In the village of Halstatt in the Austrian state of Upper Austria

 “Anyway, zis is Austria. Now somesing else funny! Ze Austrians do not call it 'Austria.' Zey call it O-s-t-e-r-r-e-i-c-h!" and the professor wrote the letters out on the blackboard.” ― Bertrand R. Brinley

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(in a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria) Although it is technically a village, hardly any other place better fits the phrase “storybook setting” than Hallstatt, which sits prettily on the shores of Austria’s Hallstätter See (lake) -- about an hour’s drive east of Salzburg. The town's 12th-century churches, candlelit restaurants, and market square only become more stunning during the winter months, especially when the already-scenic Dachstein Mountains are capped with snow. As with most Austrian towns, Hallstatt does winter activities well, with skiing, snowshoe hiking, and horse-drawn carriage rides all up for grabs.
+ Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut region, on the national road linking Salzburg and Graz. Hallstatt is known for its production of salt, dating back to prehistoric times, and gave its name to the Hallstatt culture, the archaeological culture linked to Proto-Celtic and early Celtic people of the Early Iron Age in Europe, around 800–450 BCE. The Hallstatt salt mine is the world's oldest working salt mine. The mine is located within the Upper Permian to Lower Triassic Haselgebirge Formation of the Northern Limestone Alps. The Hallstatt salt mine comprises 21 levels and several smaller shafts ranging from 514 meters above sea level to an elevation of around 1267 meters. (The town is at the core of the Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape that was declared one of the World Heritage Sites in Austria by UNESCO in 1997.)

+ With pastel-colored houses casting shimmering reflections onto the looking-glass lake, and with lofty mountains rearing up on all sides, Hallstatt’s beauty borders on the surreal and the sublime. Boats glide tranquilly across the lake from the train station to the village, situated precariously on a narrow stretch of land between mountain and shore. (So small is the patch of land occupied by the village that its annual Corpus Christi procession takes place largely in small boats on the lake.) The sheer volume of visitors here can be nerve-wracking, especially in summer, with a sea of cars, buses, and tour groups descending on this area. The center of Hallstatt is at Hallstatt Markt, and Hallstatt Lahn is on the edge of town near the funicular to the Salzbergwerk. The train station is across the lake from Hallstatt; to get into town from there you have to take the ferry.
+ Halstatt's tourism began in the 19th century but greatly increased after it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. By 2017 local churches were employing bouncers to prevent services from being disrupted by the crowds ovewhelming the town.