Austria · Salzburg (state)
Plan your Salzburg trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Altstadt
Best for first-timers who want everything on footThe postcard core on the left bank — cathedral, fortress and Mozart's birthplace all within a few minutes' walk, at the cost of the highest prices and the thickest crowds.
A historic guesthouse off Goldgasse
A quieter side lane just off the main shopping street puts you inside the old town without the Getreidegasse foot traffic outside your window.
€€€Neustadt & Mirabell side
Best for a central base without Altstadt pricesAcross the river from the Altstadt, with the Mirabell Gardens on the doorstep and a shorter, flatter walk into the old town than the hillside neighbourhoods offer.
A mid-range hotel near Mirabellplatz
Close enough to walk everywhere, with slightly more breathing room and better rates than staying inside the old town walls.
€€Andräviertel
Best for longer stays and a less tourist-facing baseA genuinely local, slightly bohemian district just north of Mirabell, popular with students and with Salzburg's queer scene, and noticeably better value for food and drink.
An independent guesthouse on a residential Andräviertel street
Ten minutes' walk from Mirabell Gardens with none of the Altstadt markup, and a neighbourhood that still feels lived-in after dark.
€€Nonntal
Best for repeat visitors who want calm over convenienceA quiet residential pocket tucked directly behind the fortress on the left bank — a short, steep walk from the Altstadt, but a world away from it after the shops close.
A small hotel on a quiet Nonntal side street
Close enough to walk into the old town in ten minutes, with none of the evening noise of staying inside the walls.
€€Riedenburg & Leopoldskron
Best for Sound of Music fans and a slower paceLeafy and residential, southwest of the centre, home to the actual Sound of Music filming locations around Leopoldskron Palace's lake and gardens — further out, and quieter for it.
A quiet lakeside guesthouse near Leopoldskron
Trades a longer walk or short bus ride into the Altstadt for genuine green space and the actual film-location scenery on your doorstep.
€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Hohensalzburg Fortress
One of the largest and best-preserved medieval castles in Europe, begun in 1077 and expanded for centuries, perched directly above the Altstadt with…
Tip Take the Festungsbahn funicular up but walk down the cobbled switchback path — it's free, shaded, and gives a second, lower angle on the view.
Mozart's Birthplace
The cramped, surprisingly modest third-floor apartment on Getreidegasse where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756, now a museum of instruments,…
Tip Go first thing or buy a timed ticket — the rooms are small and genuinely bottleneck by late morning in summer.
Getreidegasse
The Altstadt's main shopping lane, famous for its wrought-iron guild signs — hung so illiterate shoppers could identify a baker or a locksmith by…
Tip Look up more than you look in the shop windows; the signage is the actual attraction, not the retail behind it.
Mirabell Palace & Gardens
A formal baroque garden built in 1690 for an archbishop's mistress, with the dwarf statue garden and the steps made famous by the 'Do-Re-Mi' sequence…
Tip The view back across the gardens to the fortress, framed by the palace, is the single best skyline photo in the city — go in late afternoon light.
Salzburg Cathedral & St. Peter's Abbey
A baroque cathedral rebuilt after a 1598 fire, standing beside St. Peter's Abbey — founded around 696 and among the oldest continuously operating…
Tip The abbey cemetery is free, nearly silent, and ten steps from the cathedral's crowds — one of the best quiet pauses in the Altstadt.
DomQuartier
A single combined circuit through the Residenz state rooms, the cathedral museum, and St.
Tip Buy the DomQuartier ticket rather than separate entries if you're doing more than one of its component sights — it pays for itself after two.
Hellbrunn Palace & Trick Fountains
A 17th-century pleasure palace just outside the centre, built around an elaborate network of hidden Wasserspiele fountains designed by Archbishop…
Tip Wear shoes you don't mind getting wet and let the (English-speaking) guide pick who gets soaked — resisting just makes it funnier for everyone else.
Museum der Moderne & the Mönchsberg
A contemporary art museum on top of the Mönchsberg ridge, reached by its own lift, with a terrace view over the Altstadt that rivals the fortress and…
Tip Skip the museum if modern art isn't your thing and just ride the lift up for the terrace café and the view — it's open to non-ticket-holders.
Day trips from Salzburg
Hallstatt
The impossibly photogenic lakeside village roughly ninety minutes away by train and ferry, or about an hour by direct bus — go early or late in the…
Day tripEagle's Nest & Berchtesgaden
Just across the German border, around thirty minutes away: the Kehlsteinhaus mountain lodge (open May to October) for the views, and the town of…
Day tripEisriesenwelt Ice Caves, Werfen
The world's largest accessible ice cave system, about forty-five minutes south, reached by a steep cable car and a guided walk through genuinely…
Day tripThe Salzkammergut lakes
Wolfgangsee, Fuschlsee and Mondsee, all under an hour away and each with its own swimmable, mountain-ringed character — Mondsee's church is also the…
Day tripBrowse tickets, tours and activities
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around
Walk. The entire Altstadt is pedestrianised and most of it is also effectively car-free by geography — narrow medieval lanes that were never built for traffic in the first place.
Flights
Compare fares into Salzburg and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.