Bridge
The Mozartsteg is a pedestrian bridge built in 1903, connecting the southern Altstadt to the Rudolfskai on the right bank. It carries the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and offers clear views of the Altstadt skyline with Hohensalzburg Fortress visible on the hill above.
The bridge is a functional crossing, positioned south of the busier Staatsbrücke and used mainly by people moving between the southern Altstadt and the right bank rather than by tourists making a specific trip to see it. It was built in 1903, more than a century after Mozart’s death, so the name is commemorative rather than historical: Mozart never crossed this bridge.
What it offers is a slightly different angle on the Altstadt. Looking west from the middle of the bridge, the roofline of the old city rises from the riverbank, with the fortress high above and the cliff face of Monchsberg behind it. It is a good spot for a photograph if the main bridge feels too crowded.
The bridge is always open and free. It connects to the Rudolfskai embankment on the right bank, which runs north toward the Staatsbrücke; the walk along the embankment with the Altstadt facades across the water is pleasant. The southern Altstadt approach leads toward Nonnberg Abbey and the base of Hohensalzburg Fortress.
Curated routes
Both city mountains in one walk: the Mönchsberg from Mülln past its viewpoints to the fortress and Nonnberg, down through the old town and over the Mozartsteg, then up the Imbergstiege and round the Kapuzinerberg, the one that feels like a real mountain.
The fifteen sights we mark on the map we hand every guest, in the order I would walk them. It starts on the right bank, crosses into the old town, climbs to the fortress, and comes back over the Mozartsteg. Half a day at a stroll, or a full one if you go inside things.
The Sound of Music bus tours skip the old town because it is pedestrian-only, so this is the half of the film they miss. Fifteen stops from the Do-Re-Mi steps to the gate of Nonnberg Abbey, in the order I walk them. Two to four hours, depending on how many scenes you re-enact.
