Car Hire Salzburg - Mini guide to Salzburg

Known the world over as the centre of Baroque music and stomping ground of one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salzburg is a compact, historical town. Nestled in a steep valley and straddling the Salzac river, it’s popular with tourists and brimming with culture.

The entire baroque old town is a UNESCO World heritage site, typified by open plazas, magnificent buildings, lovely fountains, and bustling markets – with the proverbial Mozart look-alike buskers on many street corners. The Domplatz and adjoining Kapitelplatz and Residenzplatz are the most popular. The Italian baroque-styled Dom is especially impressive. Nearby, the 1200-year-old Stiftskirch St Peter (where young ‘wolfie’ was Christened), is rather ostentatious with its palatial interior, but certainly draws the crowd. The busy Getreidegasse is packed with souvenir shops selling ‘Mozart’ memorabilia and little else.

The 11th-century Festung Hohensalzburg (Fortress)) presides over the town from a commanding vantage point. It’s one of Europe’s largest castles and from its ramparts you can enjoy fine views of the Alps as well as the town. The impressive State rooms are well worth visiting, and there are several museums within the keep. A short funicular ride beats climbing the stairs.

Mozart-Wohnhaus is a museum housed in the modest Mozart home where some of his masterpieces were composed between 1773 and 1787. It’s one of two such museums, each offering excellent tours relating the life of the master composer. For a break from this overwhelming legend, the Haus Der Natur (Museum of Natural History) is highly recommended, including a large aquarium and reptile house.

Schloss Mirabell is one palace that all visitors should make visit. Located in the Mirabellgarten, its been steadily added to since the early 1600s, and was more recently refurbished for the filming of the sound of music. It’s a remarkable palace, but only the extensive gardens are open to the public.