City Guide for Salzburg

Get prepared for your visit to Salzburg with the Free Walking Tour Blog written by a local, licensed Tour Guide. Topics range from Sightseeing to Day Trips to Food and Drinks.

A localโ€™s Salzburg travel guide with advice on where to go AND what to do.

Things to See and Do in Salzburg

Photographer hiking Kapuzinerberg via the Imbergstiege in Salzburg

This is your guide to my hometown. Discover what to do and see, where to stay, and what to eat in Salzburg. Find out about Salzburg’s best day trip destinations and how to reach them. There is more to Salzburg than the Sound of Music and Mozart.

My name is Gerhard. I am deeply rooted in Salzburg Tourism and passionate about traveling and travelers. Passionate about meeting and guiding you. Itโ€™s my desire to share what I love and know about my city. I believe and hope that my knowledge in form of this Salzburg City Guide will prove useful to you on your journey.

Your Comprehensive Salzburg travel guide to help you plan better and explore more.

All Salzburg Blog Posts

  • Bluntautal near Golling

    3 Favorite Off-the-Beaten-Path Escapes from Salzburg

    Hallstatt, the Eagles Nest, and the Ice Caves. These are the most popular places to visit from Salzburg and for a reason. Each of those places is surrounded by stunning natural beauty. Due to their…
  • The Hohensalzburg Fotress at Sunset

    1000 Years: A Brief History of the Hohensalzburg Fortress

    If I could only recommend one sight in Salzburg, it would be the Hohensalzburg fortress. First of all because of the three viewing platforms, but also because of the building, the museums, the funicular, and…
  • Bรคckerei Holztrattner

    Breakfast in Salzburg: Local Favorites for a Delicious Dawn

    They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While you could argue about that, there is no arguing that a good breakfast is one of the greatest pleasures when traveling, especially when…
  • Interior of the Church of Saint Peter in Salzburg

    22 Churches in Salzburg: A Guide to the City’s Sanctuaries

    If you have been to Salzburg, you know that the old town is small. It’s just about 1.5 kmยฒ. How many churches can there possibly be in the old town, you ask? In the old…
  • The cue at the entrance to the Ice caves

    What to Expect from a Visit to the Werfen Ice Caves?

    The Ice Caves in Werfen, Austria are the largest Ice Caves in the world. They are convenient to reach from Salzburg, and besides the Lake district and Berchtesgaden, the Werfen Ice Caves in summer are…
  • Safety: Is Salzburg Safe for Independent Travelers?

    My name is Gerhard, and I have been working as a tour guide, a Rikscha driver, and in hostels in Salzburg for over ten years now. I have met travelers who have expressed their concerns…
  • Dachstein Krippenstein: Five Fingers, Two Buses, a Train and the Cable Cars

    Let me tell you about my experience visiting Dachstein Krippenstein. The Dachstein mountain range in the Austrian Alps is breathtaking, with Dachstein Krippenstein in the Salzkammergut Lake District as the crown jewel. It’s located near…
  • New Years Holiday in Salzburg

    Public Holidays in Austria: Full List with Cultural Insights

    Nowadays, about 60 percent of the Austrian population is Catholic. While that doesnโ€™t seem much, this was different not long ago. At the end of the second world war, more than 90 percent of Austrians…
  • Journey Into the Past: a Review of the Open Air Museum Salzburg

    The Open Air Museum Salzburg, also known as the Freilichtmuseum Salzburg, is a historical open-air museum located just outside Salzburg. The museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the traditional rural architecture and culture of…
  • Hellbrunn Castle in Winter

    Hellbrunn Palace: An Introduction to Salzburg’s Trick Fountains

    Hellbrunn might be the most visited place in the surroundings of Salzburg. On the one hand, that’s because of its proximity to the city and because the castle and the trick fountains are included in…
  • Mountain Lake Cottage Obersee Berchtesgaden

    Day Trip to Bavaria: How to Visit Lake Kรถnigssee from Salzburg?

    My German guests told me that Berchtesgaden and Lake Kรถnigssee are not only known in the area but are widely considered the most beautiful nature destination in all of Germany. Thinking about it, I can…
  • Silent Night

    Silent Night: The Salzburg Origins of the Christmas Carol

    The Silent Night is the most famous Christmas carol in the world. The song has been translated into more than 300 languages, is recorded hundreds of times every year in all types of music genres,…
These posts are probably worth your time. Straight from a local guide.

Recommended Reads

  • Gerhard Reus and the 24 hour Salzburg Card

    Salzburg Card Secrets: The Complete Guide to Salzburg Cards

    The Salzburg Card allows you admission to most of the attractions in Salzburg at a fixed price. There are 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hour Salzburg cards, allowing you free admission within those timeframes. You can visit all the museums, head out…
  • Kรถnigsseeschifffahrt

    7 Best Day Trips from Salzburg: A Local’s Guide to Top Spots

    You can explore the essentials of Salzburg in a day or two. If you are a curious traveler, you could keep going and wonโ€™t run out of new discoveries in the old town. However. If…
  • Photographer hiking Kapuzinerberg via the Imbergstiege in Salzburg

    Salzburg in One Day: The Perfect Itinerary for Independent Travelers

    There are certain ingredients for the perfect day in Salzburg. In this article, I will give them to you. This article will help design your day from start to finish, so you donโ€™t miss anything….
  • Free Walking Tour Postcard

    The Definitive List of 100+ Things to Do in Salzburg

    Salzburg is small. You could see the main sights in a day or even half a day. However, there are many more things to do in Salzburg than just the essentials. We need the details…
  • String Puppet Museum

    Where the Hills are Alive: The Sound of Music Locations in Salzburg

    Most Austrians have never seen the Sound of Music, but as a local guide with over a decade of experience, first navigating the streets on a bike taxi and now on foot, I’ve gone deep…
  • Landestheater Salzburg and Hotel Bristol Salzburg

    The 15 BEST Hotels in the Old Town of Salzburg

    Are you looking for the perfect place to stay while visiting Salzburg? Salzburg’s Old Town is one of Austria’s most precious gems and showcases the country’s best-preserved architectural and cultural monuments. A stay in the…

Have you booked your tour yet?

Spots fill quickly, so itโ€™s best to book your Tour in advance. A couple of hours that give you stories, context, and tips for the rest of your stay.