Things to Do in Salzburg, Beyond Mozart and Maria

Last Updated on August 1, 2024

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

By Jim Ferri

Many of the things to do in Salzburg, Austria, are connected to The Sound of Music because the city and the movie are forever entwined.

So much so that, along with Mozart, Maria von Trapp is Salzburg’s other most famous export.

Today, decades after it first came to the screen, The Sound of Music continues to resonate with film lovers. It’s the third-most successful film in history, after Gone With the Wind and Star Wars.

Today, in Salzburg, Austria, where the movie was filmed, more than 300,000 tourists visit the city and the surrounding countryside to tour the filming sites every year. 

In fact, one survey of overseas visitors reports that 70% of them said The Sound of Music was their primary reason for traveling to the city.

In Salzburg today, the only sound you hear more than “Do-Re-Mi” is ka-ching.

If you only have a day, you can easily visit Salzburg on a day tour by train from either Vienna or Munich.

Things to Do in Salzburg: More Than Mozart and Maria

Salzburg is a storybook city with domes and spires below an imposing fortress. It’s all surrounded by a backdrop of mountains, a scene you never tire of. 

There’s also enough art, incredible Baroque and modern architecture, great food, and superb festivals to make your head spin. Everywhere you look, the city oozes charm and beauty.

If you visit, head first to Altstadt, Salzburg’s Old Town and historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, horses still clip-clop through the streets, pulling their carriages to Residenz Platz, the city’s most famous plaza. 

Go to Getrapidegasse, a picturesque street with tall, narrow houses and plenty of shoppers. There, you’ll find the home that was Mozart’s birthplace.

Climb up the stairs, and you’ll find memorabilia from the virtuoso. They include the violin he played as a child and the clavichord on which he composed several different works, including the Magic Flute. Continue to the top floor, where there’s an intriguing exhibit called “Mozart Online” that shows the notes as they’re playing.

Take a Break in Salzburg

Venture beyond Getrapidegasse, and you’ll be well rewarded. Many of the alleyways surrounding Mozart’s birthplace once housed craftsmen and artisans who, in the 13th century, worked in the open courtyards. Delve into its maze of streets, and you’ll find these courtyards now brimming with little cafés and shops.

Ask for directions to the nearby ornate Café Mozart and relax over a morning cup of coffee. Or go to Schatz-Konditorei, the oldest pastry shop in the city (also not far away), and linger over decadent pastry.

You may want to visit the popular and cozy little Triangel Restaurant behind the University Church if it’s lunchtime. It’s adjacent to the festival halls of the famous Salzburg Festival. During the Salzburg Festival, festival patrons in suits and gowns share Triangel’s outdoor lunch tables with diners in shorts and t-shirts.

Another Thing to Do in Salzburg: Enjoy Its Unique Dinner Theater

Since the area is so compact, the restaurant St. Peter Stiftskeller is close. It claims to be the oldest restaurant in Central Europe, if not the entire continent. It was first mentioned in writings in 803.

The restaurant is quite deceiving since it’s located in a still-functioning monastery but not associated with it.  

Enter, and you’ll find one small room to the left and another across a little courtyard to the right. But when you go up the stairs, you’ll stumble into a labyrinth of private dining rooms. They culminate in an ornate, chandeliered room at the end.

The restaurant also hosts its Mozart Dinners in this room. These three-course affairs are prepared using traditional 18th-century recipes. Serving takes place during the intermissions of candle-lit performances of some of Mozart’s most popular compositions by musicians and opera singers in period costumes.

Music and Art Galore

For a city its size, Salzburg also hosts an incredible number of cultural events, some 4,000 in all, and the wealth of the city’s historic art, architecture, and culture is incomparable.

Topping the list is the acclaimed Salzburg Festival, which dates back to 1920. Today, it continues to be a huge draw, with numerous events as diverse as its venues. The high point in the city’s cultural calendar, the festival’s myriad performances include concerts, theater, and opera.

The Salzburg Festival is preceded by Sommerszene, an international avant-garde dance festival spanning two weeks.

As might be expected, the city also boasts some great museums, including the Salzburg Foundation’s Walk of Modern Art (10 outdoor sculpture projects by famous international artists), the Museum der Moderne (a permanent collection focusing primarily on European artists), the Baroque Princely Residence (16th-19th-century European paintings); the Museum of Modern Art (located on top of Mönchsberg, with a great view of the Old City) and Hangar-7 at the airport (a masterpiece of avant-garde design and home to a fleet of historic aircraft).

Other Salzburg Sights

While running about, don’t overlook the city’s more “pedestrian” experiences. Leave time to visit Mirabell Palace and Gardens for a great view across the Old Town to the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Salzburg Cathedral (Dom), the city’s most visited attraction. 

You’ll see its two towers jutting up as you look across the river from Mirabell.

Take advantage of a trip to Residenz Platz and a visit to the palatial Residenz to view the artistic treasures contained in the vast residence of the former Prince-Archbishops of the city. 

From there, you’re only a few minutes from the funicular, which will take you up to Hohensalzburg Fortress, from which you can enjoy a great view of the city and surrounding area.

Salzburg’s Sound of Music Experience

If you’re a Sound of Music devotee, you’ll want to visit the places where the movie was filmed.

Among the most popular venues is the Mirabell Gardens, where you’ll find the Pegasus Fountain and hedge arcade, where Maria and the children danced and sang “Do-Re-Mi.”

Another is Residenz Platz, where Maria crossed on her way to the von Trapp Villa from Nonnberg Abbey, which is about a 10-minute walk away. The family hid behind the tombstones in St. Peter’s Cemetery, near St. Peter Stiftskeller.

Other sites are outside the city and are usually best done on a tour. Hellbrunn Palace is where the “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” scene and Maria and von Trapp’s kissing scene were filmed. 

The wedding took place in the church in Mondsee (about a half-hour drive from Salzburg), and the opening movie scenes near Wolfgangsee (about a 45-minute drive). Several bus tours can take you to these sites.

Other sites in the city are accessible on walking and bike tours and even via a rickshaw.

Finally, cap off your visit by taking a day trip to Hallstatt, Austria’s most beautiful lakeside village.

---

You may also enjoy: My Secret Private Tour of Salzburg / Food Festivals in Europe / Things to Do in Innsbruck, Austria in 48 Hours

If You Go:

Austrian National Tourist Office
https://www.austria.info/en

Save