Hallstatt is a small village. Forces of nature have prevented it from growing more. On one side the cliffs of the Alps crowd it and on the other is a beautiful alpine lake. The train station is actually on the other side of the lake from the town. Each train is met with a boat which visitors take to get to and from the village.
We had reservations at a guesthouse recommended in Rick Steve's guidebook. It didn't take long at all to find the Gasthof Simony since Hallstatt is so small. We checked into a gorgeous room with a private bath and a shared balcony (three rooms shared it) overlooking the lake. The furniture was beautifully carved wood. Like most places we stayed, breakfast was included. Cost per night? 900 Austrian Schillings (AS) or less than $60 per night!
The first photo below is of my husband in the main square. We took this photo at 7am. We couldn't sleep so we got up and strolled the town before most people were up. You can visit Hallstatt as a day trip from Salzburg but lots of people do this so mid-day is rather crowded in town. We enjoyed the evenings and the early mornings best.
The major attractions in Hallstatt are the salt mines and the lake. We took a cruise on the lake and also took the funicular up to the salt mines and toured there. We hiked down from the salt mine and encountered a number of wonderful views.
The salt mine tour was a lot of fun. They have you change into miner's clothes and to get down into the mines you slide down banisters. On the tour we met a couple from Colorado. They had checked into our hotel that same morning and were leaving the next day just like us. We rode the train together for a while and shared e-mail addresses, etc. Meeting different people from abroad and home is one of the things we love about traveling via train.