Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein was built on hot radon-bearing springs that were used from the Middle Ages and became fashionable in the nineteenth century, when the Gasteiner Ache waterfall crashing through the middle of the town was framed by grand hotels stacked in tiers up both sides of the gorge - a Belle Epoque resort with a genuinely dramatic site, visited by emperors, Schubert, Schopenhauer and Bismarck. It declined hard after the war, and for decades the largest hotels in the centre stood empty and decaying behind their facades while the ski area above kept the valley alive; the derelict grandeur became the thing people photographed. Since the late 2010s a substantial redevelopment has been reopening the central hotels. The Gasteiner Heilstollen, a former gold mine, is used for radon therapy.

What you actually see

• A waterfall through the town - the Gasteiner Ache falling between the hotels.
• Belle Epoque hotels in tiers - stacked up both walls of the gorge.
• Decades of dereliction - central buildings empty for years, now being reopened.
• Radon thermal water - the springs and the mine gallery used for therapy.

When to go

All year; winter for skiing, summer for walking. A day.

Honest expectations

Redevelopment means building sites and closures in the centre. Radon therapy is a contested treatment - the springs are marketed on health claims that are not settled. Streets are steep.

Nearby

Bad Hofgastein is down the valley; the Rauris valley and Hohe Tauern are west.