August is the month of superlatives in Zell am See-Kaprun, in both the good and the demanding sense. Lake Zell reaches its warmest readings of the year, the alpine huts are at their best, the events programme is dense. At the same time it is the month when the greatest number of people are here at once. Knowing both makes the difference between a harried and a successful August holiday.<\/p>\n
On average, valley highs sit at about 22 degrees with nights around 10 degrees. August is therefore similar in warmth to July, but the water temperature of Lake Zell is higher because the lake has been warming all summer. Readings of around 23 degrees are normal. Details in water temperature of Lake Zell.<\/p>\n
The thunderstorm rule applies in August too: mountain tours belong in the morning. Towards the end of the month the nights turn noticeably cooler and the air becomes clearer, which improves long-distance visibility.<\/p>\n
There is a marked difference within August itself. In the first half, summer holidays from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries overlap almost completely. In the last week of August the holiday period has already ended in some regions while the weather is still summery. If you have the choice, take the last week.<\/p>\n
Around 15 August there is also a public holiday, which brings additional day visitors. What is open on public holidays and what is not is set out in public holidays and opening times.<\/p>\n
August is the best time for walks between alpine huts. Every staffed hut is open, the paths are snow-free right up to high altitude, and the combination of walking and stopping to eat works perfectly. Starting points under safe alpine pastures<\/a>, hiking in Zell am See-Kaprun<\/a> and the Hohe Tauern Panorama Trail<\/a>. For guided walks, see guided walks<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the region\u2019s peculiarities shows especially clearly in August: you can stand in snow on the Kitzsteinhorn<\/a> in the morning and swim in a 23-degree lake in the afternoon. The glacier in summer<\/a> and the Gipfelwelt 3000<\/a> make that possible without alpine equipment.<\/p>\n August is the right choice for families with school-age children, for swimmers, and for anyone who wants the alpine pastures and high mountains at their best. If you want quiet, bring the trip forward to September: almost identical walking weather, far fewer people. The wider frame is in the summer guide<\/a> and the week-long itinerary<\/a>.<\/p>\n August has the densest events calendar of the year here, and it splits into three kinds of thing. There are the weekly fixtures<\/strong> that repeat all summer, so whichever week you come, you will catch them. There are the fixed-date highlights<\/strong> that only happen once \u2014 and if your week contains one, it is worth building an evening around. And there is the 15 August block<\/strong>, Assumption Day, which is a public holiday in Austria and the busiest single day of the Zell am See-Kaprun summer.<\/p>\n The practical consequence: you do not need to plan the whole holiday around events, but you should check two or three dates before you book restaurants for particular evenings. A concert night or a lake show changes where everyone in town will be.<\/p>\n The Zeller Seezauber is the show that most defines a Zell am See summer evening \u2014 water fountains, light and music on the lake itself, watched from the Esplanade and the lakeside promenade. It runs in several editions through the summer, each with its own musical theme rather than being one repeated show.<\/p>\n Two things worth knowing. The evening shows start late \u2014 typically around 21:30, once it is properly dark \u2014 so they are a genuine late night for younger children. And the good viewing positions along the Esplanade fill well before the start, so arriving thirty minutes early is the difference between watching the lake and watching the back of someone’s head.<\/p>\n The Zell Summer Night Festival<\/a> takes over the pedestrian zone in the town centre for one evening in mid-August. It is the town’s own street festival rather than a tourist production: music on several small stages, the shops and restaurants open late, and the streets closed to traffic.<\/p>\n If your week includes it, this is the evening to stay in town rather than heading up a mountain. It is also the one night when booking a table on the Stadtplatz genuinely matters \u2014 walk-in seating in the pedestrian zone effectively disappears. Come on foot or by bus: the central car parks are the first to fill, and see parking in Zell am See<\/a> for where to leave a car instead.