Salzburg is located in the North of Austria, it is known as Mozart’s town, but it turned up to be so much more. It’s big enough to offer all what a modern city should offer. On the other hand, it’s small enough to ensure a pleasant life without the usual crowd of large cities. If you come once, you will adore it forever.
Recently, we visited it for the third time and it’s obvious that every single season brings its own charm.
Last time, we planned our trip for the winter period, in order to enjoy it during the Advent season, which, in Salzburg, is a true fairytale. The streets are decorated with different kind of bright chains and garlands; city square is full of beautiful street vendors which sell authentic decorations and scented/fragrant sweets. You could try different kind of food and you can enjoy famous Austrian sausages. You could warm yourself by drinking warm and tasty punches and mulled wine. With an extra charge, you could keep your themed cup, as a beautiful souvenir and a memory of the smells and flavors of Christmas market. Don’t miss out on walking through the nearest streets and enjoy in the beauty of small secret gardens and yards, absolutely magical….
If you still prefer some warmer weather, Salzburg has still a lot to show. We have visited just a part of many existing sights and I will firstly mention the one that impressed us the most:
HELLBRUN – castle and trick fountains
The castle had been a summer residence in which its owner never slept over. They have just organized occasional parties during the summer period. The Prince Archbishop from Salzburg wanted that his dinners and events become more entertaining and has asked for construction of secret fountains. With their sudden appearance, he liked to surprise their guests. So, visiting the castle and walking through the park with fountains is unforgettable experience and a real pleasure for kids and adults. I certainly recommend putting it on the top of the list of city sights, especially during the warm period of the year.
SALZBURG ZOO
The area of the ZOO is actually closely connected with the area of the castle Hellbrun. So, I recommend planning a visit to the ZOO on the same day. The interesting thing is that all animals are located in the open area and their habitats are naturally bounded by the rocks. Additional entertainment for the kids are marked areas where is allowed feeding and touching some animals. So, walking through the ZOO is especially interesting to children.
Museum of Natural History
The Museum is a really large building, almost in the center of the town and walking inside it is very interesting for kids and adults. For visiting the Museum you need to reserve about 3-4 hours, since it is really full of different content (from dinosaurs to space) and time flies very fast. Here, you have an opportunity to participate in more workshops and interactive contents that are amazing for the kids.
On the other hand, I’d like to recommend visiting of another Museum, which will be more interesting for the adults:
Beer’s Museum Stiegel
The Museum is located inside the area of the same factory – famous Salzburg’s beer Stiegel. Additional benefit of visiting Stiegel Museum is the fact that entrance card includes degustation of three types of beer. What is more, a restaurant where you could enjoy pleasant ambient and really delicious food, for acceptable prices is also located here.
While you’re in the neighborhood you could find famous Hangar 7, I recommend stopping by and checking out many interesting and fast vehicles.
Additionally, in Salzburg you could find different kinds of other museums, such are Toys Museum, Christmas Museum and others. Regarding prices and tickets, you have a possibility to purchase a Salzburg card that includes different suitability such as free public transfer and free entrance to the most of city attractions. You could choose Salzburg Card for period of 24 hours (29,00 EUR – adults, 14,50 EUR – children ages 6-15), 48 hours (38,00 EUR – adults, 19,00 EUR – children ages 6-15) or 72 hours (44,00 EUR – adults, 22,00 EUR – children ages 6-15). Also, prices depend on the season. You could buy it in the most hotels’ receptions or online.
At the end, regarding accommodation, in Salzburg you could find different kinds of hotels with different prices and in different locations. In our case, a few years ago, when we visited Salzburg for the first time, we have come without booking a hotel in advance. Finally, after knocking on the doors of some hotels, we found an available room in Das grüne Hotel – zur Post. It is a charming, family owned hotel with very delicious bio breakfast and nice and pleasant rooms. Reaching the city center is really simple, only a few minutes by bus (4 stations) that stops in front of the Hotel. You could buy a Salzburg Card or bus ticket at the reception of the hotel. The mentioned hotel is definitely not the cheapest one, but we like it very much and every time when we have visited the Salzburg, we have booked our accommodation in the same hotel.
More about Salzburg, during our next visit….
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