SAALFELDEN - HOTELS & TOURIST INFO

Saalfelden is an old merchant town situated in a vast valley formed by the Saalbach River and set against the background of towering mountains in the Middle Pinzgau. This is a good starting point for exploring the Steinernes Meer, or Sea of Stone, a limestone plateau with many rivers and caverns that have been turned into a natural reserve. Saalfelden lies sixty-five kilometers south of Salzburg and about 400 kilometers southwest of Vienna. Saalfelden is a main stop of many trains from both Innsbruck and Salzburg. Most of the trains from Innsbruck are direct, while these from Salzburg sometimes need to be changed in Schwarzach-St. Veit. With transfers included, the trip from both cities to Saalfelden takes then two hours. Trains arrive there about once an hour throughout the day. There are and many bus routes going into the surrounding mountains. These buses depart from Salzburg’s main railway station about six times a day, making many stops per every route (the trip time is about ninety minutes). If you are driving from Zell am See, head north along Route 311; from Salzburg head southwest on Route 312 and at Lofer continue south on Route 311.

Saalfelden is mainly a summer resort, but winter-sports areas in the mountains are easy to reach. There is a Parish Church in the town with a Gothic crypt beneath the choir and a late-Gothic triptych in the presbytery. Some of the activities practiced here include canoeing/kayaking, hang-gliding, fishing, cycling, parachuting, paragliding, hunting, mountain biking, rafting, horseback riding and many more.