Three days is the relaxed amount for Salzburg: the same walkable old town and right bank as the two-day trip, plus a full day out to the mountains or the lakes. The first two days take the Hohensalzburg fortress, the cathedral and DomQuartier, the baroque squares, the Getreidegasse and Mozart's birthplace, then the Mirabell gardens, the Sound of Music sights, the Kapuzinerberg view and the Nonnberg abbey, all on foot from an old-town base. The third day buys you a Hallstatt and Salzkammergut lakes run, or instead the Eagle's Nest and the emerald Konigssee just over the German border. A few things shape the timing: the Salzburg Festival from late July to the end of August books out the city and spikes prices, the Advent markets fill the squares through December, and both the Eagle's Nest and the Hellbrunn trick fountains are seasonal, running roughly May to October or November, so check the dates before you count on them.
Duration
3 days
Base
Altstadt (Old Town)
Mid budget
330 EUR
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Picks sorted with our recommended base, Altstadt (Old Town), first. Book early: the good-value rooms go weeks ahead.
Couples€€Old town design hotel · Altstadt (Old Town)
The Blue Goose is Salzburg's oldest inn turned contemporary art hotel, its rooms hung with modern works. It stands right on the Getreidegasse in the heart of the old town.
from ~160 EUR/night
Check prices
Special occasions€€€Riverfront grand hotel · Neustadt (Right Bank)
The legendary Sacher sits right on the Salzach with fortress views from the best rooms and its own Sachertorte served in the cafe. A footbridge takes you straight across to the old town.
from ~350 EUR/night
Check prices
First visit€€Right-bank classic · Neustadt (Right Bank)
A comfortable classic hotel right by the Mirabell gardens on the right bank. It is an easy walk over the bridge into the old town, with the station close for day trips.
from ~130 EUR/night
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Budget€Sound-of-Music hostel · Around the Hauptbahnhof
The well-known backpacker hostel near the station that screens the Sound of Music every night. It offers both dorms and cheaper private rooms within walking distance of the centre.
from ~30 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
Day 1
Morning
Take the FestungsBahn funicular up to the Hohensalzburg fortress early, ahead of the groups, and walk the ramparts and museums with the panoramic terrace over the domes. The return ticket usually covers the funicular and the museums together.
TipThis huge 11th-century fortress crowns the hill over the old town and is one of the largest fully preserved castles in Europe, never taken in a siege. Ride up on the FestungsBahn funicular from Festungsgasse rather than slogging up the path, as the return ticket usually includes the funicular and the fortress museums; go early or late in the day to beat the midday crush, and the panoramic terrace over the domes is the reason to come.
Down in the squares, look into the free Baroque cathedral where Mozart was baptised, then follow the DomQuartier route on one ticket through the state rooms and terraces. Check the day, as it closes on Tuesdays outside July and August.
TipThe Baroque cathedral where Mozart was baptised is free to enter, and its bronze fonts and painted dome are worth ten quiet minutes off the square. For the full experience buy a single DomQuartier ticket, which routes you through the prince-archbishops' state rooms, the cathedral terrace and the museums on one loop; note the DomQuartier closes on Tuesdays outside July and August, so check the day before you go.
Afternoon
Lunch just off the squares where the prices ease off the tourist menus, keeping it light before an afternoon on foot around the old town.
Stroll the linked Residenzplatz, Domplatz and Kapitelplatz around the fountain and the golden orb, catching the Glockenspiel chimes if you are near at 11am or 6pm.
TipThe linked baroque squares of Residenzplatz, Domplatz and Kapitelplatz form the free, always-open heart of the old town, set around the big Residenz fountain, the Glockenspiel tower and a giant golden orb sculpture topped by a figure. The Glockenspiel chimes at set times, usually 7am, 11am and 6pm, so time a pause for it; this is also where the main Christmas market sets up through Advent, so expect stalls and crowds in December.
Walk the guild-sign lane of Getreidegasse to Mozart's yellow birthplace at number 9 and its museum. Buy the combined ticket if you also want the Mozart residence across the river.
TipGetreidegasse is the famous narrow lane of wrought-iron guild signs, free to walk and busiest in the middle of the day, so come early for photos before the crowds. Mozart's yellow birthplace house stands at number 9 and holds the museum with his childhood violin; buy the ticket online to skip the queue in season, or get the combined ticket that also covers the Mozart residence across the river for a small saving.
Evening
Spend the evening at the Augustiner Brau beer hall in Muhln, filling a stein from the barrel and eating from the self-service deli stalls. Bring cash and sit out in the chestnut garden in warm weather.
TipThis vast monastery beer hall in the Muhln district pours its own beer straight from wooden barrels into stone steins you rinse and fill yourself, with a hall of self-service delis for pretzels, roast pork and cheese. It only opens from mid-afternoon on weekdays and from early afternoon at weekends, so it is an evening spot; grab a bench in the chestnut-shaded garden in summer, and bring cash for the deli stalls.
Day 2
Morning
Cross to the Mirabell gardens early for the beds, the Pegasus fountain and the fortress framed behind, before the coaches arrive. The Do-Re-Mi steps and fountain are here.
TipThese manicured baroque gardens with the Pegasus fountain and the rose beds are free and open daily until dusk, and they frame the fortress for the classic photo. Sound of Music fans will recognise the steps and the fountain from the Do-Re-Mi sequence; come early morning for the emptiest shots, and if the palace Marble Hall is not hosting a wedding or a concert you can usually step inside for free.
Link the in-town Sound of Music locations on foot, or take a half-day coach tour for the outlying palaces such as Leopoldskron and Hellbrunn's gazebo. Book the tour ahead in summer.
