The Place
Gasthof Haupl remains a winning combination: cooking by a top chef and views across the largest lake in the Austrian Alps. Early booking, therefore, is essential, particularly on sunny summer weekends. Even in winter, gourmets phone ahead for a table in one of the two Stoberl. They come for regional specialities like fish from the lake or dumplings stuffed with bacon, accompanied by one of half a dozen wines available daily by the glass, or beer from the barrel.
There has been an inn here for over 300 years. The Haupl family have run it for a mere seven generations during which they have collected some eye-catching antiques. A confessional, complete with a statue of St Florian on top, is a telephone booth; nearby is an ancient wine press. Small alcoves with tables and chairs are cosy spots for reading or chatting.
As for bedrooms, number 121 is particularly striking with its black and white Wiener Werkstotte (Vienna Workshop) furniture and a print of a Gustav Klimt landscape on the wall. Others are simpler, but bathrooms are slick and new, with grey or white tiles and power showers. All this, and breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Attersee.