<\/p>\n Assumption Day is a public holiday across Austria, and in this valley it carries two of the most genuinely local events of the year, both on the same day.<\/p>\n The Kapruner Dorffest<\/a> is Kaprun’s village festival: the whole place turns out, with brass music, food stalls run by local clubs and an afternoon that runs long into the evening. It is the least touristic large event of the Kaprun summer.<\/p>\n In Zell am See, the Kirchweihtanzl of the Zeller Tresterer<\/a> is something rarer. The Tresterer are a Pinzgau dance tradition \u2014 a stamping dance in elaborate costume, normally associated with the winter carnival period, performed here at the church consecration festival. This is living regional heritage rather than a display put on for visitors, and it is worth going out of your way for.<\/p>\n Plan around the holiday itself: shops close, the roads to the well-known destinations are at their fullest, and the mountain lifts run holiday-weekend loads. See public holidays and opening times<\/a> before you build a day around shopping or a supermarket run.<\/p>\n Two quite different concert traditions run in parallel through August, and both are inexpensive or free.<\/p>\n The band concerts<\/strong> are the local one. The Zell am See town band<\/a> and the Kaprun brass band<\/a> play open-air at the music pavilions, and there are further open-air concerts in Sch\u00fcttdorf<\/a>. These are free, last about an hour and a half, and are the most reliably pleasant way to spend an early evening.<\/p>\n The Zeller Sommerkonzerte<\/strong> are the chamber music series, and the standard is considerably higher than a resort concert programme suggests \u2014 ensembles such as the Minetti Quartet<\/a> and the Eggner Trio<\/a>, alongside a Mozart and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k master concert<\/a> and the Mozart Next Gen festival orchestra<\/a>. These do sell out; book rather than turning up.<\/p>\n For something less formal, there is musical cabaret at POSTart<\/a>, and the Silent Cinema open-air screening at the Kaprun power station<\/a>, where the audience listens through headphones \u2014 an unusually good use of an industrial setting.<\/p>\n The weekly rhythm is easy to plan around because it repeats. The weekly market on the Stadtplatz<\/a> in Zell am See and the Schmankerlmarkt at the Kirchbichl<\/a> in Kaprun both run on set mornings, and the Kaprun market is the better of the two for regional produce to take home.<\/p>\n After dark, the Sigmund Thun Gorge is lit for the Gorge Lights<\/a> and the Magical Night of Water<\/a> \u2014 the gorge is impressive by day and genuinely different by night. Bring a warm layer; it is markedly colder in there than in the valley.<\/p>\n For families, August has a run of dedicated days: castle adventure days<\/a> and children’s cinema at Burg Kaprun<\/a>, and the steam train through the Pinzgau<\/a>, which reliably works better with children than its description suggests. More wet-weather options are in our rainy day with children<\/a> guide.<\/p>\n Two that reward an early alarm: Hike’n’Brunch on the Schmittenh\u00f6he<\/a>, which starts before dawn for sunrise at the top, and the nature theme days at the Mooserboden reservoir<\/a> high above Kaprun.<\/p>\n Dates shift by a few days from year to year, and the smaller events are confirmed only a few weeks ahead. The reliable approach is to check the current listings once your travel dates are fixed, and again in the week before you leave.<\/p>\n Our events calendar<\/a> carries the current entries with times and venues for each one. For the seasonal picture \u2014 what the month feels like, what is open, when to come \u2014 the summer guide<\/a> and the things to do guide<\/a> cover the ground that does not change with the calendar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In August Lake Zell is at its warmest and the region at its busiest. What that means for your planning, when to sidestep the crowds and why the alpine huts are at their best.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[251,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sommer-en","category-zell-am-see-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zellamseekaprun.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Snow and lake on the same day<\/h2>\n
Managing the crowds<\/h2>\n
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Who August suits<\/h2>\n
What is actually on in August<\/h2>\n
The lake shows: Zeller Seezauber<\/h2>\n
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Zell Summer Night Festival<\/h2>\n
15 August: Kapruner Dorffest and the Kirchweihtanzl<\/h2>\n
Concerts, from brass bands to chamber music<\/h2>\n
Markets, gorge evenings and family days<\/h2>\n
Checking the dates for your week<\/h2>\n