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There is so much to say about Salzburg. Some come here for Mozart, the town’s favorite son. Some come for a more recent musical legacy, The Sound of Music.
But either way, the people who come to this city in north-central Austria are immediately spellbound by its beauty. I know I was.
Salzburg is very much a Baroque city, and the streets of the Old Town reflects that.
The interiors do, as well — Salzburg’s Dom is one of the city’s most striking architectural wonders.
Amazing, right?
Salzburg is filled with museums — I kept thinking of how much my museum-phile best friend, Beth, would have loved it here! — and the best way to see them all is to get a Salzburg Card. It gives you free entry to most museums and attractions, as well as free public transit.
Of all the activities, the one you must do is take the funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress (pictured in the top photo), which you see from everywhere in the city — and you’ll be rewarded with this view:
For that view alone, it’s worth it. (For the record, you can also walk to the top for free, but…IT’S NOT A FUNICULAR!)
From the back of the fortress, it’s a completely different view:
Wouldn’t you love to live in that little house in the middle of that huge yard? (My friend Ken Kaminesky and I quickly dubbed it “THE. HOUSE.” “Where do you live?” “THE. HOUSE.” “Oh, I love THE. HOUSE!”)
In terms of other destinations that capture the beauty of Salzburg, I definitely found the catacombs to be interesting…
As was just about everything alone the riverfront.
And the riverfront looks so different at every moment of the day! I was constantly taking pictures of the river, and they were all markedly different.
My only problem with Salzburg is the problem of Florence and other small cities in Europe with large tourist populations: it can be very difficult to get away from huge crowds of umbrella-led tour groups, mostly of older couples who will MOW DOWN EVERYTHING IN THEIR PATH rather than lose the umbrella out of the corner of their eye.
It’s easy to travel to Paris or Vienna or Rome and disappear into the fabrics of those cities; it’s much more difficult to do so in the old towns of Salzburg or Florence, particularly in high season.
But stick with Salzburg and you’ll realize just how special of a place it is. There’s a reason why all those tour groups come here in the first place.
My trip to Salzburg was sponsored by the Austria Tourism Board and the Salzburg Tourism Board. All opinions, as always, are my own.
