Salzburg, Austria - October 14 through October 16, 2008

Salzburg, as seen from Hohensalzburg

After three days in Vienna we headed west to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart (who by the way composed his first symphony near our old farmer's market in Pimlico, London) and setting to The Sound of Music. We spent two nights in Salzburg and it only added to our high opinion of Austria.

3+

1. The city is compact and very walkable. Our hotel was opposite the old town right on the bank of the Salzach River. We were able to easily walk to all of the attractions of Salzburg and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city on foot. We did opt for a taxi to and from the train station though as it is quite a distance but other than that there is no need for motorized transport.
2. Quaint town and beautiful Alpine scenery. The "main" street, Getreidegasse, had many well known current stores that you would easily find in the UK or America, ie Zara. However, each of the stores had very old fashioned metal signs hanging outside, giving the street a very charming look. That charm, coupled with the Alps in the distance and changing foliage made Salzburg a delight to visit. We imagine that a layer of snow wouldn't hurt the appeal of the place at all!
3. Salzburg is very easy to get to from Vienna via a 3 hour train ride. It is a pretty train ride and the train we were on was clean, quiet and comfortable.
   

Hohensalzburg and Old Town

3-

1. As mentioned above, the train station is not in the city center. A cab or bus ride is pretty much a must unless you are travelling light or feeling energetic. The cab fare from the train station to the hotel was approximately €7.
2. The narrow streets of the old town can get very crowded with tourists and locals alike. Considering we were there at an off peak time we can't imagine what it would be like at the height of the summer and winter seasons!
   
3. There was a lot of construction/renovation going on while we were in town. While we realize this is necessary to maintain the city and all the sites, it is still slightly annoying to have so much of it going on while we were visiting. Dom, with scaffolding.