Introducing Salzburg
A local, licensed guide on what is actually worth your time. Tours, food, the quiet corners most visitors walk past.
The tour
Ninety minutes through the Altstadt, tip-based: join free, pay what you think it was worth at the end. It is also the fastest way to make the rest of this site useful.
Start here
Founded 1077
One of the largest and best-preserved medieval castle fortresses in Europe, perched on Festungsberg hill above Salzburg's Altstadt. Founded in 1077 by Gebhard von Helfenstein, transformed into a princely residence by Leonhard von Keutschach, and never conquered. The defining landmark of Salzburg's skyline.
Consecrated 1628
The first baroque cathedral built in the German-speaking world, and the dominant church at the heart of Salzburg's Altstadt. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptised here on 28 January 1756. The site has held a cathedral since 774, when Saint Virgil of Salzburg consecrated the first one.
Baroque
The third floor of Getreidegasse 9 is where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756, and where he spent the first seventeen years of his life.
Built 1606
Built in 1606 by Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau as "Altenau," a palace for his mistress Salome Alt. Renamed "Mirabell" by Markus Sittikus. The current baroque building is largely the work of Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (1721). Today it serves as Salzburg's city hall. The Marble Hall is one of the finest baroque rooms in Austria.
Founded c. 696 AD
The oldest continuously existing monastery in the German-speaking world. Founded by Saint Rupert of Salzburg around 696 AD. The church interior is the work of Beda Seeauer (rococo redecoration, 1760-1782). Michael Haydn is buried in the crypt. Altomonte's altar paintings enrich the abbey church. The Stiftskeller St.
Built 1613-1619
Summer residence of Markus Sittikus, built by Santino Solari in Italian Renaissance style (1613-1619). The palace itself is elegant and relatively austere; its fame rests on the extraordinary grounds: the Wasserspiele (trick fountains), the Steintheater, the Sound of Music Pavilion, and the zoo.
The prominent cliff-faced hill on the western edge of the Altstadt, rising directly above the city. Topped by the Museum der Moderne Monchsberg and criss-crossed with walking paths. The cliff face forms the backdrop of Stift St. Peter, the Felsenreitschule, and the Grosses Festspielhaus.
1.5 - 2 hours
Daily guided walking tour of Salzburg's Altstadt. Tip-based, no fixed price: join free, pay what you think it was worth. Meets at the Spirit of Mozart and covers the essential old town from Mirabell to Mozartplatz in about ninety minutes. Run by Free Walking Tour Salzburg, Gerhard Reus's own brand.
Things to do
Walks, concerts, markets, and tours I would actually send a friend to.
The iconic coach tour of Salzburg and Salzkammergut filming locations from the 1965 film. ~4 hours. Mirabell Gardens (Do-Re-Mi staircase), Schloss Leopoldskron, Nonnberg Abbey, Mondsee church. One of the most popular tourist activities in Salzburg. For many first-time visitors, the primary reason they chose Salzburg.
Salzburg's oldest folk festival. Late September around St. Rupert's feast day (24 September). Residenzplatz and Altstadt fill with fairground stalls, traditional food, local beer. Belongs primarily to residents, not tourists.
One of the world's great chamber music festivals, entirely Mozart, each January around his birthday (27 January). Organised by the Stiftung Mozarteum. January is low season in Salzburg: a genuine insider reason to visit outside the crowds.
The Mozart Dinner Concert takes place in the Baroque Hall of Stiftskeller St Peter, a restaurant operating since 803 AD and the oldest in the world. Three-course dinner, costumed performers, arias from Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro, and The Magic Flute, by candlelight.
Chamber music in the candlelit Prince's Chamber of Hohensalzburg Fortress. Mozart, Haydn, and contemporaries. Year-round, near-nightly in summer. 900-year-old fortress room by candlelight. No concert hall can replicate it.
2 h
A private guided walking tour of Salzburg's Altstadt. All the essential sights in about two hours, with the pace, emphasis, and questions shaped to your group. Meets at the entrance to Schloss Mirabell. Run by Free Walking Tour Salzburg, Gerhard Reus's own brand.
1.5 - 2 hours
Daily guided walking tour of Salzburg's Altstadt. Tip-based, no fixed price: join free, pay what you think it was worth. Meets at the Spirit of Mozart and covers the essential old town from Mirabell to Mozartplatz in about ninety minutes. Run by Free Walking Tour Salzburg, Gerhard Reus's own brand.
From the notebook
History, arguments, and field notes that change how Salzburg looks when you walk it.
Two things get confused in Salzburg, and once you separate them the cafés sort themselves out. Good coffee is one thing. The Austrian coffee house is another. They overlap far less than you would expect.
If you have seen Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the most visited building in Austria, you have seen the work of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. He designed it. He also designed the Karlskirche, the National Library, and much of imperial Vienna's monumental face.
Mozart died in Vienna on 5 December 1791. He was thirty-five. We do not know what killed him. We do not know where he is buried. A skull that spent over a century in the Mozarteum probably is not his. And the family grave in Salzburg contains people who, according to DNA, are not related to each other.
Where to base yourself
Salzburg city, the lake towns, the mountain villages. Pick where you sleep.
Why this site
I have lived and guided here for over fourteen years. Everything on these pages is somewhere I have actually been, eaten, or walked. If a place is not worth your time, I say so.
About me and this site
