What is Salzburg best known for?

Mozart, who was born here; The Sound of Music, which was filmed here; the Salzburg Festival; and a baroque old town beneath the Hohensalzburg Fortress, set against the Alps.

Is Salzburg worth visiting?

Yes. It is one of the most beautiful small cities in Europe, easy to explore on foot, rich in music and history, and surrounded by lakes and mountains that make excellent day trips.

How many days do you need in Salzburg?

Two days is enough for the old town, the fortress, Mirabell and Hellbrunn. Add one or two more for Hallstatt, the lakes or the ice caves.

What is there to do in Salzburg with kids?

The trick fountains at Hellbrunn are the favourite, followed by the funicular and the fortress, the Untersberg cable car, a Sound of Music tour and boat trips on Lake Wolfgang.

Do you need a car in Salzburg?

Not for the city. For the lake district and the mountains, public transport and tours work well, but a hire car makes it easier to see several places in a day.

Things to Do in Salzburg 2026: The Best Sights

Salzburg is almost unfairly pretty. A white fortress on a crag, a river the colour of jade, green domes and spires packed beneath it, and the Alps lined up behind like a painted backdrop. For centuries it was ruled by prince-archbishops with deep pockets and Italian tastes, and they left a baroque old town so complete that the whole thing is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Then there is the music. Mozart was born here, and the city makes sure you know it; The Sound of Music was filmed here, and half the visitors are humming it. Take both in good spirit, climb a hill or two for the view, eat something sweet in a coffee house, and leave a day for the lakes and mountains that begin at the edge of town.

The big sights

The baroque old town, squeezed between the river and the rock.

Hohensalzburg Fortress
Landmark
Photo: Andreas Stiasny, CC BY-SA 4.0
The great white castle above the old town is one of the largest and best preserved medieval fortresses in Europe. Begun in the 11th century and enlarged by generations of archbishops, it was never taken by force. Inside are courtyards, towers, museums and the gilded Gothic state rooms, but the real prize is the view: the city on one side, the Alps on the other.
Tip: A funicular runs up from the old town. The footpath takes about twenty minutes and is steep.
Getreidegasse and Mozart's Birthplace
Landmark
Photo: Leonhard Lenz, CC0
The old town's main shopping street is a narrow lane of tall houses, each hung with an ornate wrought-iron guild sign, even the fast-food chains. Passageways lead off into hidden courtyards. At number 9, in a bright yellow house, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756.
The family's apartment is now a museum, with his childhood violin, portraits and letters. It is small and usually crowded, and still oddly moving. The larger house the family moved to later, across the river, can also be visited.
Salzburg Cathedral
Landmark
The cathedral is a grand early baroque church with a pale marble façade, twin towers and a great dome. Mozart was baptised in its font and later played the organ here. Outside, Domplatz is the setting each summer for the play Jedermann, the traditional opening of the Salzburg Festival, and next door the DomQuartier leads through the archbishops' state rooms and galleries.
Mirabell Palace and Gardens
Landmark
Photo: Isiwal, CC BY-SA 4.0
On the right bank, a 17th-century palace built by a prince-archbishop looks across formal gardens of clipped hedges, statues, fountains and bright flowerbeds, perfectly aligned with the fortress in the distance. It is the most photographed view in Salzburg. Sound of Music fans will know the Pegasus fountain and the steps from the Do-Re-Mi scene, and there is a garden of stone dwarfs.
St Peter's Abbey and Cemetery
Landmark
Photo: Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0
The oldest monastery in the German-speaking world still in use sits at the foot of the fortress rock. Its church is a riot of rococo, but most people come for the cemetery, a small, beautiful graveyard of wrought-iron crosses and flowers, with catacombs cut into the cliff above. It is one of the most peaceful corners of the old town.
Mönchsberg
Nature
The wooded ridge that shelters the old town is laced with footpaths and viewpoints. Take the lift up through the rock to the terrace by the Museum der Moderne for a classic panorama of domes, river and fortress, then walk along the top through the trees. It is the easiest way to escape the crowds below.

Music and film

The Sound of Music locations
Activity
Photo: Gerhard mauracher, CC BY-SA 4.0
The 1965 film was shot in and around Salzburg, and its locations are scattered across the city and the lakes beyond: the Mirabell Gardens, Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria was a novice, the lakeside palace of Leopoldskron and the glass gazebo, now in the grounds of Hellbrunn. Coach and bike tours link them, usually with singing.
Salzburg Festival
Activity
Every summer since 1920, Salzburg has hosted one of the world's leading festivals of opera, classical music and drama. Performances fill the festival halls, built partly into the cliff of the Mönchsberg, along with churches and squares across the old town. Outside festival time, concerts are held year-round in palaces, churches and the fortress.
Tip: Festival tickets and hotel rooms go quickly. Plan months ahead if you want to be here in late July or August.

