Leisure Pursuits In Gastein (Austria)

1. TOY MUSEUM IN SALZBURG:

What do children of all ages love most in the world? Toys, of course! Therefore, when visiting Salzburg with a child, you should definitely pay a visit to the local Toy Museum, which is located in an old hospital building. Upon entering the museum, your little one will immediately find himself in his native element. A large number of the most varied amusements and fun adventures await him. To begin with, change into comfortable bright slippers, which you will be kindly offered at the cloakroom, and go ahead, into the magical world of toys! On the first floor, there are several interesting exhibitions: “balancing”, “balls” and “surprise”.

In each room, a child can not only examine the exhibits, but also touch, roll, swing, move, throw. “Play”, “experience” and “surprise” are the three main themes of the Toy Museum in Salzburg, to which all the exhibitions are subordinated. All children who have visited the Spielzeugmuesum at least once, remember the Percussion Haus with delight. The noise that can be produced here can drive any adult crazy, but not a child. Big and small rascals ring bells and chimes, whistle music on a special organ made of bottles, beat drums and do a whole range of other things that create a real cacophony in the hall. Parents cover their ears, and the children have tremendous fun! Not a single little visitor to the museum is indifferent to the opportunity to slide down the slide from the second to the first floor.

The large safe slide is always full of excited children. If you need a break, go up to the second floor and watch a short film in the children’s cinema. Also, visit the railway exhibition with the whole family, test out several schemes on a model railway more than 12 meters long and test your talents as a railway engineer. Since 2015, the museum has housed a children’s library with many fascinating books. Of course, what kind of museum would it be without old toys that our grandparents played with? In a separate room behind the glass of the museum display cases, many interesting things are presented at children’s eye level. For example, a fire engine from the 19th century or an old toy carousel. Large dollhouses with full equipment delight little visitors to the historical exhibition, and boys are very interested in looking at cars, railways and soldiers from the past.

The evolution of horses, teddy bears and dolls over the past few centuries is presented here! It is important to note that the collection of toys in the Salzburg Museum is recognized as the largest in the country. The exhibits are made of various materials: papier-mâché, wood, tin, plastic, paper, fabric, plush. Everyone enjoys visiting the Toy Museum: both adults and children. Moms and dads walking through the museum halls with their little ones indulge in nostalgia and are surprised to notice that there are even the toys they played with in their barefoot childhood. By the way, just a three-minute walk from the museum is the House of Nature, which is also definitely worth visiting with children.

2. FELSENTHERME:

Don’t you want to experience all the benefits and grace of thermal water that has traveled a long way through layers of rocks? Having broken through to the surface, enriched with minerals and microelements, it is ready to meet people at one of the resorts of Austria – Bad Gastein. All this is in abundance in the unique spa center Felsentherme, where you can go with the whole family to relax after actively spent hours on the snowy slopes. In Felsentherme, visitors are offered relaxation in zones based on about 18 unique hot healing springs. They beat right from under the ground, thanks to which ski lovers get a boost of energy and good mood after spa treatments.

After all, there is nothing better than restoring tired muscles, relaxing and stimulating blood circulation with the help of positively charged water that has been beating from the very depths of the earth for many hundreds of years. The thermal complex for the whole family Felsentherme has been operating on the territory of the local national park since 2004. Its decoration is a rocky grotto with a roaring waterfall in it. Once here, you can choose the most suitable option for aqua-rest with a child: swimming in one of the pools with warm water, going to the bathhouse, sauna or relaxing in the relaxation zone. So, what awaits visitors in the various zones of Felsentherme? First of all, this is an active recreation area, where the young guests of the complex love to spend time.

On the territory of 600 sq. m there are as many as 3 pools of different sizes and depths (one of them is a “paddling pool” for the little ones). In each of the pools, children will find fun entertainment: water attractions, including a 70-meter-long water slide, massage jets, water curtains, a canal with a fast current. There is also a place for sun loungers, where you can take a little rest from active pastime in the water. The active recreation area is connected to the relaxation area by a canal with a fast current. It is located in the rocky hall. The wellness area, where visitors can “warm up”, is located on an area of ​​600 square meters in the panoramic location of Felsentherme.

This area contains a large number of different saunas and baths with dry and humid air. There is also a modern infrared cabin, a salt grotto, a solarium, a nudist terrace at the very top and a couple of pools in the form of plunge pools with cold and warm water. For sports enthusiasts, the spa center has its own fitness area, equipped with modern exercise machines for cardio training and cross-fit. If you get hungry (and you will certainly get hungry!), the open terrace of the restaurant “Silberkrug” will hospitably open its doors to you, where you and your children will be offered a large selection of European cuisine.

3. SALZBURG OPEN-AIR MUSEUM:

If you are vacationing with your child at the famous Austrian resort of Salzburger Sportwelt or in Salzburg itself, we recommend visiting one very interesting open-air museum. This is a museum complex that occupies more than 50 hectares of land, located in the center of the Untersberg nature reserve in Großgmain. Every year, about hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals walk through the territory of this cultural center! You can’t think of a better place to get acquainted with the culture, architecture and life of the Austrians. The Salzburg open-air museum is based on a real settlement that existed many hundreds of years ago.

Specialists have restored six dozen ancient buildings, among which there are original farmhouses with full furnishings, a school for peasant children, craft shops, a hunting lodge, stores, agricultural buildings and even a small brewery. In addition, you and your child will enjoy the magnificent nature surrounding all the local architectural structures. This unique architectural collection of the Salzburg lands is amazing. About a hundred very old buildings are in the open air, as they once were many, many years ago. By the way, you will be able to show your child not only what the houses of the past look like from the outside, but also introduce the young traveler to their interior.

