A Salzburg city break on about 60 EUR per person per day is realistic. The formula: sleep in Nonntal, walk instead of riding (the center is compact enough), build days around free anchors like Hohensalzburg Fortress / Salzburg Cathedral and the DomQuartier, and eat where the locals do. Getting in from the airport is cheap too: Salzburg W. A. Mozart airport sits about 4km west of the centre, so transfers are short and cheap. City bus lines 2 and 10 run from outside the terminal to the Hauptbahnhof and on into the centre in about 20 minutes for around 2 to 3 EUR, with tickets bought from the machine or the driver. A taxi to the old town costs roughly 15 to 18 EUR and takes ten to fifteen minutes. Many visitors skip the airport altogether and arrive by train instead, as Salzburg Hbf sits on the main Munich to Vienna line, about 1.5 hours from Munich and around 2.5 hours from Vienna..
Daily target
60 EUR
Sleep in
Nonntal
Airport
Salzburg W. A. Mozart airport sits about 4km west of the centre
Free sights
6+
The picks under 110 EUR that do not feel like a compromise.
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
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
Check prices
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
These cost nothing and carry a full day each. Build around them and the paid tickets become optional extras instead of a budget drain.
Hohensalzburg Fortress
FreeTipThis 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.
Salzburg Cathedral and the DomQuartier
FreeTipThe 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.
Mirabell Palace and Gardens
FreeTipThese 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.
Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains
FreeTipThis early-17th-century pleasure palace on the southern edge of town is famous for its trick water-fountains, where hidden jets soak unsuspecting guests, and its garden holds the original Sound of Music gazebo. The fountains only run in the warm season, roughly from April to the end of October or early November, and are closed all winter; take bus 25 from the centre in about 20 minutes, and expect to get a little wet, so dress for it.
The Salzach and Kapuzinerberg View
FreeTipThe 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.
Nonnberg Abbey
FreeTipThis 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.
Augustiner Brau Beer Hall
This 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.
Cafes, Nockerl and Mozartkugel
Salzburg 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.
Nonntal is the leafy residential quarter to the south, tucked under the fortress and the Nonnberg abbey, calmer and better value than the core. It is a real neighbourhood of houses and gardens where locals live, with the old town just over the rise. Base here for a quieter, more affordable stay within walking distance of the sights.
Now put it in order: the 2-day Salzburg itinerary works on this budget with the swaps above.
A Salzburg city break on about 60 EUR per person per day is realistic. The formula: sleep in Nonntal, walk instead of riding (the center is compact enough), build days around free anchors like Hohensalzburg Fortress / Salzburg Cathedral and the DomQuartier, and eat where the locals do. Getting in from the airport is cheap too: Salzburg W. A. Mozart airport sits about 4km west of the centre, so transfers are short and cheap. City bus lines 2 and 10 run from outside the terminal to the Hauptbahnhof and on into the centre in about 20 minutes for around 2 to 3 EUR, with tickets bought from the machine or the driver. A taxi to the old town costs roughly 15 to 18 EUR and takes ten to fifteen minutes. Many visitors skip the airport altogether and arrive by train instead, as Salzburg Hbf sits on the main Munich to Vienna line, about 1.5 hours from Munich and around 2.5 hours from Vienna..
The strongest free sights in Salzburg: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg Cathedral and the DomQuartier, Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains. Several paid sights also have free or reduced windows; check the tips on each itinerary page.
Nonntal. Nonntal is the leafy residential quarter to the south, tucked under the fortress and the Nonnberg abbey, calmer and better value than the core. It is a real neighbourhood of houses and gardens where locals live, with the old town just over the rise. Base here for a quieter, more affordable stay within walking distance of the sights.