Salzburg: perhaps Europe’s best-kept secret and my favorite city of all. The world knows Salzburg as the birthplace of Mozart and the home of the famous Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music. Yet, for each visitor, it holds its own quiet charm as they get to experience the magic of a smaller city with just as much to do. The city is accessible from Vienna, Prague, and Munich, which makes it the perfect weekend getaway.
If you’re planning a trip to Salzburg, and you’re a fan of The Sound of Music like I am, I would recommend all of the following sites. You’ll recognize many from the 1965 film.
If you love The Sound of Music but are overwhelmed by how to accomplish all of this in one trip, Salzburg tour companies offer a variety of options. A bus tour is offered through Panorama tours for $45/person that takes you to many of the sights listed above. Furthermore, the Fraulein Maria Bicycle Tour offers individuals the opportunity to bike through Salzburg in nice weather to get the true experience of the Von Trapp children.
For the Mozart lover, you can actually go visit his birthplace in the center of the city and tour a museum of his former home. The tickets are 10-15 euros and totally worth it for classical music enthusiasts.
Additionally, be sure to check out both the Salzburg Cathedral and the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Both provide a window into the early history of the quaint city. The Fortress is a little bit of a hike since you can see it from anywhere in the city, so wear your walking shoes before you head up to this medieval castle.
Finally, after you’ve spent the day seeing these sights and taking in the breathtaking Austrian scenery, what’s left to do but eat and drink some traditional Austrian food? Be sure to order some wiener schnitzel, have apple strudel for dessert, and visit Augustiner Bräu for a beer. This brewery is run entirely by local monks and is a can’t miss while in Salzburg!
Otherwise, enjoy your trip, take lots of pictures, and Salzburg is sure to be one of your favorite things!
This is a guest post.
This article is submitted by Lily Smithson. Lovers of mountainside Nature know there are few holiday escapes quite as appealing as those offering pristine white views from the world’s most scenic ski resorts. There are many things that make particular resorts stand out when it comes to their contemplative beauty: the presence of imposing mountains, verdant Nature, quaint architecture and of course, the silence required to take so much beauty in.
“You should come to Vienna to see Chris. It’s only 2 hours by train from Bratislava,” said Rick after hearing about my plan to visit Kosice, Slovakia and from there taking a train to Bratislava. It was not a bad idea even though I had literally no time to add another destination to my trip. On the other hand, this was my first trip to Europe, and I wanted to see ‘everything’ and believe that I could see ‘everything,’ I squeezed in Vienna on my last day before taking an early morning flight out from Bratislava to London.
While researching for the trip, I found a travel forum that suggested biking in Liechtenstein. When I stayed in Feldkirch, Austria, a city located on the border with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, I checked with other people about biking to Liechtenstein from here but got talked down. Tourists at the hostel where I was staying all took the bus to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. At first, I didn’t want to go. My overeaten-breakfast stomach and discouraging comments from other hostelers almost convinced me to buy a day pass and hop on the Liechtenstein bus to enjoy a smooth ride. Thank god my curiosity got over my laziness, and I took bus no.2 to Hotel Gasthof Löwen to rent a bicycle. (www.hotel-loewen.at)
Feldkirch is a no-name little town in Austria. You have no business of going there unless you find yourself scratching your head and wondering how will you do Switzerland and Liechtenstein in a limited amount of time and under a shoestring budget.
Living in Central Europe is great. Where else can you make a very last-minute decision to go to another country, not one but three other countries, a few hours before the actual trip?
My name is Cindy, also rhymes with travel junkie. A friend said I was probably a gipsy in my previous life. One of my many secret missions in life is to convert you to run off every once in awhile.
