Hallstatt is a village in the Salzkammergut area. It is known for its production of salt, dating back to prehistoric times, and gave its name to the Hallstatt culture, a culture often linked to Celtic, Proto-Celtic, and pre-Illyrian peoples in Early Iron Age Europe, c.800–450 BC. Some of the earliest archaeological evidence for the Celts was found in Hallstatt.
The village also gave its name to the early Iron Age Celtic Hallstatt culture. Hallstatt is a popular tourist attraction owing to its small-town appeal and can be toured on foot in ten minutes.
The Hallstatt Museum has an unrivalled collection of discoveries from the local salt mines and from the cemeteries of Iron Age date near to the mines. The museum is close the Hallstattersee, below the salt mines on the mountainside. The museum, the salt mines, and the Dachstein Ice Cave are designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.