Salzburg in a Day: What to Do With 24 Hours

Salzburg is a genuinely compact city that works very well for a one-day visit. The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and almost everything worth seeing is within a 20-minute walk. Mozart was born here, the fortress above the town is impressive, and the baroque architecture of the centre is among the finest in the German-speaking world.

Getting In and Out

Salzburg Airport is around 4 kilometres from the city centre. Bus and taxi connections are fast. Train connections from Vienna take around 2.5 hours; from Munich, around 1.5 hours. Salzburg Hauptbahnhof is a 20-minute walk from the Old Town or a short bus ride.

Morning

Hohensalzburg Fortress, perched on a rock above the Old Town, is the starting point. The funicular from the Festungsgasse takes 90 seconds to the top. The fortress is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe and the views over the city and the Alps are excellent. The interior (State Rooms, fortress museum) is worth 90 minutes.

Come down from the fortress and walk through the Old Town. Getreidegasse, the narrow pedestrian street lined with ornate wrought-iron shop signs, is the most visited street in Salzburg. Mozart's Birthplace (Mozarts Geburtshaus) at number 9 is a museum; the queue is usually manageable.

Afternoon

Cross the Salzach river to the New Town (Neustadt) via the Staatsbrücke. The Mirabelll Palace and Gardens are 10 minutes' walk from the bridge: the baroque garden is immaculately maintained and the view back across the river toward the fortress is one of Salzburg's best photo angles. The garden featured in the dancing scene in The Sound of Music.

Lunch in the New Town or back in the Old Town. The Augustiner Bräustübl, a large beer hall in a former Augustinian monastery about 15 minutes' walk from the Mirabell, is the right place for lunch: excellent beer, traditional food, and a genuine local atmosphere.

The Salzburg Cathedral in the Old Town is one of the finest Baroque churches in the German-speaking world and free to enter.

Evening (if time allows)

A walk up the Mönchsberg, the limestone cliff above the Old Town, takes around 20 minutes and gives a panoramic view of the city at dusk. The Museum der Moderne gallery sits on the top if you want a cultural component.

For dinner, the restaurants on the Salzach waterfront or in the Steingasse in the New Town are better value than the tourist-facing options on Getreidegasse.