Lake Traunsee is the natural centrepiece of any visit. With a maximum depth of around 191 metres, it is one of the deepest lakes in Austria, and on calm mornings its dark green water doubles every detail of the surrounding mountains. The town itself spreads along the northern shore in a long, gentle curve, with painted facades, lakeside hotels, and the railway tracks of the historic Traunsee Tram (Traunseetram) running between the buildings and the water. The tram has connected the town centre with the lakeside since 1894 and, after recent extensions, now runs all the way across the river to link up with the Traunsee railway. Boat connections on the lake itself are equally part of the experience: a fleet of historic ships, including the paddle steamer Gisela, the oldest passenger ship still in regular service in Austria, leaves the lakeside station at the Seebahnhof for slow cruises along the steep Traunstein cliffs.

The civic heart of the town is Rathausplatz, the long lakeside town hall square framed by painted Renaissance and Baroque facades. The Town Hall (Rathaus) itself dates from between 1574 and 1577, the prosperous years of the salt trade, and is recognisable from far across the square by its arcaded ground floor, its painted Renaissance facade, and a slender bell turret rising above its central axis. The single most distinctive feature, however, is the Ceramic Carillon (Keramisches Glockenspiel), installed in the upper loggia of the facade in 1959 and made up of 24 bells. Because the local Gmunden ceramics turned out to be unsuitable for casting bells, the instrument itself was actually produced at the Meissen porcelain factory in Saxony and then hand-painted with Gmunden’s signature green-flamed decor. The bells chime several times a day, at 10, 12, 14, 16, and 19 o’clock, playing folk tunes along with the title melody of the popular Austrian television series Schlosshotel Orth, which was filmed in the town in the 1990s.

From the Rathausplatz, the long traffic-free Lakeside Promenade (Esplanade) curves away along the water toward the lakeside beach. Lined with rows of chestnut trees, lakeside benches, painted villas, and a series of ceramic art installations along its full length, it has been Gmunden’s social and architectural showpiece for almost two hundred years. Generations of cultural figures walked here as part of their summer routine, including the composers Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms and the dramatist Friedrich Hebbel, alongside the royal houses of Württemberg, Hannover, and the wider Habsburg dynasty. Today the promenade is the place where the town comes together in the evening, with cafés, ice-cream stalls, and the small fish counters at the Lehenaufsatz at the far end of the path offering some of the freshest Traunsee fish anywhere in the Salzkammergut.

A short walk from the western end of the promenade, the silhouette of Ort Castle (Schloss Ort) appears on a small island in the lake, connected to the mainland by a graceful 123-metre wooden footbridge. The castle has two distinct parts: the Lake Castle (Seeschloss) on the island itself, and the Land Castle (Landschloss) on the shore, both founded in the tenth and eleventh centuries and rebuilt many times since. The Seeschloss became internationally familiar through the popular 1990s television series Schlosshotel Orth, which was filmed largely on location here, and the castle today is used for weddings, classical concerts, and a regular programme of cultural events throughout the year. The walk across the wooden bridge, especially in the early evening when the sun catches the courtyard, is one of the most photographed views in Austria.

Above the town, on a green wooded ridge, the Grünberg Cable Car (Grünbergseilbahn) climbs to 984 metres in just a few minutes. The cable car was originally built in 1957 and was completely rebuilt in 2014, and from its upper terminus the view stretches across the entire Traunsee, the Traunstein, and the long line of the Höllengebirge mountains. The summit is the starting point for the Treetop Walk Salzkammergut (Baumwipfelpfad Salzkammergut), a 1,400-metre wooden walkway that winds through the upper canopy of the surrounding forest and ends at a 39-metre observation tower with a 75-metre tunnel slide back down for children. Around 20 kilometres of marked hiking trails branch out across the upper plateau, ranging from the easy circular path around the Grünberg Alm and the Laudachsee lake to longer climbs toward the Traunstein. For travellers who would prefer to skip the ascent on foot, the cable car alone is the easiest and most rewarding way to take in the lake from above.

Gmunden’s main railway station sits at the western edge of the town, around two kilometres from the historic centre and Rathausplatz. The most enjoyable way to bridge the distance is the historic Gmunden Tram (Traunseetram), which has been running between the main station and the lakeside since 1894 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. The tram now continues across the river to the Klosterplatz and links up with the Traunsee Tram for connections further around the lake. By bike, the same route can be covered in around ten minutes along flat, signposted streets. Once in the centre, Rathausplatz, the Esplanade, the bridge to Ort Castle, and the valley station of the Grünberg cable car are all within easy walking distance of each other. Bike racks are available at the main station for shorter stops, and the entire lakeshore is criss-crossed by signposted cycle paths for travellers wanting to extend the visit by bike along the lake. For onward travel, the same line connects back toward Linz and the wider Danube region, so Gmunden works equally well as a one-day excursion or as a longer overnight detour from the EuroVelo 6.