Salzburg Old Town – Located on Salzach River, the old town of Salzburg is one of the best-preserved city in Austria and is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. In the busy Getreidegasse pedestrian area, you will see many original wrought-iron shop signs, numerous art galleries, boutique shops, as well as many cafés and restaurants. Enjoy a cup of coffee as you watch people pass by.
Salzburg Cathedral – This impressive building with its mighty dome and two towers is a must see in Salzburg. Its interior is stunning and worth a visit. The cathedral was destroyed by fire a few times in its history. The entrance gates bear the numbers 774, 1628 and 1959 in memory of the cathedral’s three consecrations.
Fortress Hohensalzburg – You will see this fortress from many places around Salzburg as it dominates the city skyline. Situated atop Festungsberg mountain at an altitude of 506m, the original castle construction started in 1077 under Archbishop Gebhand von Helfenstein. Prince-Archbishop Leonard von Keutschach further expanded the fortress during his term from 1495 until 1519. The fortress was refurbished in the late 19th century and became a major tourist attraction when the Festungsbahn funicular opened in 1892. You can reach the castle by a pleasant 20-minute walk from the Old Town center or via the funicular railway from Festungsgasse.
Eisriesenwel Ice Caves & Fortress of Hohenwerfen – The stunning Eisriesenwel ice caves of Werfen (near Salzburg) is the largest in the world and can be only visited as part of guided tours from May-Oct.
To reach the Ice Caves from Salzburg, you take a train from the Salzburg to Werfen. From the station in Werfen, you take a shuttle bus to the visitor’s center and buy your ticket for the caves. You then hike for 20 minutes, take a cable car and walk for another 20 minutes to the cave entrance, which is 20m wide and 18m high. It extends 42km deep into the mountain and has some interesting and imposing ice formations. Only the first section which is about 1km, is open to public. Even in summer, the temperatures in the ice cave are around 0° C. Appropriate clothing and shoes are a must and you need to be in fairly good physical condition to cope with a total vertical gain of around 234 meters, which includes climbing many stairs.
There is also a medieval 900-year-old Hohenwerfen Castle nearby for which daily guided tours are available. The castle became known internationally as the main location in the film Where Eagles Dare.
Sound of Music tour – We went on a guided Sound of music tour. Our first stop on the way to the Von Trapp’s house was a scenic viewpoint from where we could see the beautiful Lake Wolfgang and the mountains around it. The lake stretches about 10.5 km from the northwest to the southeast and is surrounded by mountains that are part of Salzkammergut mountain range.
We then stopped in front of Leopoldskron Palace which is where the famous boating scene was filmed, the one where they all fall into the water. Although the palace was supposedly the home of the Von Trapp’s in the film, they found Leopoldskron to be too big, so they only used the gazebo, private palace gardens and backyard – the actual house used in the film was at another location.
From there we headed to Hellbrunn Palace where the gazebo now stands (the scene where Liesel sings 16 going on 17 to Rolfe, and when Maria and Baron von Trapp kiss). You can see the gazebo only from the outside.
Our final stop was the cute, sleepy Austrian town of Mondsee. The town has the church Basilika St. Michael where the final wedding scene of Baron Von Trapp & Maria takes place. The church interior is just stunning.
We stopped for a steaming cup of coffee, apple strudels and ice-cream at cafe Braun in Mondsee. This cafe is conveniently located right in front of the St. Michael church.
Mirabell Palace and Gardens – Famous for appearing in The Sound of Music movie, Mirabell garden was laid out in 1690 with numerous terraces, marble statues, and fountains. The Palace (originally called Schloss Altenau) was built in 1606. It was restored in 1818 after a fire. Today, the Mirabell Palace houses the offices of the Salzburg mayor and the municipal administration.
The Dwarf(or Gnome) Garden is on an old bastion, a little bit removed from the main part of Mirabell Gardens. It features a display of misshapen dwarfs, sculpted from Untersberg marble. It’s believed some of these sculptures are of people who actually lived on the court of the Prince Archbishops of Salzburg.
Mozart Birthplace – Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg. Today, Mozart’s Birthplace, a museums is one of the most visited places in Austria. here are some pictures from the museum.
