Residence AlpenHeart
Bad Gastein - Böcksteiner Bundesstraße 20
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Bad Gastein is one of Austria’s most charming and prestigious spa resorts, located in the heart of the Salzburger Land at an altitude of 1,083 metres in the Gastein Valley. With a population of 4,300, this elegant Alpine town is a perfect combination of curative spas, Belle Époque architecture and breathtaking Alpine scenery, attracting visitors from all over the world for more than 150 years.
The town is famous for its radioactive thermal springs, unique in Europe, which flow at a temperature of 47°C and are recognised for their exceptional curative properties in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and respiratory disorders. The Grand Hotel and the historic buildings in the centre bear witness to Bad Gastein’s glorious past as a favourite destination of European aristocracy, when emperors, princes and celebrities stayed here for spa treatments.
The old town centre is built on natural terraces along the slopes of the mountain, creating a unique townscape characterised by Belle Époque buildings overlooking the spectacular 341-metre-high Gasteiner Ache waterfall, which flows through the heart of the town, creating a romantic and atmospheric backdrop. Fin de siècle architecture blends harmoniously with modern spa and hotel facilities.
The location in the Gastein valley, surrounded by the peaks of the Hohe Tauern National Park, makes Bad Gastein a complete destination combining thermal wellness, top winter sports and summer hiking amidst Alpine landscapes of rare beauty, all less than two hours from Salzburg.
Bad Gastein offers an extraordinary architectural and natural heritage, where the elegance of the Belle Époque blends with the majesty of the Austrian Alps. Each attraction tells the story of this prestigious spa resort and its evolution over the centuries.
The Bad Gastein Waterfall is the town’s most iconic landmark and one of Austria’s most photographed natural spectacles. This imposing waterfall, formed by the Gasteiner Ache stream, cascades 341 metres through the old town, creating three main cascades over bridges and historic buildings in a unique setting. The force of the water has shaped a deep gorge over thousands of years that divides the city into two parts connected by panoramic bridges.
During winter, when temperatures drop below freezing, the waterfall transforms into a spectacular ice sculpture, while in spring the thawing of the Alpine snows increases the flow rate, creating a roar that can be heard throughout the valley. Viewpoints along the paths that flank the waterfall offer breathtaking views, particularly impressive at sunset when the sun’s rays create rainbows in the water droplets. The Kaiser-Franz-Josef Bridge from 1907 is the most famous and most photographed vantage point.
The Felsentherme represent the heart of modern spa tourism in Bad Gastein, a state-of-the-art thermal complex carved directly into the mountain rock. Inaugurated in 1994, these thermal baths utilise the 12 natural radioactive springs that flow at temperatures between 44 and 47 °C, rich in radon and beneficial minerals extracted from the depths of the surrounding mountains.
The complex is built on several levels with interconnected indoor and outdoor pools, making it possible to swim from the indoor to the outdoor area even in winter, enjoying the contrast between the warm water and the fresh mountain air. The thermal grottos carved into the rock offer a unique bathing experience in atmospheric surroundings illuminated by soft lighting. The wellness centre includes alpine saunas, steam baths, a panoramic relaxation area and a medical department specialising in inhalation cures with thermal waters for the treatment of respiratory diseases.
The Grand Hotel de l’Europe, built in 1889, is a symbol of Bad Gastein’s golden age and one of the finest examples of Belle Époque hotel architecture in the Alps. This five-storey building, with its Art Nouveau façade decorated with gilded stucco and wrought-iron balconies, hosted emperors, nobles and celebrities of the time and became the centre of the spa resort’s social life.
The building, currently undergoing conservative restoration, retains intact the original architectural elements such as the large atrium with frescoed ceilings, the grand staircase in Carrara marble and the ballrooms with Bohemian crystal chandeliers. The imperial suites still retain the original furnishings from Franz Joseph’s time, while the panoramic terrace offers a spectacular view of the waterfall and the valley below. The restoration project envisages reopening as a luxury hotel by 2026, maintaining the historic charm with modern comforts.
