This is an El Premier guide for the questions that actually decide an Austrian trip: whether Salzburg or Vienna or Innsbruck is the right city, how many days Salzburg needs, where to sleep in it, how to do Hallstatt honestly, and which Salzkammergut lake base fits.
Choose the city first, then the number of days, then the base. Hallstatt and the lakes only make sense after those three decisions are clear.
Salzburg city and the Salzkammergut zones around it: Hallstatt, Bad Ischl, and the Wolfgangsee. It answers the Vienna and Innsbruck comparisons because they are real decisions for a Salzburg traveller — not because it covers those cities.
Vienna and Innsbruck appear only in comparison guides, while Munich has a separate guide atmunichguide.app, and the Austrian Bodensee shore belongs tolakeconstance.app. Use those guides when the trip extends beyond Salzburg and the lakes.
Premier Austria is published by El Premier. Current fares, timetables, opening hours, and operating conditions remain with the official sources linked from each guide.