going to the Felsentherme until we learned our hotel had it’s own therme. Once we went to our hotel’s therme, we couldn’t leave. It was fantastic.

We stayed at the Straubinger Grand Hotel in the middle of town and they have a three-story therme complete with a sauna, swim-out heated infinity pool and relaxation rooms.

And from nearly every room, there’s a beautiful view. The saunas are situated right over the waterfall in town so you can peer out the floor to ceiling windows and see the waterfall below.

The infinity pool has glass doors that slide open to the outside. You can swim up to the edge and have a view of the mountains and church. It’s hard to beat!

Go up Stubnerkogel Mountain

Bad Gastein is right in the Alps and located at the base of the Stubnerkogel mountain. There’s several things to do on the mountain which make this a fun, little mountain town for skiers and non-skiers.

Go Skiing

If you’re a skier or snowboarder, access to the slopes is extremely convenient. Bad Gastein is at the foot of a ski resort that’s shared with Bad Hofgastein–the town just 10 minutes down the road.

The Stubnerkogel mountain is part of the Schlossalm–Angertal–Stubnerkogel Ski Resort and you can jump on a gondola from the top of the town.

Whether you’re staying in Bad Gastein or Bad Hofgastein, you can access the mountain from lifts in either town. There are a variety of ski trails here and wide open pistes.

Walk the Suspension Bridge

One of the first things to do in Bad Gastein, Austria that I had found was a suspension bridge in the Alps. I had only ever been to the Italian Alps in the middle of summer, so walking on a suspension bridge in the snowy mountains was a big draw for me.

At first glance, it looks a lot more scary than it is. It’s not too high over the mountains and it’s secured on both sides so it doesn’t move too much in the wind. But it is still a metal bridge that can be slippery and people will walk it in their ski boots!

It has a beautiful view of the mountains and is a fun thing to do even if you aren’t skiing. And you don’t have to buy a ski ticket either–you can buy a pedestrian ticket to go up to the suspension bridge and viewpoints which is much cheaper.

Take in the Viewpoints

There are also several viewpoints you can go to on Stubnerkogel Mountain on either a ski ticket or pedestrian ticket. They’re only a short walk from the gondola and some have 360º views of the area.

You’ll want to make sure you dress warm and wear snow shoes or hiking shoes. When we went, the trails to the viewpoints were iced over and extremely slippery.

Hit the Bar Street

There are a handful of bars near the top of the town that are all within a certain distance from each other. If you’ve just come off the mountain, they’re not too far from the slopes and you can continue your après-ski here!

Where to Stay

There are several great places to stay within Bad Gastein, Austria. And even though the town is steep, it’s still very walkable no matter where you stay.

The nice thing about the town being staggered on the mountain is that most places have great views. We booked last minute during the time between Christmas and New Years. So of course we had very few options and what was available was very expensive.

There were only about 3 properties available last minute and for some reason, we just chose to splurge and go for the most expensive option of the three. We stayed at the Straubinger Grand Hotel which we learned had only recently reopened after being renovated and closed for nearly 30 years.

The hotel was located right next to the waterfall in town and had nicely designed rooms. But the best part was the spa and the view. We had a great view of the church from our room and the spa has a swim-out heated infinity pool with a view of the mountains!

Some options on where to stay are:

• Straubinger Grand Hotel – $$$ Central location next to the waterfall, great views and a beautiful spa
• Das Schider Boutique Hotel – $$ Great views, cozy rooms
• Cesta Grand Aktivhotel and Spa – $$ Nice pool and sauna
• Das Regina Boutique Hotel – $$ Beautiful design, good location

When to Go

We visited at the end of December between Christmas and New Years which was a more expensive time to go. I was hoping for a very snowy landscape but it was still pretty early to have that much snow. There was some snow in the town and snow on the mountain slopes of course though, so still a great time to visit.

If you’re looking for a snowy getaway, you’ll want to try and visit later in the season around late January and February. If you want to visit when the hills are green and gorgeous, head there in the summer months for hiking.

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