“Salzburg is nevertheless both a must and a joy.”
-Rick Steves
There’s two things Salzburg are most famous for, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the award winning film and musical The Sound of Music. Renowned for its baroque architecture and picturesque views, Salzburg has got so much more to offer. The city was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1997 and is dominated by historical churches, castles and palaces. Already a breathtaking city brings even more to the table if you visit it during the festive season. We travelled to Salzburg during the Christmas period when the city was buzzing with skiing enthusiasts from around the region, famous Christmas markets, traditional food and hot mulled wine (add a shot of Jägermeister if you are feeling the cold!). Late strolls along the river and across old narrow town streets made Salzburg look even prettier at this time of the year and it simply took my breath away. No matter where you walk or how quiet it was, you always felt incredibly safe and calm. Bright city lights pave the way even when the sun went down.Salzburg is a city with a wonderful arts scene, incredible Austrian food and concert halls that gathers many musical lovers. It is also a home of the Salzburg Festival, which is one of the largest classical musical festivals in the world that has taken place every summer since 1920.
You can separate Salzburg into two parts and they are separated by the Salzach River. The old town is located on the left side of the riverbank with new town set up on the right side. You’ll know you are stepping into a new zone when you cross Makartsteg bridge which is famous for its love locks (and there is a lot of them). We left ours in the mix of it as well hoping that one day we will return & search for it.
Where the best views at? Fortress Hohensalzburg is the place to be if you want to admire the stunning views over the city. It’s the most iconic 900 year old fortress in Salzburg & one of the biggest and best preserved in Europe. It’s a great place to expand your knowledge about Salzburg and its history or just to see the city from the top if history is not your cup of tea. You can walk up to the fortress within 15-minutes from the centre or you could take a speedy ride with the glass funicular. We did the latter and enjoyed the views on the way up. Your purchased ticket next to the funicular would include the ticket to the fortress too.
The Sound of Music fan? Then Mirabell Palace & Gardens should be on your list where you will recognise the Pegasus statue, the gnomes of the Dwarf Garden and the steps where the mini von Trapps were singing their ‘Do-Re-Mi’ song. It’s close to the city’s old town and if you walk along the river, it opens up some beautiful views!
If you visit Salzburg, don’t miss the Getreidegasse street which is the most attractive and most visited shopping street with tiny houses and romantic courtyards. All roads lead to Getreidegasse… almost. There’s a lot of narrow streets you can turn into from there with tiny souvenir shops waiting for you inside. I absolutely loved the concept of shops being set up inside historic buildings with low ceilings, reminding me of the old town of York.
As I’ve already mentioned, Mozart is an important icon of the city. So if you visit Salzburg, you can visit Mozart’s birthplace where the famous musician was born and spent some of his childhood and youth before moving to Mozart Residence on Makartplatz Square. If you are not that into classical music and the history of Mozart, you don’t have to go inside. You can stop for a minute in front of the house, listen to the music coming out of the museum and check out some interesting facts provided just when you step inside the building. The building itself stands out from the crowd and is worth having a sneak peek at. We did not go to the museum itself and don’t massively regret it as it allowed us to do other things (okay, we were slightly more keen eating delicious Leberkäse sandwiches than checking out Mozart’s first violin). However, if you are interested in the life and times of Mozart, then pay those few pounds/euros & find out where the journey started. People say there’s some good things inside!
If you want to finish off your Austrian experience with a good traditional beer-garden, check out Augustiner Bräustübl who was serving people with great beer and traditional food since 1621. It can get loud but it’s an experience you need to tick off your bucket list for sure! What’s better than ending your Austrian holiday with a sausage and a stein? Prost!
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Beautifully written! I love mulled wine at the Christmas markets but I’ve never tried the Jagermeister, so I’ll have to give that a whirl some time!
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Thank you! If you are brave, you could also try a Jagermeister tea but prepare for some serious alcohol kick! I was ill last time we visited my family who lives in Germany & decided to opt-in for tea rather than wine. The only tea they had was a Jagermeister one and god it’s strong… Best wishes, Akvile
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Salzburg looks such a beautiful place, the architecture looks amazing and it seems there is soo much culture there! Austria is definitely on my bucket list now 🙂 thanks for sharing!
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Yay! So glad it’s on your bucket list now. Salzburg is definitely worth a visit. Keep my updated when you go! Best wishes, Akvile
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I think you couldn’t have a picked a better word to describe this city, it is like a fairytale 🙂 ! The architecture and the view from the fortress are awesome
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Thank you, Lyne! I am glad you felt the same way as I did in Salzburg while reading my post! Best wishes, Akvile
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We were just in Vienna but did not make it to Salzburg. Now I wish we had. It’s a beautiful city. I totally understand having a delicious sandwich over a museum!
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You should definitely make another visit and see Salzburg this time. It’s not big but absolutely stunning! Best wishes, Akvile
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I went to Salzburg for the first time this year and was awestruck by its beauty. The snow capped mountains you see just peeking out are amazing. We stayed a bit outside the old town which was great because the residential neighborhoods are really lovely.
