Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg is a beautiful city in the mountains of Austria famous for Mozart and the Sound of Music. You should allow yourself one day here. Everything is within walking distance. For more information about Austria, see my post on Vienna.

Parks

Mirabell Palace Gardens – although the palace itself is used for government offices, it is still possible to look inside at the impressive baroque angel staircase. You can also visit the gardens for free. At night, the fountains are lit up which is especially beautiful.

Castles

Festung Hohensalzburg – Salzburg’s castle is situated on top of a hill which has pedestrian or funicular access. It is at an altitude of 506 metres, and was commissioned by the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg. It is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe and the biggest preserved one in central Europe. It was first built in 1077 and the appearance we recognise today was created in 1500. If you get a classic entrance ticket you will be able to go into the museum about the castle, the armoury museum, the puppetry museum, the viewing tower, and the chapel.

Religious buildings

Churches of Salzburg – although I don’t necessarily recommend paying to go inside the city’s churches, there are three which are particularly beautiful to see from the outside. These include Salzburg cathedral, Kollegienkirche and Franziskanerkirche.

Notable areas

Salzach river – it is very scenic to take a stroll along the Salzach river and look at the blue roofs of Salzburg old town.

Notable squares

Squares surrounding Salzburg cathedral – the squares around the cathedral are the prettiest in Salzburg. These include Residenplatz, Mozartplatz, Domplatz and Kapitelplatz. You will find lots of eateries to dine in here.

Getreidegasse – For souvenirs and cute places to buy food, look no further than Getreidegasse. This is famous for its iron guild signs protruding from its shops, for being the birthplace of Mozart (which you can visit if you pay), and finally for the old town hall.

Excursions

Werfen Ice Caves – one day trip from Salzburg which I strongly recommend that you do not miss is the Werfen Ice caves. Eisriesenwelt is the world’s largest ice cave and is situated inside the top of the Hochkogel mountain, which means that you get breathtaking views down on the valley below as you make your way up to the cave entrance at 1700 metres above sea level. This cave was first discovered by Anton Posselt-Czorich in 1879 and he went 600 feet into the cave. The true scale of the caves, which are 42 kilometres long, was not discovered until Alexander Von Mork entered in 1913. The first guided tour took place in 1920 and took eight hours; it required travellers to climb with climbing irons. Now, the tours are still somewhat authentic in that every third tourist is given a flame lamp as there is no artificial lighting inside the cave, but the physical adventure is much easier as there are steps and rails throughout. Nevertheless, the caves still require you to be quite fit as you have to take a twenty minute uphill hike from the visitor centre up to the cable car, and then another twenty minute hike from the top of the cable car to the cave entrance, and then, once you are inside the cave, you will also be required to walk 700 steps up and down in order to see all of their incredible ice formations. Be prepared for the mighty blast of wind you will encounter as the cave door opens and the hot air from outside collides with the cold air from inside the cave. Also, wear lots of layers as the temperature is 0 degrees inside this magnificent cave, which is only accessible during the summer months. You can get to Werfen by taking an hour-long train from Salzburg and then a shuttle bus from near the station to the visitor centre; this takes about 20 minutes and comes every 25 minutes.