Hall in Tirol and the Hasegg Mint

Hall in Tirol is a medieval salt-trading town about 10 km east of Innsbruck in the Austrian state of Tyrol. A regional S-Bahn train or VVT bus from Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof takes about 10-15 minutes, with trains roughly every 30 minutes and buses several times an hour, at about EUR 3-5. Because the journey is so short, the town suits a half-day outing and combines easily with a morning in Innsbruck or an afternoon at nearby Wattens.

The pedestrian Old Town is among the best-preserved in Tyrol, with narrow lanes, pastel burgher houses, the Upper Square (Oberer Stadtplatz) and the late-Gothic parish church of St. Nicholas. Its wealth came from salt mined in the mountains to the north, and later from silver coinage. The anchor sight is Burg Hasegg at Burg Hasegg 6, a castle complex that houses the Hall Mint. Its Mint Tower (Münzerturm) is associated with the first minting of the Thaler coin, the forerunner of the word dollar, and visitors can climb the tower for views over the roofs and strike a coin themselves in the museum's workshop.

A sensible day plan is to arrive mid-morning, walk the Old Town from the station or bus stop in about 15-20 minutes, and visit the mint and tower before lunch. Afternoons suit a coffee and cake stop in one of the old-town cafes and a stroll along the lanes. Local inns serve Tyrolean dishes such as Kasnocken and Tiroler Gröstl, and the town has several bakeries for a light stop.

April to October offers the most pleasant walking weather, with outdoor terraces open. In December the Old Town hosts a Christmas market that gives a smaller and calmer alternative to Innsbruck's. The town centre is compact and flat, so the visit requires little exertion. Opening hours for the mint and the museum vary by season, so checking the Hall-Wattens tourist information site before travelling is advisable. Hall can also be paired with Swarovski Kristallwelten, as both lie on the same eastern side of the Inn valley.