Austria
Salzburg is the small Austrian city that feels like a stage set, and in a way it is one.
A white fortress crowns the cliff above the Salzach, Baroque domes and church towers crowd the old town below, and the narrow Getreidegasse still leads to the yellow house where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756. The prince-archbishops who ruled here for centuries left a cathedral, a palace quarter, the Mirabell gardens and a summer palace at Hellbrunn whose trick fountains still soak unsuspecting visitors, and Hollywood added a second legend in 1965 with The Sound of Music. Beyond the city the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut begin within the hour, with Hallstatt on its lake and centuries-old salt mines in the hills above Hallein. This guide books the tickets, concerts and day trips worth booking, flags the seasonal closures that catch people out, explains when the Salzburg Card pays for itself and matches you to the right hotel, from a riverside grand hotel to a medieval art hotel on the Getreidegasse and a good-value base by the Mirabell gardens.
Hohensalzburg Fortress
The white fortress on the Festungsberg that has watched over Salzburg for more than 950 years, reached by a short funicular ride, with ornate State Rooms, museums, a Magical Theatre and the best panorama of the city and the Alps.
Mozart’s Birthplace
The yellow house at Getreidegasse 9 where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756, now a museum with the family’s third-floor apartment, original letters and portraits, and Mozart’s own childhood violin and clavichord.
Salzburg Old Town and Getreidegasse
The UNESCO-listed Baroque heart of Salzburg: the Getreidegasse with its wrought-iron guild signs, grand squares around the cathedral, St Peter’s and the Residenz, best seen on foot with a guided walk from the Mirabell Gardens.
Salzburg Cathedral and DomQuartier
The early Baroque cathedral where Mozart was baptised, and the DomQuartier circuit that links the prince-archbishops’ State Rooms, the Residenz Gallery, the cathedral organ loft and St Peter’s Museum in one ticket.
The white fortress on the Festungsberg that has watched over Salzburg for more than 950 years, reached by a short funicular ride, with ornate State Rooms, museums, a Magical Theatre and the best panorama of the city and the Alps.
The yellow house at Getreidegasse 9 where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756, now a museum with the family’s third-floor apartment, original letters and portraits, and Mozart’s own childhood violin and clavichord.
The UNESCO-listed Baroque heart of Salzburg: the Getreidegasse with its wrought-iron guild signs, grand squares around the cathedral, St Peter’s and the Residenz, best seen on foot with a guided walk from the Mirabell Gardens.
The early Baroque cathedral where Mozart was baptised, and the DomQuartier circuit that links the prince-archbishops’ State Rooms, the Residenz Gallery, the cathedral organ loft and St Peter’s Museum in one ticket.
Formal Baroque gardens framing the fortress, the Pegasus Fountain and the steps from the Do-Re-Mi scene, and an evening Mozart concert in the palace’s Marble Hall, where the young Mozart once performed.
The classic four-hour coach tour of the film’s locations in and around Salzburg, with a live English-speaking guide, the soundtrack playing on board and the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut from the opening scenes.
A 17th-century pleasure palace on the southern edge of Salzburg, famous for the prince-archbishop’s mischievous trick fountains, with a free park, the Sound of Music gazebo and an Advent market in the courtyard in winter.
A guided half-day trip to Hallstatt, the lakeside village of painted houses beneath the Dachstein mountains, with time for the lakefront, the Bone House and the views from the Skywalk high above the village.
A half-day trip to the Salzwelten salt mine above Hallein, with a mine train ride, wooden miners’ slides, a raft across an underground salt lake and the story of the white gold that made Salzburg rich.
The official city pass for 24, 48 or 72 hours, with one free entry to the fortress, Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence, the DomQuartier, Hellbrunn and more, plus free buses, the fortress funicular and a Salzach cruise.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Right Bank (Salzach riverside)
Salzburg’s historic grand hotel on the banks of the Salzach, opened in 1866, with views of the old town and fortress, the Café Sacher and its Original Sacher-Torte, and a few minutes’ stroll across the river to the Getreidegasse.
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$$$Old Town (Goldgasse)
A small boutique hotel in a centuries-old house on a quiet old town lane between the cathedral and the Getreidegasse, with rooms themed on Mozart operas and the Salzburg Festival, and a traditional Austrian restaurant downstairs.
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$$$Old Town (Getreidegasse)
A house on the Getreidegasse that has welcomed travellers since 1350, now an art hotel with more than 300 original artworks, individually designed rooms, vaulted dining rooms and a Mediterranean garden opposite the Festival halls.
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$$$Right Bank (Staatsbrücke)
An adults-only lifestyle hotel at the Staatsbrücke on the right bank of the Salzach, famous for its seventh-floor Steinterrasse rooftop bar with views over the river, the old town domes and the fortress.
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$Right Bank (Elisabethkai, near Mirabell)
A stylish budget hotel on the Salzach embankment near the Mirabell Gardens, with a Mozart-themed lounge and bar, a riverside terrace with mountain views and compact, well-designed rooms within walking distance of the old town.
Check rates →The practical primer for a first visit to Salzburg: what to book ahead, seasonal closures to plan around, getting around on foot and by bus, and where the fortress, Mozart, the Sound of Music and the lakes fit into two or three days.
How to choose your base in Salzburg, from a riverside grand hotel to a boutique stay on a medieval lane, an art hotel on the Getreidegasse, an adults-only rooftop hotel and a budget design pick by the Mirabell Gardens.