Peasant utensils, simple wooden furniture, stoves – all this will give the child a complete picture of the life of ordinary people from the past. Despite the fact that the decoration of the huts is quite modest, visitors are impressed by its authenticity. Some things are still covered with centuries-old dust, indicating their venerable age. One of the oldest exhibits is a building dating back to 1442. You can enter it (as well as all the other buildings of the museum village) and get acquainted with the simple peasant interior. The Salzburg Open Air Museum is like a real Lego constructor. All its components were brought from different parts of Austria, restored and put together to form a real village ensemble.

Much attention in the museum is also paid to young visitors: a playground is equipped on the territory of the complex, you can visit a pen with goats, and for a more comfortable viewing of the exhibits, parents will be offered to rent children’s carts. By the way, visitors to the museum complex not only walk around its territory, but also travel on a small train running around the area. Are you tired and tired? It’s time to go home, but on the way back, be sure to stop by the local souvenir shop located on the museum grounds. You can buy several small souvenirs in the shop, hand-made by local craftsmen. This will be a great gift for your family and friends who will greet you at home.

4. DACHSTEIN ICE PALACE:

The slopes of the Dachstein mountain range in Austria are very popular among ski lovers. However, having admired the mountain scenery, many would not mind looking into the bowels of the earth. And can we assume that the entrance to the dungeon looks like a brand new trailer from the outside, but inside resembles a telescopic ramp of an airplane? Meanwhile, this is exactly the entrance to the Dachstein Ice Palace, created in the bosom of the Dachstein glacier. This fairy-tale land is very interesting to visit with children. The luxurious halls of the palace were built for a whole year, and then Chinese ice masters created decorations and individual interior details.

Today, visitors come to the Throne Room, the Crystal Cathedral, the Blue Living Room, as if to a museum. Each guest of the cave can check whether the ice throne is cozy, as well as try to leaf through the ice book. The space of the palace changes with every turn of the corridor: instead of slender columns, bizarre influxes suddenly appear, in the abstract outlines of which everyone sees something of their own. The mystery is added by the lighting – in blue, green or red light, everything is transformed beyond recognition. The remote control for the lighting is available to anyone.

And how unusual are the ice sculptures in the palace! Instead of, for example, antique statues or sculptures of outstanding people, the entire Simpsons family has gathered here – the figures are carved with amazing precision from frozen water. The heroes of the beloved children’s cartoon “Ice Age” also fit into the interior quite well. And in one of the halls you can see an ice Formula 1 racing car, next to which confused racers are standing. Several sculptures also depict fairy-tale characters – the guardians of the palace’s treasures. Surprisingly, there is a window in the underground kingdom. Look into it: you will see the inner space of the glacier, untouched by human hands. Since the glacier is not afraid of summer heat, the attraction is accessible to visitors at any time of the year.

5. HALLSTATT SALT MINES:

If there are any truly kid-friendly attractions in the adult world, then the Hallstatt salt mine is one of them. It offers real-life flights, the opportunity to transform, mystery, and even something resembling a children’s ride. But first things first. A valuable natural resource, salt has been mined in Hallstatt for 7,000 years. The tour is dedicated to the historical significance of Hallstatt, as well as salt mining. It also tells about the “man in salt”, who was discovered in 1734. Popular aspects of the tour include a ride on a mine train, an underground salt lake, and Europe’s longest mining slide (65 m).

Thanks to the use of modern technology and holograms, history becomes understandable to guests of all ages. Mining of the deposits is still ongoing, but the tour focuses on the old methods of salt mining. To see how the miners worked, you first need to go up the mountain on a funicular. It climbs almost vertically, and through the panoramic windows you can see the houses of the commune and Lake Galshatskoye far below. At the entrance to the mine, all visitors are given protective miner’s clothing. However, you will have to protect yourself from the cold yourself: the temperature inside the caves is about +8°C, so take care of warm clothes and sturdy shoes.

And special clothing will come in handy when you go down into the mine along a wooden chute. Remember sledding: this is exactly what the descent used by the miners looks like. The guide also has a special miner’s uniform, but a very elegant one. A mysterious kingdom opens up in the depths of the mountains. The installations you encounter along the way – amazing, and sometimes creepy – tell about the work of the miners and the finds of archaeologists. The fortified corridors become lower and narrower, and after two descents everyone finds themselves on the shore of a salt lake. Its surface is so motionless that it is difficult to find the boundary between water and solid ground. And when the artistic lighting is turned on, the landscape becomes truly alien. You need to get out of the cave on a mine cart. Its narrow bench, on which you need to sit astride, will remind you of a children’s carousel.

At the exit from the mine, another surprise awaits you: a photo of your descent along the chute with an indication of the maximum speed of movement (the photo can be purchased). And in the souvenir shop they sell Hallstatt salt and spice mixes. If you want, you can go down to the city not by funicular, but on foot, along one of three paths laid in the mountains. By purchasing an entrance ticket to Salzwelten-Hallstatt, visitors also support scientific research in this place. In July and August, guests who are especially fond of history are offered the “Prehistoric Expedition”. Accompanied by archaeologists, this four-hour tour takes you through the prehistoric part of the mine and offers fascinating insights away from the usual tour routes. Please note that the tour is conducted in English or German, but an audio guide is also available, including in Russian. Important: The mine is accessible to children over 4 years old. You must be at the funicular base station 30 minutes before the tour starts.