Klopeiner See, Austrian Alps, Austria

5ChristosAnesti 5:00 PM Feb 25, 2017

How has this place failed to change
By growing up there it is always and excitement coming back after years. And it was just amazing how this lake has not lost its charm. A great place for kids - in winter for skating and in summer for swimming.

4Tim D 5:00 PM Sep 1, 2014

Friendly resort with plenty to do.
This is an Austrian lakeside resort at the foot of the alps. A walk around the lake is pleasant and is about an hour's stroll. The majority of visitors are Austrian or German but many come from all over the world and speaking only English will not be a problem here. It is popular with a large variety of holidaymakers, couples young and old, families of all age groups and groups of friends. I saw there were more than a few groups of well behaved 10--15 year old unaccompanied groups, which indicated to me that parents find the resort safe for children to have their own independence. Overall the atmosphere was touristy but friendly. There are plenty of things to do here: - holiday activities like swimming, crazy golf and wind surfing, - leisure activities such as walks (through woods, up surrounding hills with views over the lakes and more challenging hikes in the mountains), cycling and climbing, as well as -visitor attractions eg museums, castles, stalagmite caves and boat trips on the nearby . Our favourite was a walk around Sablatnig Moor Nature Reserve (south east of the lake). We travelled to Klopeinersee via public transport and did find that some activities away from Klopeinersee were not realistic without private transport and the busses serve the locals and are not so practical for tourist activities. There are some organised day/half day tours that start at the tourist information centre so if you are without transport it is worth calling into the tourist info centre to see what is available. We found their advice was very helpful and honest. Supermarkets and pharmacies are in Sankt Kanzian a 15 minute walk along a busy road from Klopeinersee resort centre, so this requires a specific trip rather than "just popping out to the shops". Holiday stuff such as suncream are available in the resort. The lake has plenty of beaches, but the definition of beach is not what we normally think of. All beaches are lakeside grass and jetties over the lake with sun-loungers. There are some public beaches, which you will need to pay a daily entry charge (typically 4 Euros). A beach may have a sand pit for children to make sandcastles and other child activities. Many hotels have their own private beach which is a distinct advantage. There is no free lakeside beach or parkland access. The lake itself has no motor boats or jet skis which makes it a delight to swim in or to take a pedalo across the lake. The lake has no current and is very calm making it a very safe place for children to swim. Our biggest complaint is that almost every bar and most restaurants plays generic music too loudly. The main area has live music on the promenade at weekends, which is "Schlager" music, usually one or two musicians with canned backing music, singing covers of famous German sing-along songs. I recommend choosing a hotel away from the central (north west) corner of the lake so that you can choose if and when you want to hear this music.