Beyond the old town

Hellbrunn Palace
Landmark
Photo: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0
A 17th-century archbishop with a taste for practical jokes built this summer palace south of the city, and filled its gardens with trick fountains. Hidden jets squirt from stone seats, grottoes and antlers on the wall, still powered by nothing but water pressure, and a mechanical theatre of tiny figures clatters into life. Children adore it. So do grown-ups, once they have dried off.
Tip: You will get a little wet. Keep cameras and phones out of the firing line.
Untersberg
Nature
Photo: en:User:Jonathanawhite, CC BY-SA 3.0
The massive mountain on Salzburg's southern skyline straddles the border with Germany. A cable car swings up from the village of Grödig to a high ridge with views over the city, the lakes and rank upon rank of Alpine peaks. There are walking trails at the top in summer. Legend has it an emperor sleeps inside the mountain.
Augustiner Bräu
Food
Photo: Eweht, CC BY-SA 3.0
Monks began brewing in the Mülln district in the 17th century, and the beer hall there is a Salzburg institution. You pick a stone mug from the shelf, rinse it at the fountain and have it filled straight from a wooden barrel, then buy food from the stalls in the arcade. In summer everyone sits under the chestnut trees in the garden.

Eat and drink

Salzburger Nockerl
Food
Photo: Tourismus Salzburg - original uploader was Salzburg at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
The city's famous pudding is a sweet soufflé baked into three golden peaks, said to represent the hills around Salzburg, and dusted with icing sugar like snow. It arrives at the table huge, hot and wobbling, and collapses within minutes. Order one to share: it is mostly air, but there is a great deal of it.
Mozartkugeln
Food
The round chocolate named after Mozart was invented in Salzburg in 1890 by the confectioner Paul Fürst: a ball of pistachio marzipan wrapped in nougat and dipped in dark chocolate. His family's shop still makes them by hand, in blue and silver foil. The red and gold versions you see everywhere are later imitations.
Coffee houses
Food
Salzburg shares Vienna's love of the coffee house, a place to sit for hours over a single cup with a newspaper and a slice of cake. Café Tomaselli, on the Alter Markt, traces its history back to the early 18th century and counts Mozart among its past customers. Take a table on the terrace and choose from the tray of pastries.

Day trips

Hallstatt
Day trip
Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0
A tiny village wedged between a dark lake and a steep mountain, Hallstatt is one of the most photographed places in Austria. Salt has been mined above it for thousands of years, and the mine can be visited. The village and its landscape are a UNESCO World Heritage site. It gets extremely busy, so start early or stay until the day trippers leave.
Lake Wolfgang
Day trip
Photo: Dmitry A. Mottl, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Salzkammergut lake district begins just east of Salzburg, and Wolfgangsee is its best-loved lake. Boats shuttle between St Gilgen, where Mozart's mother was born, and the pilgrimage town of St Wolfgang, and a steam cog railway climbs the Schafberg for a view over lake after lake. In summer the water is warm enough for a swim.
Werfen ice caves
Day trip
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
High in the mountains south of Salzburg, Eisriesenwelt is the largest ice cave system in the world. Guided tours by lamplight lead past frozen waterfalls and towering ice formations. It is a real expedition, with a climb to the entrance and a lot of steps inside. Below, the clifftop castle of Hohenwerfen guards the valley.
Tip: It is close to freezing inside even in August. Bring warm clothes and sturdy shoes.

Where to stay in Salzburg

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Salzburg →

Getting around

The old town is small and mostly pedestrianised, so walking is the way to see it. Buses and trolleybuses run to Hellbrunn, the Untersberg cable car and the airport. Trains, buses and organised tours cover the lakes, Hallstatt and Werfen, though a car gives more freedom in the Salzkammergut.

When to go

Summer is festival season, busy and lively. Spring and autumn are quieter. December is magical, with Christmas markets around the cathedral. Salzburg is known for its rain in every season, so pack a waterproof and plan a museum or a coffee house for showery hours.

Questions about visiting Salzburg

What is Salzburg best known for?: Mozart, who was born here; The Sound of Music, which was filmed here; the Salzburg Festival; and a baroque old town beneath the Hohensalzburg Fortress, set against the Alps.
Is Salzburg worth visiting?: Yes. It is one of the most beautiful small cities in Europe, easy to explore on foot, rich in music and history, and surrounded by lakes and mountains that make excellent day trips.
How many days do you need in Salzburg?: Two days is enough for the old town, the fortress, Mirabell and Hellbrunn. Add one or two more for Hallstatt, the lakes or the ice caves.
What is there to do in Salzburg with kids?: The trick fountains at Hellbrunn are the favourite, followed by the funicular and the fortress, the Untersberg cable car, a Sound of Music tour and boat trips on Lake Wolfgang.
Do you need a car in Salzburg?: Not for the city. For the lake district and the mountains, public transport and tours work well, but a hire car makes it easier to see several places in a day.

The best things to do in Salzburg

Don't miss

The big sights

Hohensalzburg Fortress

Getreidegasse and Mozart's Birthplace

Salzburg Cathedral

Mirabell Palace and Gardens

St Peter's Abbey and Cemetery

Mönchsberg

Music and film

The Sound of Music locations

Salzburg Festival

Beyond the old town

Hellbrunn Palace

Untersberg

Augustiner Bräu

Eat and drink

Salzburger Nockerl

Mozartkugeln

Coffee houses

Day trips

Hallstatt

Lake Wolfgang

Werfen ice caves

Where to stay in Salzburg

Getting around

When to go

Questions about visiting Salzburg

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