Salzburg (SalzburgerLand)
Salzburg
Give Salzburg two or three nights, base behind the Altstadt, ride the FestungsBahn up to Hohensalzburg, and keep a half-day free for the Salzkammergut lakes.
Best length
2-3 nights
Airport
Salzburg W. A. Mozart (SZG), ~4km west of the centre
Airport to centre
Bus line 10 ~20 min to the centre; taxi ~15 min
Best base
Altstadt for first-timers; the Neustadt (right bank) for value
In short
Salzburg at a glance
Salzburg works best as a 2- or 3-night break: stay in or just behind the Altstadt, ride the FestungsBahn funicular up to the Hohensalzburg rather than walking it, book a Sound of Music tour or a Mozart concert if either matters to you, and keep a half-day free for the Salzkammergut lakes rather than packing the city tighter.
The short version
- Two full days covers the Altstadt, the fortress and the Mozart sights; a third day frees you for the lakes or Berchtesgaden.
- Stay just behind Getreidegasse or across the Salzach in the Neustadt — the river-front rooms cost more for the view, not for location.
- Take the FestungsBahn funicular up to the Hohensalzburg; the walk up is steep and the queue at the bottom builds fast after 10am.
- Book a Sound of Music tour or a Mozart Dinner Concert ahead only if either is the reason you came — neither is compulsory.
- Use the city as a lakes base: Lake Hallstatt and the Wolfgangsee are an easy day out, and Berchtesgaden is just over the German border.
Salzburg is a compact baroque stage set: a clifftop fortress, a UNESCO old town of squares and churches, the Mozart industry, and the Sound of Music trade, all packed into a space you can cross on foot in fifteen minutes. The temptation is to treat it as a day trip from Vienna or Munich and tick the fortress, but that wastes the best of it — the old town empties of coach groups by early evening, and a single overnight buys you the cathedral squares lit and quiet. The trick is to slow down rather than speed up: book only the one or two things that matter to you, take the funicular instead of the climb, and resist eating every meal beside the cathedral.
Two full days is the comfortable measure for the city — one for the Altstadt and the Mozart sights, one for the fortress and the gardens — with a third night earning its keep only if you use it for the Salzkammergut lakes or Berchtesgaden. Below, the structured planning — where to stay, what to book, how to get in from the airport, and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.
Plan your Salzburg trip
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Salzburg
Hohensalzburg Fortress
Take the FestungsBahn funicular up from Festungsgasse behind the cathedral rather than the steep walking path, and buy the all-inclusive ticket so the funicular both ways, the fortress museums and the audio-guide circuit are covered in one go. The queue at the funicular base station builds fast from about 10am, so go up soon after opening or late in the afternoon. Allow two to two and a half hours: the ramparts and the city panorama are the real draw, with the Golden Hall and the Fortress Museum a step behind. There is no need to book a slot ahead — it is a walk-up ticket, not a timed-entry sight.
Mozart's Birthplace
Mozart's Birthplace (Mozarts Geburtshaus) is the bright-yellow house at Getreidegasse 9 where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756, now a museum run by the Mozarteum Foundation. The family lived on the third floor for 26 years, and the original rooms hold his childhood violin, his clavichord and the family portraits. The single ticket is about €13.50 (£12), but if you also plan to see the larger Mozart-Wohnhaus across the Salzach, the combined ticket at about €19 (£16) is the one to buy — separately the two cost more than €24. It opens daily at 09:00, sits in the middle of the Altstadt, and an unhurried visit takes about an hour to ninety minutes.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
Altstadt (left bank)
£££ premiumThe UNESCO old town under the fortress: Getreidegasse, the cathedral squares and most of the Mozart sights within a few minutes' walk. The most atmospheric base, but the river-front and Getreidegasse-facing rooms charge a premium for the postcard, and it is quieter at night than you might expect.
Best for: First-timers, short stays, walkable sightseeing
Neustadt / right bank
££ mid-rangeAcross the Salzach around the Mirabell Gardens and Linzer Gasse — a five-minute footbridge walk from the old town but noticeably better value, with more independent restaurants and bars and quick access to the station for day trips.
Best for: Value, food-led trips, lakes day trips by train
Around the Hauptbahnhof
£ valueThe station district, about a 15-minute walk or one short bus ride north of the old town. Plainer and cheaper, useful if you are doing rail day trips to Hallstatt or onward to Vienna, but not where you come for the evening atmosphere.
Best for: Budget stays, rail day-trippers
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bus line 10 to the centre / Hauptbahnhof | ~20 min | single about €2.60 | Cheapest; runs every ~10-15 min |
| Bus line 2 to the Hauptbahnhof | ~25 min | single about €2.60 | Useful for station-area or right-bank hotels |
| Taxi to the Altstadt | ~15 min | usually €18-€25 | Easiest with luggage or late arrivals |
| Pre-booked private transfer | ~15 min | from about €30 one-way | Worth it for groups or early flights |
When to go
Sweet spot: Late May to June and September are the sweet spot: warm enough for the lakes, comfortable for walking the cobbled old town and the fortress, and quieter than the July-August peak when the Salzburg Festival fills the city and pushes hotel prices up.
Summer is busy and dearer, especially during the Salzburg Festival (mid-July to end of August), when accommodation books out months ahead. Late November to Christmas brings the Christkindlmarkt to the cathedral squares — atmospheric but cold and crowded. The deep mid-winter ski-charter season is when direct UK flights are easiest; the shoulder months are quietest but some lake boats and lifts run reduced services.
What it costs
UK return flights to Salzburg run roughly £60-£140 in the summer city season booked ahead, but the airport leans heavily on winter ski charters, so direct fares dry up in the shoulder months. Out of the ski season many UK travellers fly to Munich (around £40-£90) and take the ~1h30 train across the border instead, which is often cheaper and just as quick door to door.
Daily budget per person
Salzburg is small and squeezed, so the old-town squares charge old-town prices. Cross the Makartsteg footbridge into the Neustadt for the same meal at a fairer price, and use a Würstelstand or a weekday Mittagsmenü for lunch rather than a sit-down spot beside the cathedral.
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