"Straight off a chocolate box": our travel writer visits her dream city
Tucked away under the snow-dusted peaks of Untersberg mountain, Salzburg –with its ornate baroque mansions, custard-coloured turrets and stern fortresses– looks like it's waltzed straight off a chocolate box.
Perhaps best known for being the home town of the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and as the setting for the much loved musical The Sound of Music, Salzburg has has been on my hit list since I first watched the 1965 film as an enamoured eight-year old more than 40 years ago. Based on the true story of Maria Von Trapp, a local novice nun who was sent to be the governess for a sea captain and his seven children in 1930s Salzburg, the movie celebrates 60 years in 2025.
As a die-hard fan, a local tour for The Sound of Music was at the top of my Salzburg wish list. Panorama Tours offers the original musical tour of Salzburg and led by my lovely dirndl-dressed guide, Kylie, we visit iconic filming locations including the gazebo where Sixteen Going on Seventeen was filmed; Mirabell Gardens, where Maria and the children Do Re Mi-d around the Pegasus Fountain; and the Leopoldskron Palace, which played the family’s lakeside home in the movie. My highlight was waltzing down the aisle of Basilika St Michael in Mondsee, where Maria and Captain Von Trapp got married.
Of course, there's much more to Salzburg than merely The Sound of Music. These are few of my favourite things... And if you're also a big fan of The Sound of Music, you'll want to check out Good Housekeeping's exclusive Danube river cruise, which explores Salzburg and includes a performance of hit show Julie Madly Deeply.
Take a stroll through the old town
One of my favourite things to do is simply wander through the streets of Altstadt (Old Town). Getreidegasse is Salzburg’s famous shopping street. Cobblestone streets are lined with ornate pastel-hued shops from fairy-lit boutiques with wrought-iron signs swinging overhead, cavernous antique bookshops to the glittering windows of expensive watch purveyors.
Salzburg is renowned for its old-school coffeehouses where you can stop for a slice of apfelstrudel and a Melange, a Viennese cappuccino. Considered one of the greatest coffeehouses in Austria, Cafe Tomaselli on Alter Markt was founded in the 1700s and said to be Mozart’s favourite place for a slice of Sachertorte.
Enjoy the views from Hohensalzburg Fortress
Boasting far-reaching views across Salzburg and the snow-dusted Alps, Hohensalzburg Fortress is a beautiful baroque castle which sits atop the city. Reached on foot or by funicular, it's well worth a visit, not least for the Instagram clout. Inside you'll find a fascinating treasure trove of history in the Fortress Museum and old puppets in the Marionnette Museum, however, my favourite is the Golden Chamber, which has Gothic wood carvings and a gold-studded ceiling imitating a starry sky.
Visit Mozart’s birthplace
Born in Salzburg in January 1756, the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is Austria's most famous son. Visit his birthplace on Getreidegasse, a glorious yolk-hued townhouse which has been preserved as a museum, and see where the musical magic began. My favourite room was his collection of instruments, from his childhood violin to his fortepiano.
For true Mozart fans, you can double with a visit the Mozart Residence on Makartplatz, another of the city's museums dedicated to the maestro.
Eat Wiener schnitzel
My trip to Salzburg wasn’t just about feeding my Sound of Music obsession: it was also about feeding my stomach. In the song, Maria sings about schnitzel with noodles being one of her favourite things. Wiener schnitzel, breaded fried veal steak the size of cape, is a typically Austrian dish, however, it's usually served with parsley potatoes and cranberry sauce rather than noodles.
Zwettlers Wirtshaus is a cosy Austrian gasthaus which has been sating Salzburgers schnitzel cravings since 1863. Feast on rib-sticking Austrian dishes like beef goulash and bread dumplings, Salzburg bratwurst and cider sauerkraut and, of course, Wiener schnitzel, all washed down with beer served in stone tankards. If there's still room, fit in some Salzburger Nockerl, a sweet baked soufflé found only in Salzburg.
Twirl around Austria's Lake District
A half-hour drive east of Salzburg on the border of Bavaria lies the Salzkammergut, Austria’s spectacular Lake District. Dotted with postcard-perfect mountains towns like Hallstatt and St. Wolfgang, and beautiful lakes, from Obertrumersee to Wallersee, the area is surrounded by the snow-dusted peaks of the Austrian Alps.
In the summer, Salzburgers flee the steamy city to hike in the mountains or cruise around the lakes. The mountain town of St. Gilgen is another stop on the Sound of Music tour, as the grassy banks overlooking Wolfgangsee is where the children first learned to sing Do-Re-Mi.
Visit an Austrian beer hall
One of my favourite discoveries in Salzburg was the Augustiner Bräustübl Mülln, a brewery and beer hall founded by Augustinian monks in 1621. As Austria's biggest beer tavern, vast wooden barrels of beer are brewed by hand according to the traditional recipe and served to thirsty locals in big stone steins.
And do come hungry, as between the drinking halls is Schmankerlgang, an arcade of food stalls which sell hearty snacks like bratwurst, pretzels, schnitzel and whole roast chickens.
Be impressed by a chamber music concert
If there's ever a time to take up listening to chamber music, it's in the birthplace of Mozart himself. There are numerous classical music concerts held throughout the year, including during the famous Salzburg Festival each summer.
For a real treat, experience Mozart's music as if you were in the 1760 at a Mozart dinner concert. Held in the Baroque Room at St. Peter Stiftskellers, Europe's oldest restaurant, a candlelit supper is accompanied by his music played by Amadeus Consort Salzburg.
Explore a salt mine
A city built on salt, Salzburg's salt mining history began with the Celts during the Bronze Age. A half-hour drive from Salzburg is Salzwelten Salzburg, a salt mine near Hallein. It offers a fun and immersive exploration of Austria’s salt mining history, starting with a ride on a mining train deep into the mountain.
Once inside, you cross the border into Germany through dimly lit tunnels as you learn the history of Salzburg's 'white gold'. I particularly enjoyed sliding down the wooden miner’s slides, which once whisked miners between salt caves.
Hear 'Silent Night' in Hallein
Silent Night, the world's most famous Christmas carol, is forever connected with the small town of Hallein, a half-hour drive from Salzburg. The author, Austrian Roman Catholic priest Joseph Mohr, collaborated with local composer, Franz Xaver Gruber, and Silent Night was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in nearby Oberndorf.
You can listen and learn all about Gruber and Mohr's friendship and collaboration in the town's Silent Night Museum, a collection of music scores, instruments and manuscripts in Gruber’s former home. And on Christmas Eve, the town's residents gather to sing it by candlelight by his grave.
Experience the delights of Salzburg and The Sound of Music during Good Housekeeping's exclusive cruise along the Danube, which features a Julie Madly Deeply performance.
Browse more extraordinary journeys in the latest Good Housekeeping Holidays brochure.
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