Salzburg is hands down one of the coolest cities in Austria. Former home to eccentric classical music composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this renaissance town built beneath a stunning and well preserved fortress and castle that looms over the city below, offers a great place to spend a long weekend.
Where to Stay in Salzburg
The place we recommend to stay in Salzburg is the Radison Blu Hotel Altstadt. The hotel is located right in the old part of town and is within perfect walking distance of everything you’d want to see in Salzburg. The rooms are comfortable and accommodating. And, a nice benefit is that classical performances of Mozart pieces are performed at least once per week in the hotel’s small concert hall.
Best Things to Do in Salzburg
Visit Hohensalzburg Fortress – Looming over the city is one of Europes best preserved castles and the only fully preserved medieval castle in Central Europe. You can either hike up or take to lift from the center of the Old Town and spend a couple hours exploring the entire fortress. There are fully preserved rooms, museums, classical music halls, a tavern, a restaurant and a couple other cool things to see and do once you get up there.
Visit Hangar7 – Red Bull’s Hangar-7 is a stunning place to stop and check out vintage planes and race cars. Also, within the hanger is Salzburg’s best restaurant, Ikarus.
Have a Meal at Ikarus – This multiple Michelin-starred restaurant is hands down Salzburg’s best restaurant and one of the best restaurants in Austria, let alone Salzburg. As such this meal will set you and your date back a couple hundred bucks. The concept is really cool, though. Every day at Ikarus you have the option to pick from two different tasting menus. They offer their standard seasonal tasting menu and the other menu is a rotating, monthly menu from a visiting Michelin Award Winning chef from elsewhere in Europe. So you can either get Ikarus’ menu which is phenomenal or pick whatever menu is offered by that months visiting chef, who might be a famous chef from a 3 Michelin Star restaurant in Paris or Rome or London. The staff goes above and beyond to make the meal an experience and the view overlooking Hangar-7 is as cool as it gets.
Visit the Stiegl Brewery – The Stiegl Brewery has been privately owned and operated since 1492 and has been run continuously by the Kiener family for the past 120 years. Stiegl has been the biggest and most famous brewery in Austria since at least 1650. Stiegl was also a favorite stop of Salzburg’s favorite son, Mozart. Today, the Stiegl Goldbrau is Austria’s most popular beer. If you’d like to experience this beer you can visit the Stiegl Brewery Museum and take a tour as well as enjoy a tasting or you can head to one of the best beer halls in Austria and grab a pint and some food at Stieglkeller Salzburg overlooking the rooftops of Salzburgs old town center.
Visit Mirabell Gardens – Schloss Mirabell and its surrounding gardens are best known for their role as backdrop to the famous movie, The Sound of Music. Built in 1606 by prince-archbishop Wolf Dietrich, this is one of the most well preserved palaces in Europe as it still hosts some of the most beautiful weddings on Earth. The famous marble hall is widely considered one of the most beautiful wedding halls in the world. In the gardens, you will recognize Pegasus Fountain, made famous during The Sound of Music where the Trapp children run around singing “Do Re Mi.”
Visit Mozart’s Birthplace – Mozarts Geburtshaus (or birth house) is the home in which Mozart was born on January 27, 1756. In this 3-story exhibit you’ll learn about Mozart’s early life, his social, family and home life as well as his career as a wunderkind composer. You’ll also be able to see a number of his instruments. Admission is 12EUR per person.
Take the Cable Car to the Peak of Untersberg Mountain – For the best view of Salzburg and the surrounding Alpine landscape, take the cable car to the top of Untersberg Mountain. Here you can stop at the restaurant located at the mountain station. Hikers may also enjoy visiting Bergrestaurant Hochalm where you can sample their delicious homemade regional specialties. If you plan on hiking, traditional refuge huts, such as the Zeppezauerhaus, also serve refreshments to visitors. While there are numerous clearly marked hiking routes that leave from the mountain station, if you’re not into hiking there are also plenty of deck chairs to lounge in while you enjoy an Austrian beer and take in the scenery.
Visit The Sound of Music Filming Locations: Popular stops include the Dwarf Garden, Sound of Music Gazebo, Trick Fountains, and Lakeside Leopold Palace. Check out this website for an excellent review of these famous filming locations, how to visit them and the best tours to take if you want to book a tour.
Go Shopping on Getreidgasse: This fantastic medieval street is jam packed with cool shops, an active blacksmith shoppe, some of the best schnapps you’ll ever find, biergartens and the fanciest McDonald’s you’ll ever see.
Visit Salzburg’s Famous Beer Halls: The biggest and best beer hall in town is the classic Augustiner Bräustübl Tavern. Boasting a 1,500 seat beer garden and hall this famous beer hall was opened in 1621. The hall is attached to a monk’s brewery where all the beer drank on the premises is brewed. The monks originally arrived in Salzburg from Munich where they established the brewery in 1328 AD. The beer is poured in a self-service manner directly from wooden barrels. It’s definitely a cool thing to enjoy for an afternoon.
For a great breakdown of the best beer taverns, halls and gardens in Salzburg click HERE.
Visit Winkler’s Terrace: Sitting on the top of Monk’s Hill (Mönchstein), you have to make a trip up to Winkler Terrace. A quick cliff-side elevator ride quickly gets you up to the terrace which provides a birds-eye view over Old Town Salzburg. The Terrace was where ‘Do Re Mi’ began in The Sound of Music.
Please enjoy these other photos of the many sites you can see walking around Salzburg’s Old Town
