Things to do in Salzburg

Salzburg was run by prince-archbishops who spent salt money on architecture. What they left is a baroque town of some 236 hectares, on the UNESCO list since 1996. The Salzach cuts it in two.

Both banks of the Salzach

The old town proper sits on the west bank, under the fortress rock. Mirabell and the newer half face it. Footbridges join the two.

• Hohensalzburg — begun in 1077, never taken, the largest intact castle in central Europe.
• Getreidegasse — the wrought-iron guild signs, with Mozart's birthplace at number nine.
• Cathedral and Residenzplatz — the archbishops' stage set, with St Peter's abbey behind.
• Mönchsberg — a lift up the cliff to the modern art museum and the view back down.

Mozart, the film and the salt

Three threads run through nearly everything sold here, and they overlap.

• Mozart — born on Getreidegasse in 1756; the birthplace and the family flat are both museums.
• The Sound of Music — the 1965 film used Mirabell, Leopoldskron and Nonnberg, with the wedding church out at Mondsee.
• Salt — the trade that named the town and paid for it, still walked at the Hallein mine.
• Hellbrunn — a pleasure villa of 1613, whose trick fountains soaked the guests.

The formats follow the threads. A self-guided quest costs a few euros and a group walk of the old town about thirty. A private half-day into the mountains runs several hundred.

The lake country beyond

Salzburg stands at the mouth of the Salzkammergut.

• Hallstatt — seventy kilometres east, the lake village with a salt mine and skywalk above it.
• Mondsee and St Gilgen — the nearer lakes, paired in one afternoon.
• Wolfgangsee — the boats across it and the cog railway up the Schafberg.
• Dachstein and Gosausee — the glacier and the lake under it, a full day.
• Berchtesgaden — half an hour into Bavaria, for the salt mine and the mountain road.

Practical

• Rain. Salzburg takes close to 1,200 millimetres a year, and June is the wettest month. Bring a shell, not an umbrella.
• Season. The festival has filled the town from mid-July to late August since 1920. May, June and September are calmer.
• Getting in. The airport is four kilometres out; Munich is 150 kilometres north-west.
• Distances. The old town is crossed on foot in twenty minutes. Everything past it wants a car or a train.
• The fortress. A funicular climbs from Festungsgasse; the footpath takes about fifteen minutes.
• Money. Cards work in most places, but small taverns still prefer cash.
• Booking ahead. Festival tickets go months ahead; the film coaches fill in summer.