Things to do in Salzburg: 15 highlights

On the left bank of the Salzach, at the foot of the Mönchsberg, Salzburg's old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Its baroque squares, Residenzplatz, Domplatz and Kapitelplatz, follow one another between the cathedral and the Residenz, the palaces of the prince-archbishops who ruled the city.

Getreidegasse, a narrow shopping street with wrought-iron shop signs, leads to Mozart's birthplace. Everything is on foot, with Hohensalzburg Fortress towering above.

Founded in the 11th century by the prince-archbishops and enlarged until the 17th century, Hohensalzburg Fortress sits on the Festungsberg above the old town. It is one of the largest surviving medieval castles in Europe.

The visit takes in the princely apartments, the fortress museums and the ramparts, with views over the old town rooftops, the Salzach and the Alps. You go up by the FestungsBahn funicular or on foot from Kapitelplatz.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 on the third floor of 9 Getreidegasse, where his family lived until 1773. The house is now a museum run by the Mozarteum Foundation.

It displays the family apartment, portraits, letters and instruments that belonged to the composer, including his childhood violin. The visit combines with Mozart's Residence (Mozart-Wohnhaus) on Makartplatz, across the Salzach.

Consecrated on 24 September 1628 after fourteen years of work led by the architect Santino Solari, Salzburg Cathedral is dedicated to Saints Rupert and Virgil. Its pale marble façade and twin towers close off Domplatz.

The bright, stuccoed baroque interior holds the font where Mozart was baptised. The cathedral museum and galleries are part of the DomQuartier circuit, which links the cathedral to the Residenz.

On the right bank of the Salzach, Mirabell Palace was built in 1606 by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich and remodelled in the 18th century. Its Marble Hall, a former banqueting hall where Mozart and his sister performed, now hosts chamber music concerts.

The baroque gardens, with their flowerbeds, statues and fountains, frame the fortress in the distance. Several scenes of « The Sound of Music » were filmed here, around the Pegasus Fountain and the steps.

Set against the Mönchsberg on Hofstallgasse, the Grosses Festspielhaus was designed by Clemens Holzmeister and opened in 1960. With 2,179 seats, it is the largest hall in the festival district, next to the House for Mozart and the Felsenreitschule, the former riding school carved into the cliff.

Every summer, from late July to late August, the Salzburg Festival stages opera, concerts and theatre here. The rest of the year, the halls can be seen on a guided tour.

The Mönchsberg forms a wooded cliff on the left bank, right behind the old town. A lift cut into the rock rises from Gstättengasse to the Museum der Moderne, whose terrace has one of the best views over the rooftops, domes and fortress.

At the top, forest paths link the museum to Hohensalzburg Fortress along the old ramparts: a quiet walk a few minutes from the crowds of Getreidegasse.

On Residenzplatz, the Residenz was for centuries the palace of Salzburg's prince-archbishops. Its baroque state rooms, with painted ceilings, saw the young Mozart play before the court.

It is part of the DomQuartier, a circuit linking the state rooms, the Residenz picture gallery, the cathedral galleries and the St Peter's museum. Opposite, the Residenz Fountain is one of the largest baroque fountains north of the Alps.

5 km south of the centre, Hellbrunn Palace was built in the early 17th century by Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus as a summer residence. Its gardens hide the trick fountains (Wasserspiele): grottoes, automata and jets that soak visitors by surprise.

The free park also holds the glass pavilion from « The Sound of Music ». Allow half a day with the palace visit.

On Museumsplatz, at the foot of the Mönchsberg, the Haus der Natur is Salzburg's natural history and science museum. It brings together an aquarium, a reptile zoo, galleries on dinosaurs, space and the human body, and a hands-on Science Center.

It is the safest bet on a rainy day, especially with children.

About twenty kilometres south of Salzburg, on the Dürrnberg above Hallein, salt has been mined since Celtic times: it made the prince-archbishops rich and gave the city its name.

The guided tour is in miners' overalls, with the mine train, the wooden slides and a crossing of an underground lake. Above ground, a reconstructed Celtic village rounds off the outing.

Salzburg has kept its old-style cafés, with banquettes, newspapers and pastry counters. Café Tomaselli, on Alter Markt, is one of the oldest in Austria; Café Bazar, on the right bank, looks out over the Salzach and the fortress.

The Fürst confectionery, founded by Paul Fürst, who invented the Mozartkugel in 1890, still sells its balls of pistachio, marzipan and nougat coated in chocolate, wrapped by hand.

During Advent, the Christkindlmarkt sets up on Domplatz and Residenzplatz, between the cathedral and the Residenz. Its stalls sell wooden decorations, candles, Lebkuchen and mulled wine beneath the illuminated fortress.

Choirs and brass bands play regularly on the squares, and other markets open around the city, including in the fortress courtyard and at Hellbrunn.

About thirty kilometres east of Salzburg, the Wolfgangsee is lined by three villages: St. Gilgen, birthplace of Mozart's mother, St. Wolfgang, with its pilgrimage church and Michael Pacher altarpiece, and Strobl.

Boats link the villages in season, and the Schafberg cog railway leaves St. Wolfgang for a summit overlooking a string of Salzkammergut lakes.

East of Salzburg lies the Salzkammergut, a region of lakes and mountains whose core, Hallstatt and the Dachstein, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hallstatt, a village clinging between its lake and the salt mountain, is reached by bus via Bad Ischl or on an organised trip.

Above Obertraun, the Krippenstein cable car leads to the Dachstein ice caves and the 5fingers platform. Allow a full day, ideally with a night on site.