Seeboden, Austria

SEEBODEN is a bustling little resort town at the western end of Millstättersee – even though the only attraction is the lakefront, and the hotels that serve it. There's a big municipal Strandbad at the northeast end of town, otherwise visitors tend to head for the village of TREFFLING in the hills to the north, where Burg Sommeregg provides a home for the popular Foltermuseum, or Museum of Torture (daily: May– June & Sept– Oct 10am–6pm; July & Aug 10am–8pm; € 7; Web: www.folter.at ), which is about a 45-minute walk from the centre of Seeboden – head out of town on the Spittal road and turn right when you see the sign for Treffling. With its flashy lighting and grisly tableaux, the museum goes for titillation rather than education, though a display detailing the good works of Amnesty International is prominently situated near the entrance, suggesting some moral purpose to the collection. Before Maria Theresia and her son Josef II (who appear here in wax form) began the slow process of reform, torture had been a standard means of extracting confessions in Austria as elsewhere; methods illustrated here include the Saw, popularized by the Spanish Inquisition, which sliced people in half from the rump upwards, and the Iron Maiden, a metal human-shaped cabinet with sharp spikes on the inside, into which suspected miscreants were placed. Also on show are examples of the grotesque, animal-like Schandmasken, or "masks of shame", which petty criminals were forced to wear before being paraded through the streets.

Spittal– Millstatt buses drop off near the tourist office, at Hauptstr 93 (daily: April, May & Oct 9am–6pm; June– Sept 9am–7pm; Nov– March 9am–5pm; Tel:04766/3700, Web: www.millstaettersee.at ), which handles information for the whole of the Spittal-Millstattersee region and can book private rooms (Price: € 46–60) and apartments (Price: € 76–90) around the lake. Of the local hotels, the Moserhof at Hauptstr 48 (Tel:04762/81400, Web: www.moserhof.com ; Price: € 111–130) offers attractive snug rooms with spa facilities in the basement. Pension Elizabeth, Steinerstr 43–47 (Tel:04762/81701, Web: www.pension-elisabeth.co.at ; Price: € 61–75), is a mid-priced bargain occupying a traditional, balconied house near the lake, offering rooms with en-suite facilities and TV, and an owner who organizes mushroom-picking hikes; while Landhaus Ginner, just off the main street at Seestr 27 (Tel:04762/81216; Price: € 46–60), offers en-suite doubles and triples in a homely atmosphere. Campsites on the lakefront include Strandcamping Winkler, Seepromenade 33 (Tel:04762/81822, Web: www.tiscover.at/seecampingwinkler ), a big grassy site with bathing area and plenty of sporting activities.

The restaurant of the Moserhof is the best place to sample classic Austrian cuisine; while the Landhaus Ginner's Buschenschenk (May to mid-June & July– Aug; evenings only) serves family-distilled Most (young cider) and schnaps accompanied by traditional cold-meat snacks.

Boats can be rented from numerous shacks along the Seepromenade; while Fliegenpilz, Süduferweg 125, offers a range of sailing and windsurfing courses, as well as renting out boards.