In Bad Ischl you can experience a trace of the former Austrian Empire. This was the holiday resort of Kaiser Franz Josef and his Elisabeth – better known as Sisi. In the Bad Ischl Kaiser villa, the summer residence of the Austrian monarchs you can gain an insight into the luxurious yet popular life style that the regents enjoyed here during their summer breaks. A special tip: Zauner's patisserie, a former supplier to the royal court. Today, pastries and cakes are still prepared using recipes that the Kaiser used to enjoy.

The Imperial town of Bad Ischl is a true holiday paradise The visitor will discover a pretty little town in the middle of the Salzkammergut full of culture and numerous sights that puts it way out in front.

The town of Bad Ischl, with its 14,000 strong population, gained its significant status during the reign of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Salt mining made the area around Ischl economically attractive to the Habsburg regents, and later even the Kaisers made a pilgrimage to this place to benefit from the soothing curative effects of the Bad Ischl salt water.

VIPs used to holiday here: It wasn't just Kaiser Franz Josef and Sisi who came to the spa town for their summer break. The Austrian nobility, the bourgeoisie and countless artists, composers and literary figures also insisted on spending the summer months here.

Even now Bad Ischl has retained much of its imperial charm. The centre of town is almost completely dominated by historic houses. A walk along the magnificent esplanade or a coffee in Zauners traditional patisserie reveals the charms of this town just as it was back in the Kaiser's day.

An overview of Bad Ischl's main sights:

• Kaiser Villa
  Bad Ischl's most famous summer visitor, Kaiser Franz Josef, spent nearly sixty summer holidays in the Biedermeier villa.
• Photographic museum / Marble Palace
  The Marble Palace used to be Empress Elisabeth’s tea house and today houses the State of Upper Austria's Photographic Museum.
• Museum of Vehicles – Technology – Air Travel
  The Museum displays historic motorcycles, cars, helicopters and even aircraft.
• Lehar Villa
  The star of operettas composed 24 of his 30 operettas here.
• Bad Ischl Assembly Rooms
  Elegant ballroom where lavish parties were once held.
• Zauner's patisserie
  Bad Ischl's most famous coffee house. Its specialities: Zauner croissants, Zauner stollen, Zauner wafers and Zauner ring cake