TipThe film locations, the Mirabell gardens, Leopoldskron and Hellbrunn palaces, the Nonnberg abbey and the gazebo, are scattered across town and out to the edges, so decide whether to link the in-town ones on foot or take a coach tour for the outlying palaces. The half-day bus tours book out in summer, so reserve a day or two ahead; if you would rather do it free, the Mirabell gardens and Nonnberg abbey are both an easy walk from the centre.
Afternoon
Climb the stepped path up the Kapuzinerberg from the Steingasse for the best free panorama over the domes and the fortress. Allow 20 to 30 minutes each way and wear proper shoes.
TipThe Salzach embankments give you the postcard view of the fortress reflected in the green river, and the wooded Kapuzinerberg hill above the right bank climbs to the best free panorama in the city. Start from the Steingasse or the Linzergasse and follow the stepped path up past the Capuchin monastery, allowing 20 to 30 minutes; wear proper shoes as it is steep, and go before dusk for the light on the old town.
Walk the Nonnbergstiege up to the Nonnberg abbey below the fortress, the oldest running nunnery north of the Alps and Maria von Trapp's convent. Free to enter but keep quiet, as it is enclosed and working.
TipThis hilltop convent below the fortress is the oldest continuously running nunnery north of the Alps, founded around 714, and the place where the real Maria von Trapp was a novice before her marriage. The church is free to visit and open daily, but it is a working enclosed community, so keep quiet and dress modestly; reach it up the stepped Nonnbergstiege from Kaigasse, which doubles as a quiet back way toward the fortress.
Evening
Settle into a Viennese-style coffee house for a shared Salzburger Nockerl, and buy the original Mozartkugel from Cafe Furst on the Alter Markt to take home. Expect to pay more for the genuine hand-made ones.
TipSalzburg keeps the Viennese coffee-house tradition, and its signature dessert is the Salzburger Nockerl, three fluffy baked meringue peaks meant to echo the hills, best shared as it is huge and made to order. For the sweet souvenir, buy the original hand-made Mozartkugel from Cafe Furst on the Alter Markt, where they were invented, rather than the foil-wrapped supermarket copies; expect to pay a premium for the real ones.
Day 3
Morning
Head out early to the Salzkammergut, either to the postcard village of Hallstatt on its mountain lake or to a nearer swimming lake like the Wolfgangsee. Hallstatt is about 2.5 hours each way by train and ferry and heaving by midday, so go early or take a car or tour.
TipThe Salzkammergut lake district spreads southeast of the city, with the postcard village of Hallstatt on its mountain-walled lake and swimming lakes like the Wolfgangsee closer in. Hallstatt is doable by public transport in about 2.5 hours each way via train and ferry, but it is heavily overtouristed by midday, so go early and out of season if you can; a rented car or a day tour makes it far easier to combine with the nearer lakes.
Afternoon
Alternatively, cross the German border to Berchtesgaden for the Eagle's Nest mountain lodge and the emerald Konigssee, under an hour away. The Eagle's Nest opens only mid-May to late October on timed bus-and-lift tickets, so book ahead and check the dates.
TipThe Eagle's Nest, a mountaintop lodge built for Hitler, and the emerald Konigssee lake sit just over the German border around Berchtesgaden, under an hour from Salzburg. The Eagle's Nest is strictly seasonal, opening only from roughly mid-May to late October and reached by a special bus and lift with timed tickets, so book ahead and check the dates; the Konigssee boat trips and the Documentation Centre run year-round if the summit is closed.
Evening
Back in town, keep the last evening easy with a final terrace dinner or a coffee house, remembering that in festival season the old town stays lively and pricey late into the night.
If tomorrow is an early departure, recall the airport is only about 4km west: bus lines 2 and 10 reach it in around 20 minutes for 2 to 3 EUR, or a taxi runs roughly 15 to 18 EUR, while trains leave from Salzburg Hbf on the Munich to Vienna line.
For 3 days, base yourself in Altstadt (Old Town). This is the baroque core on the left bank of the Salzach, packing the Hohensalzburg fortress, the cathedral, Residenzplatz and the Getreidegasse into a dense grid of squares and lanes. Everything you have come to see is on foot, and the setting under the fortress is as pretty as Salzburg gets. Base here on a first, short trip when you want the headline sights on your doorstep and do not mind paying and sharing the streets for it. Compare all neighborhoods in the full where-to-stay guide.
Short on time?
Salzburg in 2 days →
Three days is the relaxed amount for Salzburg: the same walkable old town and right bank as the two-day trip, plus a full day out to the mountains or the lakes. The first two days take the Hohensalzburg fortress, the cathedral and DomQuartier, the baroque squares, the Getreidegasse and Mozart's birthplace, then the Mirabell gardens, the Sound of Music sights, the Kapuzinerberg view and the Nonnberg abbey, all on foot from an old-town base. The third day buys you a Hallstatt and Salzkammergut lakes run, or instead the Eagle's Nest and the emerald Konigssee just over the German border.
Base yourself in Altstadt (Old Town) for this itinerary. This is the baroque core on the left bank of the Salzach, packing the Hohensalzburg fortress, the cathedral, Residenzplatz and the Getreidegasse into a dense grid of squares and lanes. Everything you have come to see is on foot, and the setting under the fortress is as pretty as Salzburg gets. Base here on a first, short trip when you want the headline sights on your doorstep and do not mind paying and sharing the streets for it.
The plan works year round, but May, June, September give you the best weather-to-crowds ratio.