The first six stops share the left bank of the Salzach, packed so tightly between the river and the rock that you can walk from one to the next in a few minutes. Mirabell and the Kapuzinerberg face them from the right bank, and Hellbrunn and the Untersberg cable car lie south of the city on the same bus line.
Four of the ten cost nothing: the Mirabell gardens, Getreidegasse, St. Peter\'s cemetery and the walk up the Kapuzinerberg. The Salzburg Card gives one free entry to almost everything else, including the fortress funicular, the catacombs and the Mönchsberg lift; the Cathedral is the one paid sight it leaves out.
1Hohensalzburg Fortress
Photo: David Magauer / Pexels, Pexels License
The prince-archbishops began building the fortress in 1077 and kept enlarging it for six centuries, until it covered the whole hilltop. It was never taken by force. Inside the walls are courtyards, a chapel, the fortress museum, the state rooms with their gilded ceilings, and the Salzburger Stier, a barrel organ that has played from the walls since 1502. The best views are from the bastions: the domes of the old town to the north, and the Untersberg and the Alps to the south.
Time
1 h 30 min to 2 h 30 min
Setting
Both
Best time
In the morning in summer, in the afternoon light in winter
Getting there
By the FestungsBahn funicular from Festungsgasse, or on foot up the steep lane from the Kapitelplatz in about 20 minutes
Tip: Ride up and walk down. The lane up is steep and shadeless, while the path down through the Nonnberg quarter or past St. Peter's takes you straight back into the old town. Queues for the funicular are longest in the late morning, so go up early or later in the afternoon.
From October to April open 9.30 am to 5 pm; May to September 8.30 am to 8 pm, museums and state rooms until 7 pm. Easter and Advent weekends until 6 pm.
The early baroque cathedral was consecrated in 1628 and was one of the first of its kind north of the Alps. Its pale marble façade faces Domplatz, and three bronze doors lead into a bright nave under a high dome. Mozart was baptised at the bronze font, which is still in use, and he later worked here as an organist.
Time
30 to 45 min
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Soon after opening, before the first services
Getting there
On foot to Domplatz in the old town
Tip: Sightseeing pauses during services, so check the times on the Cathedral page before you go. In summer, the Salzburg Festival stages Jedermann (Everyman) in front of the façade, and rehearsals can close part of the square.
From 9 am Monday to Saturday, from 1 pm on Sundays and holidays; closing time changes with the month. Preservation fee €7, ages 14 to 18 €3.50, under 14 free.
Benedictine monks have lived here since the late 7th century, making St. Peter's the oldest monastery still active in the German-speaking world. The abbey church was built in the 12th century and remodelled so often since that its Romanesque walls now carry Rococo stucco. Behind it, the cemetery is older still: wrought-iron grave crosses and family crypts crowd around the late-Gothic St. Margaret's Chapel, and arcades line the foot of the cliff. Steps climb from the arcades to the catacombs, chambers carved into the rock of the fortress hill, probably as meeting places for early Christians rather than as tombs.
Time
45 min to 1 h 15 min
Setting
Both
Best time
First thing in the morning, before the guided groups arrive
Getting there
On foot from Kapitelplatz or the Franziskanergasse passage, two minutes from the Cathedral
Tip: The catacomb stairs are steep and narrow, with no lift or ramp, so they do not suit pushchairs or anyone unsteady on their feet. Fans of The Sound of Music will recognise the cemetery from the film. Afterwards, buy a loaf at the abbey's own bakery for a picnic on the Mönchsberg.
Cemetery free, daily from 6.30 am. Catacombs daily from 10 am, closed for half an hour at midday, until 5 pm from October to April and 6 pm from May to September; adults €2, ages 6 to 18 €1.50.
The old town's main shopping street is a narrow canyon of tall houses whose windows get smaller with every floor. What sets it apart are the wrought-iron guild signs hanging over almost every door, still made in the old style even where the shop beneath sells global fashion brands. Many houses are through-houses: arched passages run from the street to a courtyard and out onto the next street. The best known runs from the Schatz house at No. 3 to Universitätsplatz, and has a relief of the Madonna and Child in a dark corner.
Time
30 min to 1 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Before 10 am, or in the evening once the shops have closed
Getting there
On foot, from the Rathaus end of the old town west towards the Mönchsberg lift
Tip: By late morning the street is shoulder to shoulder, so take the through-houses: they are quieter, often lined with small galleries, and let you cut across to Universitätsplatz. Look up, not just into the shop windows. Many façades carry the year the house was built, the names of former owners or the eye of God.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 in the third-floor flat at Getreidegasse 9, and his family lived there for 26 years. The rooms now hold his childhood violin, portraits and letters, and the exhibition gives a good picture of everyday life for a musician's family in 18th-century Salzburg.