The Stubnerkogel (2,246m) and the Graukogel (2,492m) are the two iconic mountains of Bad Gastein, reached by modern lifts that offer spectacular views of the Salzburg Alps. The Stubnerkogel cable car, which was completely renovated in 2019, takes eight minutes to the top station, where the spectacular 140-metre-long suspended footbridge stretches into the void at an altitude of 2,200 metres.
The Graukogel panorama station houses Austria’s highest revolving restaurant, which completes a full rotation in 45 minutes, offering a 360-degree view of more than 37 peaks over 3,000 metres, from the Grossglockner to the Dolomites. In winter, these mountains are part of the Gastein Ski area, with 85 kilometres of slopes for all levels, while in summer they become the starting point for alpine hikes and via ferrata routes of varying difficulty.
The Evangelical Church in Bad Gastein is a jewel of Alpine neo-Gothic architecture, built in 1905 to serve the large Protestant community that frequented the spa resort. The building, designed by the Viennese architect Ludwig Förster, is distinguished by its 52-metre-high bell tower dominating the town skyline and polychrome stained glass windows made by the famous Tiffany glassworks in New York.
The interior houses a valuable 1907 Walcker organ with 2,800 pipes, considered one of the most beautiful in the Alps and used for the sacred music concerts held every summer during the Gastein Festival. The interior decorations combine Gothic elements with Austrian Jugendstil influences, while the rose window on the façade, with a diameter of 8 metres, is one of the largest in Austria. The adjoining cemetery holds the graves of famous people who stayed in Bad Gastein for spa treatments.
The Gastein Museum is housed in Schloss Gastein Palace, a historic building from the 17th century that documents the history of the Gastein valley from geological origins to the present day. The permanent collections include Roman archaeological finds that testify to the use of the thermal springs already in ancient times, gold mining tools that made the valley famous in the Middle Ages, and a rich photographic documentation of the golden age of spa tourism.
A special section is devoted to the natural radioactivity of the thermal waters, with scientific explanations of the therapeutic benefits and the geological formation of the springs. The museum also houses a reconstruction of a typical 19th-century spa treatment room and a collection of historical bathing costumes illustrating the evolution of bathing fashion. The adjacent botanical garden cultivates alpine medicinal plants traditionally used in local spa cures.
Bad Gastein offers upmarket accommodation that reflects the spa tradition and historical elegance of the resort. The thermal hotels in the centre combine Belle Époque architecture with modern wellness facilities, offering direct access to healing waters and specialised spa treatments. Panoramic boarding houses on the surrounding heights provide tranquillity and spectacular views of the valley, while historic flats in the centre’s buildings allow you to experience the authentic atmosphere of this prestigious spa resort.
Bad Gastein can be easily reached from Salzburg via the A10 Tauernautobahn motorway to the Bischofshofen exit, then continue for 45 kilometres on the B311 state road, which winds panoramically through the Gastein valley. The journey from Salzburg takes about 90 minutes by car. The train station in Bad Gastein is served by direct trains from Salzburg every 2 hours, with a journey time of 75 minutes through spectacular Alpine landscapes. Salzburg Airport is 110 kilometres away and is connected by direct flights from major European cities.
What's the weather at Bad Gastein? Below are the temperatures and the weather forecast at Bad Gastein for the next few days.
Bad Gastein is located in the Salzburger Land, at an altitude of 1,083 metres in the Gastein Valley, 100 kilometres south of Salzburg and 200 kilometres from Innsbruck. It is 350 kilometres from Vienna and lies in the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park, the largest protected area in the Eastern Alps. The strategic location in the valley makes Bad Gastein an ideal starting point for exploring the mountains of the Salzburger Land and easily reaching Italian South Tyrol via the Alpine passes.
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