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Capital of the state of Salzburg, Austria
Photo: Max Dawncat, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Salzburg is a city in Austria, near the border with Germany's Bavaria state, with a population of 157,000 (2020). It was the setting for the 1965 movie The Sound of Music, so you may think you know all there is to see in Salzburg if you have seen the movie. Admittedly, it is difficult not to burst into song when you're walking along the Salzach River, or climbing up to the Hohensalzburg fortress, which looms over the city. But there is a lot more to this compact, courtly city than Julie Andrews and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born here.
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Once the summer palace of the Archbishops of Salzburg it has lots of clever fountains and pretty gardens. When you take the tour stand next to the guide otherwise you will get wet. Hellbrunn is surrounded by vast gardens, including a good children's playground with swings and flying fox (zip wire), and a cold wading pool, and is a perfect place for a picnic or a long walk through the green. In the Steintheater (Stone Theater), the first opera in Middle Europe was conducted. Children and adults alike are amused. There is an excellent and substantial zoo within the grounds.
Festung
On top of a mountain, the Festung offers breathtaking views of Salzburg and the Alps. One area of the fortress offers visitors the chance to look down on a field below to find only one house, the executioner's residence. It was believed to live anywhere near the executioner was bad luck. Inside the fortress is a museum of medieval weapons, life on the fortress, and torture instruments. Public concerts are often held here in the evenings, reservations are recommended. On nights with concerts, it is possible to remain within the walls past dark. To avoid the vertical hike up to the fortress, a funicular is available to ride, for a fee. It's the oldest funicular in Austria.
Various shops in this area are quite old and impressive. For instance have a look at the interior of the pharmacy called Fürsterzbischöfliche Apotheke. No pictures though, this is a pharmacy not a tourist attraction.
Next to the Salzach river and the Mozarteum University of Music and Arts lies a beautiful castle with gardens, built by an archbishop for his beloved courtesan. Watch out for the "Garden of Dwarfs" and the Garden of Roses. Inside, you find the marble stairs of Raffael Donner, and the world's most beautiful wedding hall, the Marble Hall. If you plan to marry there, reservations should be made at least a year in advance. Weddings in English are only held on Tuesday and Friday. If you don't speak German, you can't get married any other day!
Salzburger Dom
In Cathedral Excavations Museum you can see objects excavated from a Roman villa and foundations of the west towers of the Romanesque cathedral both of which stood in the area of today's cathedral.
A long yet narrow street running parallel to the river in the centre of town, with lots of shops, famous for the old (or old-style) signs of profession outside each store.
Sebastiansfriedhof
Holds the graves of Mozart's wife Constanze Weber-Nissen, and the must-see Mausoleum of Archbishop Wolfdietrich.
Petersfriedhof
Perhaps most remarkable are the small catacombs (€2 adults, €1.50 children) carved into the nearby cliff side. Climb up for a couple of small chapels and a nice overlook.
Wasserspiele Hellbrunn
Park with trick fountains.
Benediktinerinnenabtei Nonnberg
Founded around 711/712 by Saint Rupert, the Nonnberg Abbey is the world's oldest continuously operating Christian convent. Situated on a terrace of Salzburg's Festungsberg, it has been a significant religious site for centuries. The abbey church, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, showcases architectural elements from the Romanesque and Gothic periods, with notable frescoes and a prominent tower. Explore the church and the surrounding grounds, which offer insights into the abbey's rich history and spiritual significance.
Mozart's birth house
From 1747 to 1773 the Mozart family lived in this house in the heart of Salzburg, where W.A. Mozart was born on 27 January 1756. The house is now a popular museum devoted to Mozart and his family, with interesting memorabilia and letters. Well worth a quick visit.
Mozart Residence
Mozart’s Residence was reconstructed after being destroyed during World War II and was opened to the public in 1996.
