Is Salzburg worth a visit? The answer, from us, is absolutely and unequivocally yes. This is, without doubt, one of the prettiest cities we’ve ever visited. And we’ve been to a few! Tokyo, London, New York, Vienna, Venice, Milan, Rome, Stockholm, Paris…. We could go on but don’t want to bore you.
Anyway back to Salzburg, obviously we can’t travel there at the moment as we’re all trying to do our bit to help beat COVID19 by staying at home. But when the restrictions on travel are eventually lifted this is a City you may well want to visit. Which is why we wrote this post.
Getting to Salzburg
We were in Vienna and thought ‘why not pop across to Salzburg?’. So we did. By train.
From Vienna Hauptbahnhof station our tickets cost just under 100 Euro for two adults and two children. We intended to buy our tickets at the station before getting on the train but were advised to buy them on board. The conductor (who spoke very good English) offered us one way tickets for 24 Euro each with children travelling for just 1 Euro. We bought tickets for our return journey from a Tobacconist at Salzburg station for the same prices. The journey takes around 2 and a half hours with trains running regularly on this route. www.oebb.at/tickets
The train we were on was a double decker which we found great fun. It was extremely comfortable and offered great views of the Austrian countryside. Salzburg Hauptbahnhof (Train Station) is a 15 to 20 minute walk from the centre of the old town. You can get around the city quite easily by foot and we think this is the best way to see as much as possible.
Talking of things to see, here’s a few.
Mirabell Palace
Between the Station and the Old Town, we walked through the beautifully manicured gardens of the Mirabell Palace. Some of it may be familiar as it featured in the filming of ‘The Sound of Music’. Flowers were in bloom and the fountains in operation and the best thing is it’s totally free!
River Salzach
The next thing we came to was the magnificent River Salzach which you have to cross to get into the heart of the Old Town. As it was so warm and because it’s so open and picturesque here we found ourselves wandering aimlessly up and down it for a bit! Just to soak it all up. We also found……
Hotel Sacher
Because of the huge queues and long waits outside Hotel Sacher in Vienna, we’d promised ourselves a visit to the one here to sample the world famous and original Sacher-Torte. We couldn’t believe the difference! There were no queues and it was relatively quiet inside. There was no problem getting a table and they were very happy to accommodate us. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and the service here is truly top-notch. This really was one of the highlights of our visit.
We had the Sacher Torte and Viennese apple strudel with vanilla sauce and they were both really good. It’s certainly not cheap though. For four deserts and four hot drinks we paid approximately 50 Euros but we were happy to for such an unforgettable experience. www.sacher.com
Mozartplatz
Suitably refreshed we crossed the river into the Old Town and headed for Mozartplatz. This square in the heart of the Old Town is home to a statue dedicated to the famous composer.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg so unsurprisingly you can feel his presence everywhere in the city. You can visit his former residence which is open every day. Admission charges are Adults 12 Euro children (6-14 years) 3.50 Euro and Youths (15-18 years) 4 Euro. mozarteum.at/residence
Residenzplatz
From Mozartplatz we popped round the corner to Residenzplatz, a huge open square which was quiet and relaxed but with a fair bit going on. As well as horse and cart rides on offer, the Residence Fountain is here and it’s considered to be the most impressive in Salzburg. This is also where the Christmas market is held along with live concerts in the summer. It, too, features in ‘The Sound of Music’.
The Castle
Standing prominently on a hill overlooking the Old Town is Fortress Hohensalzburg. We didn’t have time to go up to the castle but we did get some great views from Kapitelplatz (Chapter Square) below. The castle is open most days and all-inclusive tickets cost 15.70 Euro for adults, 8.90 Euro for children or 34.80 Euro for a family ticket. All tickets include ascent and descent on the fortress railway. www.salzburg/en/hohensalzburg-castle/
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral is the centrepiece of the city and is really beautiful inside. The architecture is amazing and the artwork on the ceilings is incredible.
It’s also worth visiting the Crypt below. The Cathedral is open every day and is free to enter. During Christmas and Festival Season in the summer, you can take tours at set times. www.salzburger-dom.at/en/home/
Domquartier Museum
Connected to Salzburg Cathedral is Domquartier Museum and although it’s small it still holds some interesting artefacts. Ticket prices are Adults 15 Euro and children under 6 are free. Pupils (with ID) are 5 Euro and youths (up to 25 years) 8 Euro. www.domquartier.at/en
Thoughts
We were fortunate that when we visited in August it was a beautiful sunny day and it was possible to spend time just wandering, sitting, watching and savouring the beauty of this small, compact City.
We found Salzburg to be generally more expensive than the UK. And our research tells us it’s expensive to stay here. Which is why a day trip is ideal. Whether it’s from Vienna or Munich it’s a great place to take things at a more leisurely pace and appreciate the beautiful surroundings, history and architecture. All of which is free. Hopefully from the photos you can see that this is just a beautiful city. But what do you think? Is Salzburg worth a visit? We’d love to hear from you, so feel free to comment below.
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