Austria

A day in Salzburg

By Gem - 23:04:00

I can't believe my trip to Austria was just over two months ago now. Time has flown by since then and I've moved jobs so I almost forgot to share my photos from my wonderful day trip to Salzburg. I've already posted about my camping trip in Zell am See and all the things to do and see there but today I'm sharing my thoughts on Salzburg.

Salzburg was the birthplace Mozart, the filming location for various scenes in The Sound of Music and is Austria’s fourth largest city. This historical city is surrounded by the stunning Berchtesgaden Alps and has a lovely old town district with narrow streets and quaint shops.

The journey from Zell am See to Salzburg was a breathtaking one, we took the OBB train and enjoyed views of the Alps on the way. Salzburg train station is only a short walk from the main town and we didn't need to use any public transport once we were there. As soon as we arrived I dragged Martyn straight to the famous Mirabell Palace and garden. This is a mandatory spot to visit in Salzburg. Not only are the gardens very well maintained it was the location for the "Do-Re-Mi"scene in The Sound of Music.

From the gardens, its just a short walk over to the Old Town of Salzburg which is a UNESCO World Heritage protected area. The Old Town is home to The Salzburg Dom Cathedral; St. Peter’s Monastery; Hohensalzburg Fortress; Mozart’s Birthplace on Getreidegasse and lots of lovely shops.

The Dom is a 17th century baroque cathedral and is very grand and beautiful. Entry is free and Mozart was baptized in the cathedral. The cathedral was destroyed by a bomb in second world war and took almost 15 years to restore. The interior was pretty breathtaking and reminded me of the St Stephen's Basilica in Budapest.

Next we headed to the impressive Hohensalzburg Fortress. There is a cable car from the “festungsbahn” stop right behind the Dom (I do love a cable car) There are amazing views over the city from the top of the fortress which is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. Don’t miss the Golden Chamber which is lavishly decorated if you visit. Archbishop Gebhard von Helfenstein built the fortress in 1077 to protect both the bishops and the city.

It was a real shame that Martyn and I only got to spend one day in Salzburg because there were lots of museums we didn't get to visit and we we didn't have time to eat at any of the lovely restaurants in the city. I hope I can visit the small but perfectly formed city again in the future.