Trying really hard to tell you about Salzburg's history. Blind and partner dogs may be taken to the museum. There are regular guided tours for blind/visually impaired and deaf/hearing impaired people. Call for an appointment. All rooms of the Salzburg Museum in the Neue Residenz are wheelchair accessible. A passenger lift with sufficient door width leads to all floors. In the New Residence there is an induction loop for the hearing aid.
Spielzeugmuseum
Founded in 1978, the Toy Museum has the largest collection in Austria of European toys. The "Kasperltheater" puppet show has been held every Tuesday and Wednesday at 15:00 for the since the early 1990s.
Haus der Natur Salzburg
Science museum in the heart of the city. It offers interactive exhibits covering a wide range of topics, from natural history and geology to physics and astronomy. Highlights include a large collection of local and exotic wildlife, a fascinating look at the universe through the museum's planetarium, and an extensive exhibition on the history of the Earth.
Museum der Moderne Salzburg
Two locations: Wiener Philharmonikergasse 9, and Mönchsberg 32. The Salzburg Museum of Modern Art is on the cliff overlooking the old town. It houses contemporary art works from the 20th and 21st centuries, along with rotating international art displays.
Residence Gallery Salzburg, Domquartier
Art gallery showcasing European paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries. Established in 1923 to revive Salzburg's artistic heritage, the gallery's notable collections include the Czernin Collection, featuring 17th-century Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and French masterpieces, and works from the Schönborn-Buchheim Collection, highlighting Dutch and Italian artists of the same era. Some of the more famous painters include Rembrandt, Carel Fabritius, Carlo Saraceni, and Hieronymus Francken II.
Transportation museum housing the historical Flying Bulls fleet and several historic race cars. The collection itself will not be too spectacular unless you're a race fanatic, but the building itself with its glass domed roof is worth a visit.
Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg
An ancient underground salt mine on the Dürrnberg plateau near Hallein. With a history spanning over 2,600 years, it was instrumental in establishing Salzburg as a significant trading hub. Today, the mine operates as a museum, offering guided tours that include a 400-metre electric train ride into the mountain, wooden slides between levels, and a boat trip across an underground salt lake. Visitors don protective coveralls and explore various tunnels, some dating back to the 15th century. The mine also provides insights into early mining techniques and the lives of Celtic miners.
Brewery museum offering an immersive experience into the world of beer. You can explore interactive exhibits detailing the brewing process, enjoy freshly tapped Stiegl beer in one of the on-site restaurants, and purchase souvenirs from the brewery shop. Guided tours available at 15:00.
Salzburger Freilichtmuseum
The 50-hectare Salzburg Open-Air Museum is located southwest of the city on the Untersberg. The Salzburg Open-Air Museum consists of around 100 original buildings spanning 6 centuries. There are old farms, a brewery, village school, blacksmith shop, power station, old tractors, steam engines and work tools, as well as a historic inn with a cozy garden. Especially on Sundays and public holidays, artisans demonstrate their traditional skills.
This steep hill can be accessed through Linzergasse in the old part of town. Once you're in you're in deep forest. There are several paths that bring you to the top (where the Franziskischlössl fortification stands - today it's a restaurant) via either a paved road -no traffic, though- or a forest track with steps. There are several viewpoints along the way. The views of the city, and the Alps, are spectacular, the air is fresh and it makes for a superb little excursion without leaving the city.
The Untersberg is a striking mountain on the Austria-Germany border, easily accessible from Salzburg. Take the Untersbergbahn cable car to Geiereck peak (1,776 m) for stunning Alpine views. The area offers hiking, climbing, and winter sports, with trails suitable for all levels. Bus 25 connects Salzburg to the cable car station, making it a convenient day trip.
Lammeröfen
A natural canyon carved by the Lammer River near Scheffau am Tennengebirge. This 1 km long gorge features dramatic limestone formations and narrow passages, with a height difference of 43 m. Explore the trail that winds through the gorge, offering stunning views of the rushing river and surrounding cliffs. The trail is accessible for a fee and has been in place since 1884. At both the upper and lower entrances of the gorge, there are guest houses for refreshments.
