Salzburg is familiar to everyone, who enjoys classical music or attended a music school as a child. This was my music school, where I first heard of this Austrian city as a home town of Mozart.
Besides that, it is the city of fabulous delicious sweets, aesthetic liqueur and other souvenirs with the image of this great composer. And it is also a place, where Red Bull is more than just a drink!
There are direct flights in winter from Moscow done by S7 and Ural Airlines. Low-cost airlines fly from European cities to Salzburg. It takes a couple of hours to get to Salzburg from Munich or 4 hours from Vienna.
My acquaintance with Salzburg began on a wonderful winter morning with the breakfast at the hotel "Heffterhof". Nice smelling coffee, fresh bakery and a variety of cheeses and sausages were accompanied by a breathtaking mountain view from the windows and an excellent design of the hotel - laconic, modern and energetic, slightly resembling an Alpine house.
Among the other advantages of this hotel, is its excellent location. This quiet area is, at same time, just within walking distance from the city center. The bus stop is in front of the hotel, but I preferred to walk around. I was lucky to meet the manager of the hotel during my breakfast and to learn about the history of the hotel. He also told me few words about the city and what are the best places to visit.
You can learn how I find the lowest prices for good hotels here.
What to see in Salzburg
1) Like the majority of tourists who come to Salzburg for the first time, I started with Mirabelle Palace. Its name stands for "beauty", the beauty that makes your head spin from the magnificence and elegance! There is an amazing park at Mirabelle Palace that resembles Peterhof.
The park is not very impressive in winter, so it is really worth coming back to Salzburg in summer to dive into its lavish greenery and breathe in the fragrance of its flowers enjoying a cool sound of its fountains.
2) Also, in summer, it is interesting to visit Hellbrunn Palace with a unique show - the theater of the mechanical dolls moved by water and showing the scenes of medieval life.
3) The next landmark on my route was Mozart Residence. From the outside, it is not much different from any other building, but it has an unbelievable energy inside coming from the elements of the interior, personal belongings and the walls that remember the music performed by Mozart himself! Entrance fee is 11 €.
If you are buying a double ticket, then for 18 € you can visit both Mozart museums (there is another museum in Salzburg - the house, where the great composer was born), it will be cheaper all together. There are discounts for children, students and retired adults.
Mozart Residence:
Address: Makartpl. 8
Open hours: from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Mozart's Birth house:
Address: Getreidegasse, 9
Open hours: from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
4) I always look for a panoramic terrace in any city I visit. In Salzburg, I had to get on top of the Kaputzinerberg Mountain climbing 250 steps! But the view of Salzburg Downtown was really worth it!
5) Down from Kapuzinerberg I walked along the bridge of lovers to the other side of Salzach River. The pedestrianbridge Makartsteg, covered with lovers ' locks, leads to the Downtown area.
Both sides of the bridge offer magnificent views on the fabulous city of Salzburg.
6) When I was passing by “Schatz Konditorei” cafe and confectionery with its shining showcases of handmade cakes and sweets, located in the Downtown on Getreidegasse,3, I noticed a crowd of people and decided to stop there as well. I was enchanted by its cozy, antique interior, the bounty of sweets and a hot coffee! And, of course, I couldn't leave without a purchase. After I tried these colored sweet “pebbles” I can definitely recommend buying such kind of gift for your friends and family here!
7) And just behind the corner, I found a small cozy courtyard belonging to the store "Flower and fragrance" (Getreidegasse,7). Here, they sell lovely products made of lavender, cinnamon, anise and, also, dried flowers that can be a nice souvenir from Salzburg and fill your house with incredible aromas!
8) By the way, did you know that Austria, and especially Salzburg, is famous not only for Mozart, but also for the Sacher cake?
The city, itself, looks like a magic musical box with its shining windows with the showcases full of all sorts of souvenirs, models in national Austrian costumes, images of Mozart, items of folk crafts and shining fashion boutiques! It smells like chocolate, waffles, mulled wine, and fried meat here.
To buy chocolate bars and sweets with the image of Mozart, you don’t have necessarily to shop in the branded stores and souvenir shops. In a regular supermarket, for example, SPAR or BILLA, I can assure you will find almost the assortment of the same brands, but at much lower prices.
9) While walking down the streets in the city center you will definitely notice the medieval castle, Hohensalzburg, risingon the top of Festunghill. You can get there by the cable car.
The address of the Castle: Mönchsberg, 34
Working hours of the castle: from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cable car works until 4:30 p.m.
Cable car ticket, including the visit to the fortress is 12 €.
The fortress walls offer a magnificent panorama of Salzburg from the eastern side and a breathtaking view of the Alps in the west. You can also watch an incredible sunset here! The castle has two museums, a café and a gift shop. Read more about the Hohensalzburg Fortress in this article.
10) Another must-see place on my route was "Hangar -7", the exhibition ofairplanes, sea-planes and Formula -1 race cars of Red Bull Company. It is located in a bright glass building, so that the glare of the sun is reflected in the polished high-speed vehicles.
I recommend visiting the Red Bull technological gallery especially in the evening - it is an incredibly beautiful site! It is open until 10 p.m. and the entrance is absolutely free! And for haute cuisine lovers, there is a Michelin-starred restaurant there.
And since I was in Austria, my choice for a dinner was a restaurant with the local cuisine in a real "birgarden". The S'kloane Brauhaus restaurant is located near the pedestrian street Linzer Gasse. Everything here is Bavarian: the design, the huge portions of delicious meat, the buzz of talks in the large halls, the ceramic beer mugs and relaxed friendly atmosphere, so that in half an hour you have such a feeling, that you already know everybody here.
Falling asleep in the hotel, I thought that Salzburg is a unique combination of German accuracy, Austrian majesty and Czech joyfulness. I am already thinking of coming here again, because one day for Salzburg is definitely not enough.
