Wolfgangsee

The Wolfgangsee to the southeast of Salzburg - 10km/6mi long, 2km/1.25mi wide and up to 114m/375ft deep - is the best known lake in the Salzkammergut. Also known to the locals as the Abersee, it is surrounded by wooded slopes and finely shaped hills - to the north the Schafberg, rearing up above the steep Falkensteinwand, and above St Gilgen the Zwölferhorn. The road from St Gilgen to Bad Ischl skirts the southern side of the lake, with a road to St Wolfgang branching off at Strobl. The northwestern shores, with their sheer cliffs, are almost inaccessible. The lake offers facilities for all kinds of water sports: swimming, "electro-boats", rowing, waterskiing, surfing, sailing (sailing schools in St Gilgen and St Wolfgang), fishing; there is a waterski show in St Gilgen once a week, usually in the evening.