The wedding church, two lake villages and the boat in between, without a car
An Advent day by bus and boat: in the morning the basilica in Mondsee, a film location of ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965), then St. Gilgen and the boat to St. Wolfgang, until the lantern on the lake is lit. Timetables and times checked on 6 November 2026.
Florian Mahrl · As of 6 November 2026
I’m Florian, a dad from Vienna. Advent by a lake sounds lovely, and by car in December it is hard work. So here is a day by bus and boat.
We have not been to every one of these markets. The days, times and timetables are as the organisers, the Lake Wolfgang boat company and the ÖBB timetable list them, read on 6 November 2026.
Wednesday to Sunday, plus Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 December. Only then are the markets on Lake Wolfgang open and the boat running.
Advent only, 20 November to 20 December 2026. The bus timetables are valid until 12 December; please check again after that.
Start: Start at Salzburg main station, bus stop Südtiroler Platz.
Marked with ✦: a film location of ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965).
Bus 140 to Mondsee, 50 to 56 minutes: Monday to Friday for example at 9:15, Saturday at 9:20, Sunday at 9:35.
The Basilica of St. Michael on the market square in Mondsee. The wedding scene of the film was shot here. Daily 9:00 to 19:00 according to the tourist board, no entry fee, donations welcome.
Step-free entrance with a ramp.
Lunch around the market square in Mondsee.
Direct bus to St. Gilgen, 18 minutes: Saturdays at 12:13, Sundays at 12:35, hourly on weekdays (ÖBB timetable for 5, 6 and 9 December 2026).
St. Gilgen is seen from above at the start of the film. In Advent there are nativity scenes around the village and the market is on the lake promenade: Thursday and Friday from 11:00, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00, Wednesdays from 13:00 with a small offer.
On family Sundays (from 22 November) children make nativity scenes in the Salettl by the Gasthof zur Post.
About 340 metres to the pier, then the boat to St. Wolfgang, 30 to 35 minutes. On Saturdays and Sundays it only stops at the SchafbergBahn pier; from there it is about ten minutes on foot into the village.
Advent in St. Wolfgang, with a 16-metre lantern floating on the lake. Open until 19:30, free entry.
On Advent Sundays children up to 14 travel free on the boat with an adult. On family Sundays there is an angels’ post office.
Back by bus from St. Wolfgang Markt, change in Strobl to bus 150 to Salzburg, about 1 hour 15 minutes (for example at 16:32 or 17:32, ÖBB timetable).
Instead of St. Wolfgang: Strobl at the east end of the lake, with a nativity village. On family Sundays there is a Christmas tree maze, sausage and marshmallow grilling and an enclosure with rabbits and goats. Bus 150 to Salzburg in 57 minutes.
Take the SchafbergBahn up to the Schafbergalm; in winter it does not go to the summit. Wednesday to Sunday from 9:20. Pushchairs stay at the valley station.
Bad Ischl: the Schmankerldorf food village outside the Trinkhalle, until 6 January, Wednesday and Thursday 15:00 to 21:00, Friday to Sunday 11:00 to 21:00. Bus 150 from Salzburg in 1 hour 12 minutes.
On Lake Traunsee: Gmunden on the Advent weekends from 27 November, Traunkirchen on 5, 6 and 8 December. By train from Vienna to Gmunden in about 2 hours 25 minutes.
The lake district east of Salzburg. The three villages on Lake Wolfgang share one Advent, with boats between them; Gmunden and Traunkirchen are on Lake Traunsee, and Hallstatt has only one market day. Whether a market is open today is worked out on this page in Vienna time, from the organisers’ times.
Advent in Strobl at the eastern end of Lake Wolfgang, with a nativity village. Same days and times as St. Wolfgang (20 November to 20 December 2026, Wednesday to Sunday and on 7 and 8 December). Entry is free. On family Sundays (from 22 November) there is a Christmas-tree maze, sausage and marshmallow grilling, a rabbit and goat enclosure and an angel post office.
A Christmas-tree maze, rabbits and goats, marshmallow grilling
In Bad Ischl, where the emperor spent his summers. In front of the Trinkhalle there is a food village from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027: Wednesday and Thursday 15:00 to 21:00, Friday to Sunday 11:00 to 21:00, closed from 24 to 26 December, free entry. For the artisans’ Christmas market inside the Trinkhalle only the opening day is confirmed for 2026 (20 November, 10:00 to 18:00). In the stables of the Kaiservilla there is an Advent market on 28 November (10:00 to 19:00) and 29 November (10:00 to 16:00), free entry. No kids’ programme is mentioned.
No kids’ programme mentioned
Advent in the centre of Gmunden on Lake Traunsee, on Rathausplatz and Rinnholzplatz. On four weekends from 27 November to 20 December 2026: Friday 13:00 to 20:00, Saturday 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday and 8 December 11:00 to 19:00. Entry is free. For kids: a children’s winter land, fairy-tale boat trips on the lake, St Nicholas rides on the Traunsee tram and alpaca walks through town (the single dates are not fixed yet), plus a nativity exhibition. The Traunsee tram and the town buses are free during the market. We did not find a castle Advent at Schloss Ort for 2026.
A kids’ winter land, a fairy-tale boat trip, a St Nicholas tram, alpacas
A small market on the Klosterplatz in Traunkirchen on the west shore of Lake Traunsee, on three days: Saturday 5 December 2026 14:00 to 20:00, Sunday 6 and Tuesday 8 December (public holiday) 14:00 to 18:00. Entry is free. For small children there is a picture-book cinema in the parish chapel (Saturday at 16:00, 17:00 and 18:00, Sunday and the holiday at 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00; in German).
A picture-book cinema for small children
A market on one day only, the public holiday on 8 December 2026, 10:00 to 18:00 on the market square. There is a three-dimensional nativity scene made by the Hallstatt woodcraft school, a magician’s show for children at 14:00 in the Kulturhaus and crafts for children from age 5 from 15:00 to 17:00. Entry is free. Hallstatt station is on the other side of the lake; we have not checked the crossing.
A magician’s show for kids, crafts from age 5
Hallstatt has only one market day, 8 December, 10:00 to 18:00. It is a small village where people live; since June 2020 coaches need a booked time slot there. The railway station is on the other side of the lake. hallstatt.net
From Salzburg Hbf: bus 150 (express bus 150X) to St. Gilgen in 42 minutes, to Strobl in 57 minutes and to Bad Ischl in 1 hour 12 minutes. From Wien Hbf by train with one or two changes to Gmunden in about 2 hours 25 minutes, to Bad Ischl in about 3 hours, to Hallstatt in about 3 hours 25 minutes. ÖBB timetable for 5 and 8 December 2026.
Mirabell Gardens, Residenzplatz, Nonnberg and Hellbrunn in one day, in winter too.
Only places and facts. No film stills, no song lyrics, no names of tour companies.
Weekend Pilot adapts a day like this to your family: weather, routes, times. You can share the plan with grandparents or friends.
No guarantee. We read the times, prices and timetables on the operators’ websites and in the timetables on 6 November 2026. Please check before you go.
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