How to spend one day in Salzburg

Welcome to Salzburg!  

The small yet beautiful little town located beside the River Salzach is widely known as a baroque gem, as the home town of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for its annual music and theatre festivals.  

#1 Discover Salzburg Foundation’s art project 

If you’re a fan of contemporary art, don’t miss the Salzburg Foundation–a private initiative dedicated to art in public spaces. It has brought countless works by distinguished international artists to the old town in recent decades, such as the famous “Sphaera” by Stephan Balkenhol awaiting visitors in central square. Across from the Toscaninihof, you will find Anselm Kiefer’s walk-in installation entitled “A.E.I.O.U.” It provides an impressive reminder of the book burning that took place in Salzburg during the National Socialist era.  

#2 Climb the Festungberg 

If you feel like hiking, don’t hesitate to climb to the top of Festungsberg and enjoy the panoramic views of the old town, Salzburg’s churches, the River Salzach and the local hills. For those preferring something a little more relaxing, you’d be glad to hear that the top of the hill can also be reached via Salzburg’s funicular railway. On top of the Festungsberg lies the Hohensalzburg Fortress–the biggest fully preserved castle in Central Europe. Learn about the history of the place and the life of the archbishops in its many museums. They will surely keep you and your loved ones entertained! 

#3 Visit the Panorama Museum 

When the heavy rain for which Salzburg is famous is holding court, the Panorama Museum offers an excellent alternative to the view from the hill. The museum exhibits a hand-painted panoramic picture of 130 m² in size depicting Salzburg in the eighteenth century. It’s a legacy left to the city by the Salzburg artist, J. M. Sattler, who lived in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Beside the Salzburg panorama, the Panorama Museum is also home to a variety of other cosmoramas (large-scale paintings) dating from the nineteenth century and originating from different parts of the world. 

#4 Dining in Salzburg 

Should you feel peckish during your walk in the old town, then you will be spoiled for choice of dining options. If you wish to embark on a culinary journey into Salzburg’s haute cuisine, visit the Triangel, a dining establishment that essentially becomes the canteen for the Salzburg Festival during the summer months. Delectable traditional fare can be sampled here while sneaking discreet glances at the neighboring tables where the stars of classical music can be observed during their lunch break. The food is somewhat less traditional in the Pommes Boutique, the only restaurant in Salzburg in which original Belgian chips are served with home-made sauces. 

#5 Enjoy a stroll through the Mirabellgarten 

This baroque park has many surprises in store for visitors. A whole army of little stone dwarfs live here, for example. Some represent the months of the year; others depict roles for the Italian commedia dell’arte form of theatre. A small labyrinth awaits exploration behind the army of dwarves, and tortoises, goldfish and orchids will delight visitors to the freely accessible baroque orangery close to the like-named Mirabell Palace. 

#6 Shopping in the Andräviertel 

There is no denying that Salzburg isn’t really a shopping city in the typical sense. Take a closer look, though, and you will find little boutiques and shops that are by all means worth a visit. Begin this search in the ornate Andräviertel district of Salzburg, and a shopping trip will also prove a feast for the eyes. A stop at the Spielzeugschachtel toyshop is an absolute must if you’re travelling with children. Shop with a good conscience in Weltladen on Linzergasse, which offers a wide selection of fair trade fashion along with foods, crockery and jewelry. Bookworms should be sure to pay Rupertus book store or the Neues Leben antiquarian bookshop a visit. 

#7 Explore the craftwork in the old town 

The houses in Salzburg’s old town do not only look as if hard-working craftspeople have been plying their trades here for centuries–this is really also the case. Kirchtag, the last umbrella maker in Austria, is located on Getreiedegasse, for example. On Sigmund Haffner Gasse, the glassblowers of Schleiferei Kreis can be watched at work on most days and leather wares have been sold on the other side of the River Salzach for centuries now–on the historic Lederergasse to be precise. If you ask at the counter in Lederhaus Schliesselberger, you will be allowed to visit the first floor of this building that houses the leather guild’s historic hall featuring wonderfully ornate frescoes.  

#8 Party the night away 

Enough energy for a night out? Then why not head to where the locals go to celebrate. A chilled-out atmosphere prevails at Chez Roland, an absolutely classic Salzburg establishment in which partygoers of all ages meet. And those with energy remaining in the early hours of the morning should head on to After Five. The name says it all: the club only opens at 4:15 a.m. and revelers are able to order drinks at a time when breakfast is already being served elsewhere.