Salzburg
Mozart's house on the Getreidegasse, a fortress over the baroque roofs, a festival every summer since 1920, and a private terminal named after a conductor four kilometres from the old town.
- Arrival
- Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart · SZG
- To the city
- About 15 to 20 minutes to the old town by car
- Private jets
- Herbert von Karajan terminal at SZG
- Best time
- June to September
The city
Baroque on the Salzach.
The prince-archbishops built Salzburg in the baroque manner, and the old town they left along the Salzach is on the UNESCO list. The Cathedral and the Residence now open as one museum, the DomQuartier, and the fortress of Hohensalzburg looks down on it all. Mozart was born on the Getreidegasse; the house is a museum, and Mirabell's seventeenth-century palace and gardens lie on the other side of the river.
The year turns on music. Mozart Week fills January, the Easter and Whitsun festivals follow, and from mid-July to the end of August the Salzburg Festival takes over the Festspielhaus and the Felsenreitschule, as it has every summer since 1920. Winter brings snow from November, a Christmas market in December and, in the province around, the two-star kitchens of Golling and Werfen.
Arriving
Four kilometres from the runway.
Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart lies about four kilometres west of the old town, fifteen to twenty minutes by taxi. Munich and Vienna are each about three hours away by road or rail.
- Vienna 40 min
- Rome 1 h 15
- Riyadh 5 h 20
- Doha 5 h 45
- Hong Kong 11 h 50 long-range jet
When to go
June to September.
Wet summers and cold winters at the foot of the Alps: afternoons reach 21 to 23 °C from June to August, but these are also the rainiest months, with 150 to 180 mm. The festival runs from mid-July to the end of August; June and September are less busy and a little drier. Snow usually arrives in November and lasts into March.
- 2° J 74
- 4° F 71
- 8° M 78
- 13° A 97
- 18° M 126
- 21° J 167
- 23° J 176
- 22° A 157
- 19° S 99
- 14° O 79
- 7° N 84
- 2° D 88
What to see and do
Days in and around Salzburg.
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Landmark
Hohensalzburg
The fortress on its rock above the old town, in every view across the river.
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Landmark
Mozart's Birthplace
The house on the Getreidegasse where the composer was born, now a museum a few doors from the Goldener Hirsch.
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Landmark
Hangar-7
A glass hangar opposite the passenger terminal, with the two-star Ikarus inside it and a guest chef each month.
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Opera & music
Salzburg Festival
Founded in 1920 by Hofmannsthal, Strauss and Reinhardt, the summer festival stages opera and concerts in the Felsenreitschule and Grosses Festspielhaus, and Jedermann on Domplatz.
Official site -
Opera & music
Stiftung Mozarteum Great Hall
Opened in 1914, the Mozarteum's Great Hall hosts concerts through the year and the Mozart Week, held around the composer's birthday each January since 1956.
Official site -
Culture
Salzburg Marionette Theatre
Anton Aicher's company has played since 1913, with the great Mozart operas and The Sound of Music performed by marionettes at Schwarzstrasse 24.
Official site -
Culture
DomQuartier Salzburg
One circuit, opened in 2014, links the state rooms of the prince archbishops' Residenz with the Cathedral Museum and the Museum of St Peter.
Official site -
Culture
Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Fountains
South of the old town, the archbishops' summer palace keeps its water jets hidden in grottoes and garden benches, shown on guided tours of the fountains.
Official site -
Nature
Untersberg Cable Car
In about eight and a half minutes the cabin climbs from St Leonhard to Geiereck at 1,776 metres, with summit trails above the Salzburg basin.
Official site -
Nature
Eisriesenwelt
Discovered in 1879, this ice cave above Werfen runs for 42 km, and guided visits by lamplight cover about the first kilometre.
Official site -
Culture
Salzwelten Salzburg
Visitors in white overalls ride a mine train into the Dürrnberg, slide down 42 metre wooden chutes and cross an underground salt lake by boat.
Official site
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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22–24 Jan 2027
Skiing
Hahnenkamm Races
Annual alpine skiing World Cup weekend in Kitzbühel, including the downhill on the Streif course.
Streif, Kitzbühel, about 65 km away
In 3 months
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9–11 Jul 2027
Formula 1
Austrian Grand Prix
Round 11 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Red Bull Ring.
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, about 144 km away
In 8 months
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16 Jul – 29 Aug 2027
Music & opera
Salzburg Festival
Summer festival of opera, concerts and drama held across Salzburg's festival halls; the 2027 programme is still to be published.
Grosses Festspielhaus
In 9 months
Where to stay
A castle on the lake, and rooms in the old town.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Rosewood Schloss Fuschl A castle on the shore of Lake Fuschl with 98 rooms, suites and lakefront chalets, and one of only two hotels in Austria with three MICHELIN Keys.
- Hotel Schloss Mönchstein Twenty-four rooms in a small castle on the Mönchsberg, with an infinity pool above the roofs and the one-star Glass Garden at the table.
- Hotel Sacher Salzburg Open since 1866 on the river, with 110 rooms and suites and balconies that look straight across at the old town and the fortress.
- Hotel Goldener Hirsch An inn on this spot since 1407 and a hotel since 1948, with 70 rooms under beamed ceilings and staff in traditional dress.
- Hotel Goldgasse A small house on the Goldgasse, the old-town lane beside the Getreidegasse, holding one MICHELIN Key.
Where to dine
Two stars in a hangar.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Ikarus Two Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Hangar-7, Salzburg Airport
- SENNS.Restaurant Two Michelin stars Creative, international €€€€ Gusswerk, Söllheimerstrasse
- Döllerer Two Michelin stars Alpine, innovative €€€€ Golling an der Salzach
- Pfefferschiff One Michelin star Creative €€€€ Söllheim, outside the city
- Esszimmer One Michelin star Creative, classic €€€ Müllner Hauptstrasse
- The Glass Garden One Michelin star Creative €€€ Hotel Schloss Mönchstein
Elsewhere in Austria
More reasons to come.
- Vienna The Musikverein, the Spanish Riding School, and the Ringstrasse.
- Kitzbühel The Streif, the most feared downhill of the World Cup, raced every January.
- Lech A village that caps the number of skiers on its slopes.
- St. Anton The cradle of alpine skiing, at the other end of the Arlberg.
- Innsbruck The golden roof of the old town, and Alps at the end of every street.
Flying to Salzburg?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.