The zoo is in south Salzburg and is open 365 days a year. It also has a petting zoo for children. There is a restaurant on site serving traditional Austrian dishes.
The mountain is perennially popular with tourists due to its proximity to the city of Salzburg, less than 16 km to the north of the mountain and within easy reach by bus. A variety of paths lead to the top, but most people use the cable car that lifts passengers over 1300m to the Geiereck peak. The cable car runs from the {{station|St Leonhard}} station in the town of Gartenau to the station at the Geiereck peak. Can be reached from Salzburg by taking bus 25 to its terminus station.
Gorgeous hotdogs and great spot to chill by the Salzburg river. The grilled meat sandwich with the Century Sauce (Jahrhundertsoße) is amazing. You can meet the whole world here.
An institution. Recommended are the Leberkäs and the Käsekrainer. Real sausage culture - very tasty. One of the most popular addresses among the people enjoying Salzburg's nightlife to grab a sausage with bread for a midnight snack.
If you want to try Austria's original street food in Salzburg, this is the place to go. Very traditional, very tasty. Service is fast. Everything is delicious.
The Käsekrainer and the warm sauerkraut are delicious. Tasty fries, Bosna and whatever the sausage heart desires. There might be a queue and then it takes some time...
Have roasted chestnuts and a glass of glühwein in the winter season right before you start off to the Christmas Market. Maronibraterei Salzburg
Wilder Mann offers traditional Austrian cuisine. The restaurant provides large portions and friendly-service. Smoking is allowed in the restaurant.
Affordable meals and you support a social project of the town of Salzburg. Very friendly staff, well attended. The meals are good.
A lovely selection of paninis that look really lovely and taste just like Italy. Quality wines and tasty pasta. Recommendation for the antipasti platter.
You feel like you are in a host family who has invited you to dinner in Mexico. You should reserve a table at lunchtime because the restaurant is quite small, which is exactly what makes it so charming. Very friendly service.
A wonderful stop for those who love burgers and fries. Vegetarian options available. Outdoor seating.
A lovely little place completely unexpected in an otherwise unremarkable street. Great concept to select the ingredients for your wok. Very tasty. Also everyone who wants to eat vegetarian is at the right place here.
Great kebab and very good pizza until late at night. Super Bosna. Very nice staff.
Traditional food, traditionally furnished restaurant, rather cheap, fabulous beer from the close by Augustiner Bräu.
Traditional food of high quality, a big selection of salads from the self-service-menu.
Seasonal, regional, and of the highest quality.
A good choice to enjoy "Salzburger Nockerln" as well as "Topfenstrudel". In the middle of its garden full of trees and flowers there´s an old Austrian stagecoach where children can play.
Traditional, yet somewhat updated, Austrian fare. They serve excellent "Kaiserschmnarrn" a "breakfast" (yet really a dessert).
Charming venue featuring wood-paneled restaurants serving regional fare, plus pubs and beer gardens, complete with outdoor seating, a fireplace, and private dining rooms.
Delicious traditional and some not-so-traditional food, vegetarian-friendly, great beer, good atmosphere.
If you seek a special environment for your dinner this is the place, a top-cuisine restaurant and a great bar close to the airport.
Excellent Austrian fare in a romantic intimate setting. Just steps away from the Salzburg Cathedral on Mozart Plaza. A 3-course meal for two people with a bottle of wine was about €90.
Claims to have been opened in 803, and as such the oldest restaurant in the world. Austrian cuisine with some Mediterranean influences in a quite grandiose environment.
Traditional and noble. Great 'Schnitzel'.
Trying the original Sacher-Torte is a must for all chocolate lovers out there. But there's more to Café Sacher than just cake. They also serve delicious hot food at prices cheaper than other touristy places listed here - plus you enjoy the service and ambiance of the Sacher Hotel.
Augustine monks have been brewing here since 1621. Today it's Austria's largest beer hall, with a lovely garden outside when the weather is nice and enormous inside halls when it isn't. Grab a table, a few ceramic steins of Märzenbier beer straight from the barrel, and pick your favorite Austrian dishes from the market-style shops. Or you can bring your own food (not drinks!) if you want.
