AT
Salzburg
The City of Mozart and the Alps
The City of Mozart and the Alps
The Getreidegasse is the finest medieval shopping street in the German-speaking world — the iron guild signs hanging above the doorways (each a work of craftsmanship in its own right), the 14th to 17th-century burgher houses, and Mozart’s Birthplace (No. 9; €12; the most visited room in Salzburg) concentrated in a 400m pedestrian lane.
💡 Hohensalzburg Fortress (€15.50; funicular included) in the late afternoon — the Salzach River turns gold below and the city lies in the long evening light. The fortress interior takes 90 minutes.
The Hohensalzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg; founded 1077; the best-preserved medieval castle in Central Europe; €15.50 including the funicular; the State Rooms, the Marionette Museum, and the panoramic terrace) is visible from every point in the Salzburg basin and dominates the city from its 120m cliff above the Old Town.
💡 Getreidegasse at 7am (before the tour groups; Mozart’s Birthplace at No. 9; €12) has the iron guild signs and the most visited room in Salzburg to yourself.
Mirabell Palace and Gardens (the 1727 palace; the marble staircase; the Marble Hall — the finest concert hall in Salzburg, used by the young Mozart; the formal garden used in The Sound of Music) are the finest free garden experience in Salzburg and the most photographed location from the film.
💡 Mirabell Gardens at dawn (free; The Sound of Music steps; the Fortress pink in the early light behind the fountain) is the finest free dawn experience in Salzburg.
Hellbrunn Palace (5km south; €14 for the trick fountains tour; the 1615 pleasure palace of Archbishop Markus Sittikus; the finest Baroque garden trick waterworks in the world; the stone theatre — the oldest outdoor stage in the German-speaking world still in use; the summer pavilion from The Sound of Music) is the finest half-day excursion from Salzburg.
💡 St Peter’s Cemetery (free; the oldest continuously used cemetery in Austria; Mozart’s family buried here; the rock-face catacombs free to enter) is the finest 30 free minutes in Salzburg.
Salzburg cuisine is a refined version of Austrian alpine cooking: the Wiener Schnitzel (€ 16–26; at Gasthof Zum Wilden Mann on the Getreidegasse for the most traditionally served version), the Salzburg Nockerl (the monumental soufflé dessert representing the three Salzburg mountains — the Göll, the Watzmann and the Untersberg — in three gilded peaks of sweet egg soufflé baked in the cast-iron pan and served immediately; € 14–18 to share between two; a 15-min advance order; the most specifically Salzburg dessert), and the Bosna (the Salzburg street sausage — the white sausage in the baguette with onion and curry sauce and mustard; the most characteristic Salzburg street food; the original Bosna stand in the Getreidegasse passage at € 3–5 — open since the 1950s) define the Salzburg food identity. The Augustinerbräu beer hall (the Augustinergasse 4; the most atmospheric beer hall in Salzburg; the self-service monastery brewery beer in the stone stein; € 4–7 per litre; the chestnut beer garden in summer; the indoor vaulted hall in winter) is the finest beer experience in Salzburg.
The Salzburg Festival (late July–August; Grosses Festspielhaus and Felsenreitschule) sells tickets from November for the following summer.
The Getreidegasse (the narrow shopping street with the iron guild signs hanging above the doors) is best before 8am.
The Salzburg Festival (July–August; the finest classical music festival in the world; main programme tickets from €15 to €430; Stehplatz for the Great Hall from €19) books out within hours of its January opening.
The St Peter’s Cemetery (Petersfriedhof; free; the oldest continuously used cemetery in Austria; Mozart’s sister and father buried here; the rock-face catacombs behind the graves are free to enter) is the finest 30 minutes free of charge in Salzburg.
May–Jun and Sep for the best weather and manageable crowds. Jul–Aug: the Festival (spectacular but expensive; book 6–12 months ahead). Dec: the most photogenic Christmas market in Austria.
Day 1: Old town, Mozart Birthplace, the Getreidegasse, the Cathedral, the Fortress. Day 2: Mirabell Garden, Hellbrunn trick fountains, and the Lake District.
Old Town at 7am (Getreidegasse; the iron guild signs). Mozart’s Birthplace (€12; 9am; the first floor bedroom). Cathedral and DomQuartier (€13 combined). Hohensalzburg Fortress in the late afternoon (€15.50; the sunset from the terrace).
💡 The Salzburg Festival (July–August) is announced in January — the Stehplatz for the Grosses Festspielhaus (€19) are the only tickets reliably available without 12 months’ advance booking. Book on the January announcement day.
Mirabell Gardens at dawn (free; The Sound of Music steps). St Peter’s Cemetery (free; Mozart’s family graves; the catacombs). Hellbrunn trick fountains (5km south; €14). Stiftskellar St Peter for dinner (the Tafelspitz and the Salzburg Nockerl).
💡 The Salzburg Card (24h €31 or 48h €39; includes all major museums, the fortress funicular, and all city buses) is the best-value for a 2-day visit — the museums alone justify the price.
Salzburg is priced between Vienna and Hallstatt. The Salzburg Card (€ 28/24h or € 38/48h) covers all entry fees and transport and is the best value for any 2-day visit. Per person per day.
The Salzburg Card (€ 28/24h; € 38/48h; € 44/72h) covers the Hohensalzburg (€ 16.50), the Hellbrunn (€ 14.50), the Mirabell Palace interior (€ 8), the Residenz (€ 13), all buses, and 25 more sights.
Café Tomaselli (the oldest coffeehouse in Austria, founded 1700; the Alter Markt; the most aristocratic Salzburg morning; the Melange and the Torte at € 8–14; the waiters in the apron uniforms; the outdoor tables on the)
Restaurant Ikarus at Red Bull’s Hangar-7 (the futuristic glass hangar at Salzburg Airport housing a rotating cast of the world’s finest chefs)
ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) for the Salzburg–Hallstatt train booking and the Salzburg–Vienna IC connection.
Free
Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) official ticket booking app for January announcements and waiting list registration.
Free
Salzburg Card digital management for museum entry, fortress funicular access, and city bus travel.
Free
Salzburg restaurant discovery with Old Town, Mirabell, and traditional Austrian Gasthof filtering.
Free
Mozart Birthplace audio guide app for the Getreidegasse museum and the Wohnhaus (Residence).
Free
Download the Salzburg offline map before arrival — the Altstadt’s pedestrian lanes and the path to the fortress require offline navigation.
Free
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