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Top 10 Salzburg Tips | Suggested Itineraries For Salzburg
Suggested Stay: 3-4 Full Days
Important Hours:Most sights are open daily until 5-7pm depending on the season and the beer halls are open until late. Hellbrunn Trick Fountains are open until 9pm in peak season, but are closed for Winter November-March. The Hedge Maze and Dwarf Garden at Mirabell Palace are also closed in Winter. On Mondays, theOld Residenz and Modern Art Museum are bothclosed.
Best Time Of Year To Visit:We like the Fall from August through October the most, but Salzburgis a great city all year. Each season has its own festivals and even though a couple of sights are closed in the Winter, things like the Christmas Market make up for it.
Salzburg Card:For a 1-3 day visit, consider gettingSalzburg Card when you get there which covers the entrance to most attractions as well as the city buses. Cost is 24 hours for 27€, 48 hours for 36€, & 72 hours for 42€ (Cheaper November-April,kids half off).
Planning Your Time:
Properly planning your time in Salzburg will take away a lot of stress and help you feel like a regular visitor. Our suggested itineraries for Salzburg are pretty straightforward since most of the sights are either right in Old Town or within close walking distance. Many visitors try to cram a ton of attractions into 24 or 48 hours, which is totally fine, but staying in Salzburg for 3 to 4 full days is a lot better.
Adding a couple of more days in Salzburg will really help you see everything at a more laid-back pace with extra time for a wonderful side trip or two. The suggested itineraries for Salzburg that we’ve come up with are from our own first-hand experiences. Wehope our tips helpyou better divide your time in Salzburg so you can make the most of your visit.
Related Article: Top 10 Things To Do In Salzburg.
One Day In Salzburg:
With just a 1-day itinerary in Salzburg, we suggest that you focus your timenear the historic core of Old Town. Everything in Salzburg is quite compact, so if you start early in the morning you can get through our self-guided Salzburg Walking Tour and the in-townSound of Music Movie Locations(1-11) very easily. If you are willing to start by at least8am and make it a long day, you can even fit in The Sound of Music stops just South of Old Town (12-15) before enjoying your evening.
When we only have one day in Salzburg we love getting dinner at the Saint Peter’s Keller which is the oldest restaurant in Europe dating back to 803 and has excellent food. Sunset on the patio of the Stiegl Beer Garden is also cool, but we like the history a little more at Saint Peter’s which also has nightly Mozart concert shows. Finishing your day as the old Augustiner monk’s brewery is a must if you only have 24 hours in Salzburg.
If you areplanning on visiting both theHigh Fortress in Old Town and the Hellbrunn Palace Trick Fountains to the South of Town in one day, make sure to visit the Fortress in thefirst half of the day before it gets busy. The TrickFountains at Hellbrunn Palace are open until 9pm in the Summer (Closed November-March) which gives you more flexibility, but give yourself enough time to get there from Old Town.
•Day 1:Old Town Walking Tourwith Mozart Sights& Sound of Music Movie Locations1-11 (add 12-15 if you start really early). Traditional dinner at Saint Peter’s Restaurant. Evening at the Augustiner Monks Brewery.
Old Town Walking Tourwith Mozart sights.
Sound of Music Movie Locations1 through 11.
Traditional dinner atSaint Peter’s Restaurant then drinks at theAugustiner Monks Brewery.
Two Days In Salzburg:
A 2-day itinerary for Salzburg makes your trip planning more flexible while giving you time to see all the main sights in town. The first day we suggest doing all of our Old Town Salzburg Walking Tour including the High Fortress and Mozart sights along with the in-townThe Sound of Music Movie Tourlocations (1 through 11). If you want to take a lot of extra time at the museums and for shopping, feel free to move your visit of the High Fortress to the afternoon of the second day. Finish your first evening by having a traditional dinner at Saint Peter’s Restaurantfollowed by drinks at the Augustiner Brewery tocap the start of your48 hours in Salzburg. The Augustiner Brewery was started by monks in 1621 who came to Salzburgfrom Munich where they were already brewing beer since 1328!
On thesecond day of your Salzburg itinerary, we suggest renting a bike to see the Sound of Music film locationsjust South of Old Town (12-15) along with the trick fountains at Hellbrunn Palace. In the afternoon you’ll want visit the High Fortress if you didn’t get to it on day one as it is a truehighlight of Salzburg. If you’ve already done the Fortress and want to see more on the South side of town, you can visit the famous Stiegl Brewery which opened in 1492, the Hangar 7 Museum at the Airport, or take a short bus ride &cable car up to the peak of nearby Untersberg Mountain. Whichever afternoon activity you choose, we recommend havingtraditional dinnerat Stieglkeller Restaurant overlooking Old Town from the base of the High Fortress toend day 2. If you can get toStieglkeller Restaurant before dusk you will get an excellent sunset overlooking Old Town Salzburg and the Cathedral.
If you are an extreme power traveler you can try to cram all the sights into your first day then spend your second day on a Side Trip from Salzburg. The three best day trip options are Hallstatt, Berchtesgaden, and Werfen,but be aware that any of them will eat up an entire day from an early breakfast until dinner time. Day trips are best worked in if you have more than two days and can be seen on our other suggested itineraries for Salzburg below.
•Day 1: Old Town Walwith Mozart Sights and High Fortress plusThe Sound of Music Movie Locations1-11 during the day. Traditional dinner atSaint Peter’s Restaurant. Evening at the Augustiner Monks Brewery.
•Day 2:Renta bike ride to visit The Sound of Music Movie Locations12-15 & Hellbrunn Trick Fountains during the day. Afternoon Stiegl Brewery, Untersberg Mountain, or High Fortress. Evening traditional dinner and sunset at the Stieglkeller Restaurant.
