Explore Salzburg In 1 Day – The Complete Guide

Explore Salzburg In 1 Day - The Complete Guide

Salzburg.

The prettiest town of Austria, according to me. It is so beautiful that your trip to Europe is truly incomplete without visiting this town. Salzburg has something for every age & everyone is going to enjoy the town with same enthusiasm & happiness for sure.

How to reach?

Reaching Salzburg is very easy. The town is practically connected to every major city in Europe by rail, air & road. It has got great connectivity with the Austrian capital, Vienna. Also good connections with nearby countries like Germany, Slovenia & Italy.

The best way to travel to Salzburg from any place is by train because of the surreal rail route. Check out the ticket prices & the schedule on Rail Europe‘s website while planning your trip.

Important Routes

  • Munich to Salzburg – 1.3 – 2 Hours
  • Vienna to Salzburg – 3 Hours
  • Ljubljana to Salzburg – 5 Hours

Salzburg Card

The best thing about visiting this wonderful town is its tourist card. There are different cards for adults & children (half-price), high season (1st May to 31st October) & low season (1st November to 30th April) . There are cards with different validity as well (24 / 48 / 72 Hours).

The best part about this? You get 1 free entry to ALL the tourist attractions of the town. Plus, you get free transportation in & around the city for the valid period. AND you get many great discounts on cultural events.

I love it because after buying it, I had stopped worrying about the expenses I had to do in Salzburg for touristy things. Visit their official website to know more about the card.

Things To See In Salzburg

1. Hohensalzburg Castle

Festung Hohensalzburg

Hohensalzburg Castle is the biggest fully preserved castle of Central Europe. The structure is so massive that you might just need a day only to see it completely. From the top, it is possible to see a major part of Salzburg. The view is exhilarating for sure!

2. Mirabell Palace

Austrija 2013 - 263

This palace is more than 400 years old & yet the beauty of it is set to last for more than 400 years from now! Mirabell Palace is one of its kind palace. The Palace isn’t the only thing that you’ll visit when you arrive here. Visit the Dwarf Garden & Rose Garden for sure.

3. Mozart’s Birthplace

Mozart's Birthplace

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It doesn’t matter if you’re a music lover or not, you have definitely heard of Mozart. Guess what? He was born in Salzburg. The house in which he was born, has been converted into a museum & its humbling to know about the origin of this legendary musician.

4. Mozart’s Residence

Austria-00235 - Mozart's Second Home

You won’t get enough of Mozart only by visiting his birthplace, so walk down to his residence (which also is a museum now) to know more about his adult life, his music & his trips to Vienna. Many instruments & things used by Mozart are preserved & being showcased at Mozart’s Residence.

Read our review on Austrian Train Company OBB

5. Salzburg River Cruise

Austria-00244 - Tourist Boats

I think this was one of the best parts of my Salzburg trip. The river cruise is about an hour long. The cruise goes outside the Salzburg city as well (For a brief time) & it offers a completely different perspective to view the town. The captain of the boat was hilarious & gave such a great commentary on the history of Salzburg, its important buildings & MOZART! (It’s free with the card so just go!)

Following attractions are not inside the town, but about 30 minutes to 1 hour bus ride away from Salzburg. But worry not, with the amazing tourist card, its going to cost you nothing. Zero Euro. 

6. Salzburg Open Air Museum

Bauernhaus in Salzburg Freilichtmuseum

This Open-Air Museum aims at giving a complete experience of how Salzburg was 400 years ago. We really enjoyed all the buildings. They are perfectly preserved. If you are going here with kids, this museum should top your list.

15 Best Things To Do In Salzburg

7. Salzburg Zoo

Zoo was the highlight of our trip because we visited the zoo twice. We had read somewhere that Zoo offers Night Zoo Experience as well but we didn’t know that it was only on certain days. We again went on the 2nd day where we got to experience the night zoo. There are good & bad both sides to Night Zoo.

In the daytime, most animals are awake, you can click great pictures, see them & possibly play with some. But during nighttime, most of them are sleeping, pictures aren’t great (unless you know the night photography thing) but you get an amazing experience of animals roaring, making sounds in the night & that alone should be the reason to visit Salzburg Zoo at night.

There are many species of birds, reptiles & animals in the zoo. And every animal was picture-friendly!

8. Mount Untersberg

Roughly 45 mins away from the town, Mount Untersberg stands tall offering a panoramic view of the surrounding. From the bus stop, you have to take the cable car to reach the top. Once on the top, you can spend hours in the mystical climate, hike around or stop for a quick bite at the cafe located there. Play with clouds & make everyone jealous. For Himachal Pradesh fans, this is how HP will look if our favorite places were more developed! 🙂

There are many more things to explore in the musical town of Salzburg! For more information, visit the tourism board’s website here.

City guides for other cities close to Salzburg

Prague | Budapest | Vienna | Bratislava

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