Time
45 min to 1 h 15 min
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Right at opening, or in the last hour before closing
Getting there
On foot to Getreidegasse 9 in the old town
Tip: The rooms are small and fill up quickly when tour groups arrive in the late morning. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. The family's later home, the Mozart Residence on Makartplatz across the river, is also covered by the Salzburg Card and is usually quieter.
Daily 9 am to 5.30 pm. Adults €18, ages 6 to 14 €6, 15 to 18 €7, under 6 free.
6Mönchsberg: lift, viewpoints and the Museum der Moderne
Photo: werdepate / Pixabay, Pixabay License
The Mönchsberg is the cliff that closes off the old town to the west, and its top is a long, wooded ridge with footpaths and some of the best views of Salzburg. The MönchsbergAufzug, a lift running since 1890, takes half a minute to rise from Anton-Neumayr-Platz to the terrace beside the Museum der Moderne. The museum shows modern and contemporary art and photography, and its terrace looks straight across the domes to the fortress. Walk a few minutes along the edge and the view opens over Mülln and the Salzach.
Time
1 h to 2 h 30 min, with the museum
Setting
Both
Best time
In the morning for the view, at sunset for the light on the domes
Getting there
By the lift from Anton-Neumayr-Platz, at the west end of Getreidegasse
Tip: The lift is not part of public transport, so the Guest Mobility Ticket does not cover it; buy a ticket at the valley station or use the Salzburg Card. A woodland path runs along the top to the fortress, a shady alternative to the funicular queue on a hot day. In July and August the lift runs until 11 pm, late enough for the city lights.
Lift daily 8 am to 9 pm, Mondays to 7 pm; up and down €4.80, ages 6 to 14 €2.20, with museum entry €17. Museum Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm.
Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich built the palace in 1606 for Salome Alt, the mother of his children. The baroque gardens in front of it are laid out so that the main axis points straight at the Cathedral and the fortress. Look out for the Pegasus fountain, the dwarf garden with its stone figures and the hedge tunnel, all of which appear in the Do-Re-Mi scene of The Sound of Music.
Time
30 min to 1 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Early morning, when the fortress is in sunlight
Getting there
From the old town over the Makartsteg footbridge, about ten minutes on foot
Tip: For the classic photograph, stand by the Pegasus fountain and face south: the flowerbeds lead your eye to the Cathedral domes with the fortress above. The beds are replanted for each season, so they look different in spring and autumn.
The forested hill on the right bank is the quiet counterpart to the fortress hill opposite. A stepped lane climbs from Linzer Gasse past six small baroque chapels with the Stations of the Cross, ending at a Crucifixion group and the Capuchin Monastery. Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich brought the Capuchins to Salzburg in 1594 and had a medieval watchtower on the hill rebuilt as their friary. The church inside is plain, but its late-Gothic oak door is said to come from the old Cathedral. From the bastion in front, the whole old town lies spread out beneath you, with the fortress straight ahead.
Time
1 h to 1 h 30 min up and back
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
In the morning, when the sun is behind you and on the old town
Getting there
On foot from Linzer Gasse, up the stepped lane
Tip: Free and far less crowded than the fortress, this is the viewpoint to choose when time or money is short. The steps are uneven and slippery in the wet, so wear proper shoes. For a round walk, come down the other way, by the Imbergstiege steps past St. John's Chapel.
Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus had Hellbrunn built between 1612 and 1615 as a summer palace for entertaining guests. His trick fountains are still working: stone seats that spray water when someone sits down, grottoes with water-powered figures and a mechanical theatre of more than a hundred moving figures. The fountain tour takes 50 min, and an audio guide in English covers both the fountains and the palace rooms.
Time
2 to 3 h
Setting
Both
Best time
From late March to the start of November, in any weather
Getting there
Bus 25 from the Rathaus stop, 25 min, or a flat walk or cycle along the tree-lined Hellbrunner Allee
Tip: Expect to get splashed, so keep your phone in your bag. Children love it. Afterwards, walk up to the Monatsschlössl on the hill, where the folk museum is included in the ticket. The gazebo from The Sound of Music now stands in the palace park.
Adults €16.50, ages 4 to 18 €6.50. Palace park daily 6.30 am to 9 pm, all year.
The cable car lifts you from St. Leonhard to the top station at 1,776 metres in 8 min. Cars leave on the hour and half hour. From the top you look down on Salzburg and across to the Chiemgau and the Berchtesgaden Alps. The summit cross of the Geiereck is a short walk from the top station, and longer trails lead across the plateau.
Time
3 to 5 h with the ride and a walk
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
On a clear morning, before the clouds build up
Getting there
Bus 25 from the city centre to the end of the line at the valley station
Tip: Before you buy a ticket, check the mountain forecast for the Geiereck: if the top is in cloud, you will see nothing. It is several degrees colder at the top than in town, and there can be snow on the paths until early summer, so bring a warm layer and proper shoes.
Return ticket €34. Hours change between summer and winter.