•Alternate Day 2: Take A Day Trip toHallstatt,Berchtesgaden,or Werfen if you are able to power through everything else day 1.
Rent a bike to see the sights just South of Old Town Salzburg.
Sound of Music Movie Locations12 through 15 followed by your choice of afternoon sights.
Evening traditional dinner at the Stieglkeller Beer Hall.
Three Days In Salzburg:
Having a 3-day itinerary for Salzburg will let you cover a lot more while also working in time to relax and enjoy it. You will still need 2 full days in Salzburg to see all of the main sights in town, but a third day lets you also work in a side trip. During the first two days, you will be able to cover all of ourOld Town Walking Tourand theSound of Music Movie Tourlocations 1-15 along with some great meals.On the last day, you can then take aday trip from Salzburgwith the best three options are being Hallstatt, Berchtesgaden, and Werfen. Because you don’t have to book your train or bus tickets ahead of time you can be flexible and do your side trip on day two instead of three if needed for weather reasons.
Diving into the day trip options a little more for this three day suggested itinerary for Salzburg. Both Hallstatt and Berchtesgaden easily and cheaply visited by local bus, whileWwerfen is connected directly to Salzburg by train. It can be a tough choice between the day trips, but we prefer Hallstatt as the beauty of this lakeside village is unbelievable. Hallstatt hashalf-timber homes, an Alpine lakefront, a salt mine, mountain views, bone chapel, and an ice cave. Berchtesgaden also has a salt mine, plus Hilter’s Eagles Nest, the King’s Lake Ferry, great hiking, and a quaint village center. Werfen is known for itshigh fortress, mountains, and the World’s largest ice cave. Keep in mind that while the salt mine in Berchtesgaden is open year round, the one in Hallstatt is closed each Winter from November through Mid-April. Also in the Winter, the ice cave in Hallstatt, ice cave in Werfen, and Hitler’s Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden are all closed for the season until May each year.
•Day 1: Old Town Walkwith Mozart Sights&Sound of Music Movie Locations1-11 during the day. Traditional dinner atSaint Peter’s Restaurant. Evening at the Augustiner Monks Brewery.
•Day 2: Take a morning bike ride to visit theSound of Music Movie Locations12-15 & Trick Fountains during the day. Afternoon Stiegl Brewery, Untersberg Mountain, or High Fortress. Evening traditional dinner with a view at Stieglkeller Beer Hall.
•Day 3: Day Trip from Salzburgto Hallstattto tour the ice caves, mountain viewpoints, salt mine, and village lakefront. Night time atSternbraeu Beer Garden or the Hotel Stein Rooftop.
•AlternativeDay 3: Take A Day Trip to Berchtesgadenfor Hitler’s Eagles Nest, Kings Lake & Salt Mine -or- Werfen for the fortress and World’s largest ice cave. Night time atSternbraeu Beer Garden or the Hotel Stein Rooftop.
Day Trip From SalzburgtoHallstattfor the village, salt mine, 5 Fingers Lookout & Ice Caves.
Day Trip From SalzburgtoHallstattfor the village, salt mine, 5 Fingers Lookout & Ice Caves.
Alternative:Day Trip From SalzburgtoBerchtesgadenfor Hitler’s Eagles Nest, Kings Lake & Salt Mine.
Four Days In Salzburg:
The perfect amount of time to visit in Salzburg is four full days. A 4-day suggested itinerary for Salzburg is basically the same as our three-day stay but with some extra wiggle room for dividing your time. This will also take the guesswork out of which day trip you should do as you will have time to do two of them.
With 4 full days, we would stagger our day trips to be on days two and four instead of being back-to-back as long as the weather cooperates. This staggering will help you get a couple of changes in scenery with a centralbase without getting burnt out. You will be able to see most of Old Town the first day, a day trip the second day, the rest of Old Town and Sound of Music sights day three, followed by a final day trip on day four. Each evening you’ll be back in time to explore a new restaurant and will finish in the same hotel room as your base camp.
If you are more in the mindset of cranking out as many cities as you can during your visit, consider packing more of Salzburg into day 1 and spending the first chunk of day 3 in Werfen as a third-day trip. Werfen has a great city center fortress, the World’s Largest Ice Caves, and The Sound of Music picnic meadow (all closed in the Winter).
•Day 1: Old Town Salzburg Walkwith Mozart Sights& Sound of Music Movie Locations1-11 during the day. Traditional dinner atSaint Peter’s Restaurant. Evening at the Augustiner Monks Brewery.
•Day 2: Day Trip from Salzburgto HallstattVillage & Ice Caves. Night time atSternbraeu Beer Garden.
•Day 3:Morningbike ride to visit theSound of Music Movie Locations12-15 & Hellbrunn Trick Fountains. Afternoon Stiegl Brewery, Untersberg Mountain, or High Fortress. Evening traditional dinner at Stieglkeller.
•AlternativeDay 3:Power travelerstake a side trip to WerfenIce Caves & Fortress. Evening traditional dinner at Stieglkeller.
•Day 4: Take A Day Trip to Berchtesgadenfor the Eagles Nest & Kings Lake. Evening on the rooftop ofHotel Stein.
Top 10 Things To Do In Salzburg:
1.VisitThe Mozart Sights
2.SeeThe Sound of Music Film Locations
3.Tour Salzburg High Fortress
4. Explore St Peter’s Church & Cemetery
5. Shop On The MedievalGetreidgasse
Read More: Top 10 Things To Do In Salzburg
