Frozen may be a Disney movie for children, but everyone – even people without children – are familiar with Frozen, or at the very least, Idina Menzel’s infamous song ‘Let It Go’.
However, not everyone knows about the very real tiny town that is thought to have inspired Frozen, and the fictional town of Arendelle.
Hallstatt in Austria is a UNESCO World Heritage site and picturesque alpine village tucked into the base of the Salzkammergut mountains, and it looks almost too good to be true.
Snow-capped mountains tower over a waterfront township with pretty homes sitting all in a row, complete with balcony window boxes full of flowers and ivy-covered facades. Cobblestone streets and tall tower spires complete the fairy tale scene.
Around one million tourists visit Hallstatt each year, which now has six times more tourists per capita than Italy’s floating city of Venice.
In fact, Hallstatt is so picturesque that it is now known as the most photographed place in Austria. You can visit Hallstatt on a day trip from Vienna, Salzburg, Prague and Cesky Krumlov, and you’ll be able to see much of the town within a day, as you can walk from one end of Hallstatt to the other in about 30 minutes to an hour.
The old market square looks like a scene straight out of a fairy tale, while ducks and swans swim in the lake nearby. You can even ride a funicular to the top of the mountain for extraordinary views.
All in all, it’s easy to see how this winter wonderland inspired Frozen.
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