Guinness, cider, German and Austrian beer as well, occasional live music, and a nice atmosphere. Popular with local university students. Expect the place to be packed on a weekend night.
Bus stop Bräuhausstrasse on line 1. Tour the brewery and museum and have a Stiegl in the brewery's own pub and beer garden. The tour costs €9 and it includes three 20cl drinks and a gift.
The Stieglkeller is open from May to September. It offers a small choice of traditional dishes, Stiegl beers, Radler and other drinks. It is most recommendable for its fantastic panoramic view over the city. The lower terrace is with service, though you are expected to consume food there. The upper two terraces are self-service areas.
Everyone goes here. Great bartenders. Open late for real drinkers.
Located in one of Salzburg's most historic breweries, this is where all the locals hang out. It's best to make reservations Wednesday through Saturday as it can get crowded. They also serve treats from Bavaria and Salzburg!
Alter Markt 9. A traditional Viennese coffee house, the oldest in Salzburg. Try the Einspänner and Sacher cake!
Legendary Viennese coffee house with terrace overlooking the river Salzach and the city, where artists and businessmen alike (and yes, tourists as well) sip a "Kleiner Brauner" and discuss last evening's Festival-performance.
Exquisite pastries, and the place to buy the original Mozartkugel, invented by confectioner Paul Fürst in 1884.
A modern café with good breakfast, and a variety of cultural events (Jazz Brunch, Clubbing, special theme parties at night). Turns into one of the most popular places to be during night.
Art café with good Chinese cuisine, cheap lunch menu during the week.
A tiny bakery with a tasty selection of sweets and snacks, and serves cheap breakfast, even though there is only one table. Try the Berger chocolates.
A funky, modern café with decoration inspired by urban African style. Offers a variety of unconventional and great food and drinks.
Excellent coffee (try the Wiener Melange if you like your cappuccinos) and great cakes and desserts. The Sacher-Torte hardly requires an introduction. But there are more cakes and tortes. The Strudel is great, and if you have a big appetite the Kaiserschmarrn (huge pancake-like dessert with plum confit and lots of sugar!) will not disappoint you. And it's not as expensive as you might imagine given this is a 5-star hotel. In fact, you'll spend the same, if not more, in any other café in the old part of town.
Decent sized site with a pool, shop, washing facilities, and on a bus route. By car via A1 Salzburg-Wien (Vienna), exit Salzburg-Nord. Follow signs to Nord-Sam after the traffic lights. Takes about 20 minutes to get into the city and is in a peaceful residential area with a supermarket (Spar) a short walk away.
This family-run hotel is located within walking distance of the Mirabell Castle and Gardens. Breakfast is included, and is served 07:00-12:00. There is also free Internet access.
Renovated hostel. Breakfast and linens included. Amenities included: internet, café/bar, and a common room. The Sound of Music is shown nightly at 20:00 in the common room.
The Youth Hotel offers guests clean rooms at reasonable prices. They also show The Sound of Music every morning at 10:30.
This hostel has 156 beds and a fitness room.
24 rooms all with an attached washroom and Internet access.
The hostel is open 365 days a year, and offers its guests Internet and a TV room. Most of the rooms have an attached washroom. Prices start from €16.
The hostel is opened from 13 July till 6 September and offers wide range of facilities, great location and superb prices starting from €21.
Rooms for couples, groups and families for very cheap rates. Close to the main train station.
Edge of old town in a building constructed in 1380, the plumbing is slightly more modern.
The hotel is open from 1 July to 30 September and has 69 non-smoking rooms en-suite with hairdryer, flat-TV with cable access, telephone and free internet, 1 handicapped accessible room, breakfast buffet and breakfast room with a panorama terrace overlooking the rooftops of Salzburg, lift, lobby with seating, parking (extra charge), luggage storage, concierge service.
Located in the southern section of Salzburg, this hotel has 48 rooms and 28 apartments. Rooms start from €75 and include breakfast.
