Bad Ischl Things to Do

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This Roman Catholic Church which dates back until 1320, has seen many Imperial events and Concerts. In 1769, the old church was demolished, then rebuilt in the style of classicism with frescoes and new altars being added in 1870. The inside has mainly lovely, detailed frescoes, well worth coming inside to see.
Take note of the Organ built in 1888, and considered one of the best works of Austrian art of organ building during the monarchy.

This one is for all parents who take their children with them shopping.
Located in the main street, I came across this excellent Horse and Carriage on the footpath, specifically built for children to play on. I thought it was excellent, and it looked free, what a good idea!

As with most "BAD" or "SPA" Towns, the architecture of the buildings is beautiful, even the Post Office was a wow building!
Of course, the town was frequented by Aristocrats, so you would expect it to be nice.
The Italianate Kaiser villa, was bought for Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth as an engagement present by his mother. The interior can only be seen on guided tours.
http://www.kaiservilla.at/

There are others which I don't know the names of, but are worth seeing.

The tourist information office is located in the Trinkhalle near the train station. It's located in quite an impressive building. All the usual tourist information and bookings are here, and you can even order brochures if you want information before you arrive in town.

Opening hours summer:
Monday - Saturday 9.00am - 6.00pm Sunday 10.00am - 6.00pm

Opening hours winter:
Monday - Saturday 9.00am - 5.00pm Sunday and public holiday 10.00am - 2.00 pm

Mount Jainzen (about 800 meters high) is the imperial "home hill", since the park areal of the imperial villa lies on the bottom of it. This hill offers you breathtaking views above the town of
Bad Ischl, however, you should be fit to reach the top.

Emperor Franz Joseph spent about 60 summers (!) in Bad Ischl and also got engaged there with his cousin Elisabeth v. Bayern only 3 days after they`ve met for the first time. Kaiservilla - which had been once the house of a notary- was a wedding present by the parents in law to the young couple. In the following years the villa was remodeled- and when it was finished it had the shape of the letter E - for Elisabeth. It is surrounded by a lovely park where you`ll see also a small castle-like building- this is called "Marmorschlössel", once was Elisabeth`s teahouse and now hosts a photomuseum. On the occasion of marriage they vegetated the park with plants that usually couldn`t be found in that area.

You can visist the villa in a guided tour for a fee of about EUR 11. In one room you can still see the emperor`s original wall paper :). The most interesting room in my opinion is the emperor`s study, which still seems to be authentically furnished. On his desk there he signed the war declaration against Serbia, which was the beginning of WW I - and more or less the end of monarchy in Austria. A copy of the war declaration is lying on the desk.

A descendant of Franz Joseph still lives there in Kaiservilla - and it can happen-like in my case- that he comes down to talk to the visitors. All in all I found the atmosphere in the Villa a bit quirky :) - probably because it feels like if the emperor is still alive :).

In case you want to visit the park only and have a look at the building from outside- they charge EUR 4 for that.

Museum der Stadt Bad Ischl

A total overview of all local history is shown, as well as private collections of people like the asian art collection from mr. Sarsteiner.

The most important thing happened to Bad Ischl is the fact that in summer the austrian emperor Franz-Joseph and his wife came here quite a lot.

Opening Hours
Daily between 10.00-17.00 hrs. except mondays.
Wednesday 14.00-19.00 hrs.

Admission
Adults € 4.20
Children under 15 € 2.00

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Museum Fahrzeug - Technik - Luftfahrt

A wide range of vehicles is displayed from normal cars to military vehicles. From airplanes to helicopters and from cycle to motorcycles. All means of transportation are covered here.

Try to have a quick view at their scrap heap where many unrestored vehicles still wait to be restored and displayed. Nice museum for the ones loving transportation technique.

Opening Hours
1. April-31. Oktober
Daily 9.00-18.00 hrs.

Admission
Adults € 8,00
Children 10-15 yrs.€ 3,00
Children under 10 yrs. F.o.C.