Hallein Travel Guide

Hallein is the second biggest town in the Salzburg province. One of the main reasons to visit is the Dürnberg salt mines. The town also has a museum of Celtic artifacts, and is the birthplace of Franz Xavier Gruber, the author of music for "Silent Night".

The mines (Salzbergwerk Hallein) are easily visited on a day trip from Salzburg. On guided tours, visitors walk downhill from the ticket office to the mine entrance, then board an electric mine train that takes you deep into the caverns. From here, you go on foot through galleries, changing levels by sliding down polished wooden slides before exiting the mine on the train that brought you in. An underground museum traces the history of salt mining back to ancient times.

Hallein is connected to Salzburg, 10 miles (16km) away, by both train and bus. The cable car up the Durrnberg is no longer present, but it is possible to take a bus to the entrance of the Salzbergwerk.

Here is a link to the Salzbergwerk:
http://www.salzwelten.at/cont/salzwelten/salzwelten_salzburg.aspx.
Note under "Anreise", that you can purchase a package that includes train travel to Hallein, bus to the Salzbergwerk, the tour through the salt mine, and entry to the Celtic artifacts museum.