The hotel has rooms decorated in a classic style. Each room has a private bathroom and minibar. The hotel also offers its guests an organic breakfast buffet. Rooms start from €75 and vary according to season.
Quietly located on a slope of the Kapuzinerberg this Hotel Garni "House Arenberg" offers a special kind of stay. The view of the City with its breathtaking mountain panorama as well as the sophisticated atmosphere of the Salzburgian lifestyle give the feeling of country-live in the midst of the city.
A small family-run bed & breakfast, very close to the train station. The hotel offers free wireless internet and bike rentals. 24-hour reception.
Part of the Golden Tulip chain but with an independent feel, this hotel is just off the Linzergasse, close to all old town sights and a pleasant 5-10 min walk into the city centre. Free mulled wine, a fantastic rooftop sauna/spa/winter garden complex (also free) and free wi-fi internet access all over the hotel. Breakfast buffet included and served until 11:00.
Family-run three-star hotel just off the Linzergasse, close to all old town sights. Hosts are exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable. Breakfast buffet included.
Family-run hotel, set in a central location, with spacious rooms, near the old town, yet surrounded by meadows. Rooms reflecting Salzburg tradition, feature shower (or bath tub), toilet, phone, satellite TV and radio. Some rooms have balcony with view of Salzburg Castle.Car park right in front of the hotel.
This 4-star hotel offers comfortable rooms and is located in the heart of the city. The hotel itself is very modern and offers many amenities to make the stay very comfortable.
Situated in the center of the old town, Hotel Weisse Taube has been owned by the same family for over a hundred years. Now a four star hotel and fully renovated, it has retained the spirit of the 700 year old citizen house.
Very nice hotel set in a central location.
Well furnished rooms. Reasonable breakfast, good service. A little way out of the centre of town. Has parking, some free, mostly paid.
This 65-room hotel is across from the Festival Hall and down the street from Mozart's house. The friendly staff is happy to help with all one's business needs. The hotel also has a 24-hour in-room dining and nightly turndown services.
This hotel is comprised of 24 rooms, each equipped with a minibar and a wireless internet power point. There is also a restaurant on site; reservations are recommended. Prices vary according to the season.
One of Salzburg's most ancient buildings, over 700 years old. The hotel is in a quiet alley off the world-famous Getreidegasse. Over the hotel's 400-year history, its purpose was, and still is, to serve its guests according to the best in Austrian tradition.
Schwärzler Hotel Neutor, known as the artists' meeting place, is located close to the city center. Breakfast is served until 13:00 in your room or until 15:00 in the hotel's 'Artist Cafe.'.
Hotel Hölle is comprised of 15 rooms, and is on the edge of the city center. The hotel has various sized rooms to suite your level of comfort. The on site restaurant, À la Carte, serves the best of Austrian cuisine, and is open daily from 08:00-12:00.
- On the green outskirts of the city, just about an 8 km drive from Salzburg’s historic heart, you will find the Romantik Hotel Gmachl, the oldest family-run establishment in all of Austria (established in 1334). The hotel offers 35 luxurious rooms, an accredited restaurant and an exclusive Spa & Beauty area, boasting a bio-sauna, infrared cabin, aroma steam bath, fitness room, mist grotto, tanning studio and an outdoor pool heated year-round.
Hotel Bergrose is a very romantic hotel at the legendary Wolfgangsee close to Salzburg.
5 Stars. Very comfortable, in a traditional building of Salzburg's old town. Breakfast is also really good.
Indoor shopping mall. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a good place to take refuge if the weather is poor.
By train
Salzburg's train station, the Hauptbahnhof, is north of the Salzach River within the New Town of Salzburg.
By bus
By car
Salzburg is well connected to Vienna (Wien) and Munich (München), Germany via the autobahns A8 (Munich - Salzburg) and A1 (Salzburg - Vienna).
Salzburg Card
Depending on how long you want to stay in Salzburg and how much you want to pack into one day, the Salzburg Card could be a good investment, it includes:
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