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It is a little Austrian fairytale. I absolutely love Salzburg and feel so blessed that my family lives in South Germany so I can always jump on a train & get there within an hour or so!
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Salzburg sounds and look fantastic. I would love to wander the streets and take a stop at Augustiner Braustbul for some food and drink!
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You should definitely plan it in, especially for winter season – it looks spectacular & traditional food is delicious! Best wishes, Akvile
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Very informative. Have you also written something for the area around Salzburg like Hallsatt, Wolfgangsee etc.
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Hi! Apologies I haven’t seen your comment before, I am afraid I haven’t been to Hallstatt or Wolfgangsee as of yet! I will make sure to do it once I visit it. 🙂
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Hi,
We will be going to Budapest via train from Frankfurt in mid January 2019 and we have 2 – 3 days to visit a city that comes in between the route( a little off route can be done). So we are planning to visit Austria. We are confused between Salzburg/Vienna/St. Anton am Arlberg. Would really appreciate any recommendation as we plan to visit just one city. We prefer scenic/beautiful views, strolling the streets and spending evenings at pubs/good restaurants/even authentic local cafe’s for traditional foods. We are open to recommendations to visit any other city better than these as well.
Thank you
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Hi Sahila,
Thanks for coming to my blog! I have never been to St. Anton am Arlberg, so I could not recommend you that. In regards to Salzburg and Vienna – they are both equally gorgeous cities. Vienna is bigger size wise and has more to see (being capital as well). Depending on the time and who you are travelling with (kids/no kids), you probably don’t need 2-3 days for Salzburg as it is pretty small and you would be able to view it quicker. If you are a fan of the Sound of Music, there are plenty of tours to go around and see where the movie was originally filmed. If you stay in Salzburg, you could take a train back to Germany (South part) to Berchtesgaden, which is very close to Salzburg. It has a gorgeous mountain lake and a very beautiful place to have a walk around, scenic views and local restaurants to eat at. That way you could kill 2 birds with one stone or you could even go to Innsbruck (another Austrian city) that has gorgeous views over the city and is famous for the past Olympic games being held there. It’s close distance from Salzburg so within 3 days you would probably be able to do both Salzburg & Innsbruck, depending how much you’d like to see but Innsbruck is a fairytale city, especially in winter – it is gorgeous!
On the other hand, Vienna is on the other side of Austria, meaning you would be much closer to your final destination – Budapest. There’s definitely a lot of things to do and see there, including museums, traditional buildings, cafes. But it is more city trip rather than scenic views I’d say 🙂 You’d need at least 3 days there I would say because it is so big and there’s so much to see! 🙂 So if I were you, I would mix a bit of both and probably go for Salzburg/Innsbruck then followed by Budapest as Budapest will be a very much city trip 🙂
Hope this helps.
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Thank you so much for your valuable recommendation. We will probably go for Salzburg/Innsbruck then. 🙂
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Hi,
Landing in Vienna on 15th Sept,& was confused between heading to Innsbruck or Salzburg, but after reading ur blog, convinced to head towards Salzburg, now the way i had planned was 2 days in each town, what u recommend wt regards to making a day trip somewhere close, since i have 4 days in Salzburg? Also can u recommend a nice place to stay around 75 to 100 euros per nite, places to eat would also be appreciate,we are a couple.regards.
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Hi Asif,
Both Innsbruck & Salzburg are gorgeous. In my opinion, 4 days is too much fro Salzburg only as it is not a big city, you can easily see it in 1-2 days. So if your original plan was to spend 2 days in Salzburg & 2 days in Innsbruck, I would say do that. Because cities are not far from each other and you would have enough time to see them both. If you want to mix it up a bit, very close from Salzburg, on German side is Berchtesgaden, a beautiful Alpine town with a stunning mountain lake and Hitler’s Eagles Nest that provides some breathtaking views on the border of Germany/Austria. There’s a lot to do there too and it is a bit of a change – from city holiday to more of a mountain retreat. We went there with my boyfriend and loved it. You can rent a boat very cheap and go around the lake on your own, or you can jump on one of their bigger boats and get taken around the lake. Truly recommend that, plus there is always activities happening there, in September it will still be warm-ish, so you could do that too. In regards to hotels, they have Motel One in Salzburg, I don’t know if you have ever stayed in one of those but they are popular all around Europe. A budget type hotel, very boutique style, similar but clean and beautiful. So I’d definitely have a look at that. In regards to food, L’Osteria is a lovely pizza place in Salzburg. It’s very central too and you get delicious pizza for a very budget-friendly price. Restaurant Ikarus is good too, so is IMLAUER Sky – Bar & Restaurant for the views above. There are so many places and I like to follow “check where the locals are at” rule. 🙂 Hope this helps. Have a lovely holiday!
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