The small village behind me is home to only 800 people yet every year, more than one million tourists visited. It's one of the most popular attractions in Austria. This is Hal Harstad is nestled in the upper Austrian Alps in the idyllic Zazu region. This tiny village is considered one of the top most instagrammable places since 1997. It's also been listed as *** Unesco World Heritage site as part of the Hat Ducks ST landscape. Austria has an excellent railroad network with high speed trains and scenic views. So if you want to travel to halt by train, you can do so from any other Austrian city pretty effortlessly. You'll arrive at Hals where *** ferry is already waiting to pick you up and take you across the lake. The ferry ride is barely 10 minutes but it's like an attraction in itself as it offers unique perspectives to take postcard worthy pictures. Of course, Halstead is also accessible by car. If you're coming by car here, do remember that there are no regular cars allowed inside the Halsted area. You should park your car right outside the village, but don't worry, it's not *** problem because the whole area here is quite small. It will take you only 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other end of because Halstead is so small, you don't have to worry about getting lost. Part of the village's charm are the beautiful traditional wooden houses and narrow alleys with hidden stairways. So you should definitely take the time to explore and discover all the different corners and unique viewpoints. It's *** narrow, but keep in mind that the beautiful town is not just *** tourist attraction but *** place where people live as you enjoy strolling through the narrow streets and along the lakeside, you'll eventually reach the heart of the village, which is almost impossible to miss the Market Square. The historic times, this used to be the main trading center today. You will find many cafes, restaurants, bars, and hotels right here. But Harshad is known for more than just the stunning natural landscape and pretty views. It's also famous for something completely different, something that's sometimes called white gold Salt. The weather can change here very quickly. One day, it's sunny and the other day it's like this raining the whole day. But today would be *** good day to go inside the salt mine. Actually, the Selten Salt Mine is one of the most important attractions. The miners used to take slides like this to get into the mine very fast. The history of 7000 years. It's the oldest salt mine in the world. *** guided tour tells us how salt deposits formed, how people first started mining them and how salt is being extracted. Today, we learned *** lot about salt back there. But there's also an interesting viewpoint here called the World Heritage Skywalk. Behind me, it's 360 m above the rooftops of halt. Wow, what an amazing view. The skywalk gets its name from the 12 m platform that extends from the mountains and appears to be floating in the sky. It provides an amazing bird's eye view of the world heritage site. No wonder the idyllic village of Harshad draws enthusiastic visitors from across the globe.

Tourist hot spot erects fence to deter selfie-takers, control over-tourism

Hallstatt, Austria, is a UNESCO-protected spot and is rumored to have been an inspiration for "Frozen"

Updated: 4:47 AM EDT May 26, 2023

An Austrian village has taken an unusual approach to combating unwelcome tourist behavior. Video above: More about Hallstatt, Austria, and why tourists and social media influencers are drawn to the village. Some people just won't "Let It Go." An Austrian village rumored to have inspired the Disney movie "Frozen" put up a temporary wooden fence this week to deter selfie-takers. Hallstatt's snow-capped mountains, chocolate-box architecture and crystalline waters are catnip to tourists. While the population of this UNESCO-protected spot is fewer than 800 people, it can reportedly attract up to 10,000 visitors a day. Back in 2020, a representative for Hallstatt's tourism board told CNN that they were planning a "focus on quality tourism in the future," and it seems this is just one of many measures they're trying out. The fence was a pilot project and only up for a short time, but as with everything about this much-buzzed-about village, it's attracted plenty of global attention. Video below: In 2020, it was reported that the Austrian village of Hallstatt was overwhelmed with an influx of tourists seeking to snap photos for social media

An Austrian village has taken an unusual approach to combating unwelcome tourist behavior.

Video above: More about Hallstatt, Austria, and why tourists and social media influencers are drawn to the village.

Some people just won't "Let It Go."

An Austrian village rumored to have inspired the Disney movie "Frozen" put up a temporary wooden fence this week to deter selfie-takers.

Hallstatt's snow-capped mountains, chocolate-box architecture and crystalline waters are catnip to tourists. While the population of this UNESCO-protected spot is fewer than 800 people, it can reportedly attract up to 10,000 visitors a day.

Back in 2020, a representative for Hallstatt's tourism board told CNN that they were planning a "focus on quality tourism in the future," and it seems this is just one of many measures they're trying out.

Reinhard Hörmandinger/AFP/Getty Images via CNN

The fence was a pilot project and only up for a short time, but as with everything about this much-buzzed-about village, it's attracted plenty of global attention.

Video below: In 2020, it was reported that the Austrian village of Hallstatt was overwhelmed with an influx of tourists seeking to snap photos for social media