In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Buy the fortress’s All-inclusive ticket, €19.20 with the funicular: the Basic ticket leaves out the Prince’s Chambers. Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence sell only through the Mozarteum (€18 each, €25 for both), and the museum says tickets from other sellers are not accepted. The Salzburg Museum’s main building is closed for renovation, the Cathedral costs €7 and the DomQuartier is €12 and shut on Tuesdays. The funicular is shut 9 to 13 November 2026, the Untersberg cable car 2 November to 13 December, and Hellbrunn’s trick fountains close for the season on 1 November. Overnight guests ride public transport free on the Guest Mobility Ticket. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Original Sound of Music Tourad is from €75 and the Hallstatt half-day tourad from €85 (GetYourGuide).
What to book before you go
Prices are the adult rate in euros, from each operator’s own page. Buy from the operator: searches for the fortress, Hellbrunn, Mozart’s Birthplace and the Salzburg Card return many sites with the sight’s name in the web address that are not the operators.
Hohensalzburg Fortress above the old town, seen across the Salzach. Photo: Michielverbeek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Sight | Booking | Adult price | Book at | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hohensalzburg Fortress | An online ticket avoids the ticket window; no timed slot | €19.20 All-inclusive with funicular; €14.50 on foot | festung-hohensalzburg.at | Basic is €15.50 with funicular and €12 on foot, without the Prince’s Chambers and the Magic Theatre. Open daily |
| Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence | The Mozarteum’s own webshop or box office only | €18 each; €25 for both | mozarteum.at | The combined ticket is valid for 48 hours. About an hour in each. Open daily |
| DomQuartier | None | €12 | domquartier.at | Closed Tuesdays. The Residenzgalerie is closed until autumn 2027 and the price is reduced meanwhile |
| Salzburg Cathedral | None | €7 | salzburg-dom.com | Not free. Sunday opening is at 13:00. Music at Noon is €12 |
| Hellbrunn trick fountains | None for individuals | €16.50 | hellbrunn.at | Open 28 March to 1 November 2026 only. Bus 25 |
| Mirabell Palace and Gardens | None | Free | The Marble Hall opens on set weekdays. The palace is closed on Sundays | |
| Sound of Music tour | Book ahead | From €70 with Panorama Tours | panoramatours.com | 4 hours, daily at 9:15 and 14:00. GetYourGuide sells it from €75 |
| Museum der Moderne | None | €15; €17 with the Mönchsberg lift | museumdermoderne.at | Closed Mondays. Open to 20:00 on Thursdays |
| Haus der Natur | None | €16 | hausdernatur.at | Allow about 3 hours. Open daily |
| Untersberg cable car | None | €34 return | untersbergbahn.at | Closed 2 November to 13 December 2026 |
| Salzburg Museum sites | None | Orangery panorama €8 | salzburgmuseum.at | The main building on Mozartplatz is closed for renovation, with no reopening date |
| Mönchsberg lift | None | €4.80 return | 5schaetze.at | Not covered by the Guest Mobility Ticket |
- The fortress. The fortress page sets the four tickets side by side, with the funicular closures and the walk up.
- Mozart. The Mozart tickets page covers both houses. Mozart concerts in Salzburg compares the Mirabell, fortress and dinner concerts.
- Palaces and gardens. Mirabell is free, and Hellbrunn is a bus ride south.
- Museums. Best museums in Salzburg lists what is open, with prices and closed days.
- Beyond the sights. Things to do in Salzburg ranks everything, and Sound of Music locations in Salzburg separates the real places from the studio sets.
Hours and closed days
Hours are the operators’ own, for autumn and winter 2026/27.
| Sight | Hours | Closed |
|---|---|---|
| Hohensalzburg Fortress | January to April and October to December 9:30 to 17:00; May to September 8:30 to 20:00; Easter and Advent weekends 9:30 to 18:00. Last entry 30 minutes before closing | 9 to 13 November 2026 for the indoor areas; open 365 days otherwise |
| Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence | 9:00 to 17:30; last admission 30 minutes before closing | 24 December from 13:00; 1 January opens at 12:00 |
| DomQuartier | 10:00 to 17:00; 1 December to 6 January daily | Tuesday, 24 December |
| Salzburg Cathedral | Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 18:00, with a break at midday for Music at Noon; Sunday 13:00 to 18:00. November and January to February: to 17:00 | During services |
| Mirabell Palace and Angel Staircase | Monday to Saturday, about 8:00 to 18:00 | Sunday and holidays |
| Mirabell Marble Hall | Monday, Wednesday, Thursday about 8:00 to 16:00; Tuesday and Friday 13:00 to 16:00 | Sunday, holidays and events |
| Mirabell Gardens | Daily from about 6:00 to dusk | None |
| Hellbrunn palace and trick fountains | October and 1 November 9:30 to 17:30; last admission 16:30 | From 2 November 2026 |
| Museum der Moderne | Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00; Thursday to 20:00 | Monday |
| Haus der Natur | 9:00 to 17:00; last entry 16:30 | 25 December |
| Salzburg Zoo | November to February 9:00 to 16:30; last entry 16:00 | None printed |
| Orangery panorama | 9:00 to 17:00 | 24 December |
| Toy Museum | Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 to 17:00 | Monday |
| St Peter’s catacombs | October to April 10:00 to 12:30 and 13:00 to 17:00 | 24 to 26 December, 31 December, 1 January |
| Untersberg cable car | 14 to 31 December 9:00 to 16:00 | 2 November to 13 December 2026 |
| Mönchsberg lift | Monday 8:00 to 19:00; Tuesday to Sunday 8:00 to 21:00 | None |
Closed or changed
- The Salzburg Museum: the Neue Residenz on Mozartplatz is closed for renovation, with no reopening date. The Orangery panorama, the Toy Museum, the Folklore Museum and the Fortress Museum are open.
- The Residenzgalerie: it is closed until autumn 2027, and the DomQuartier charges €12 instead of €15 until it reopens.
- The fortress funicular: shut 9 to 13 November 2026, when the walking path and outdoor areas stay open and the museums and indoor areas are closed. It is shut again from 11 January to 14 March 2027, when everything else is open and you walk up. No online tickets are sold in either period.
- Hellbrunn: the palace and trick fountains close for the season on 1 November 2026. The Sound of Music museum in the park closes the same day and reopens on 20 March 2027. The park and the gazebo are open all year.
- The Untersberg cable car: closed 2 November to 13 December 2026.
- The Mirabell Orangery garden: closed for redesign until December 2026.
- The Neutor tunnel: closed to cars and buses since 14 September 2026, until about the end of March 2027. Trolleybuses 1, 8 and 10 are diverted, and the stops at the Mönchsberg lift and Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz are not served until March 2027. Walk the last stretch.
- Fräulein Maria’s bike tour: it does not run from November to March.
The Salzburg Card
The card is a one-use free entry to 29 sights and the city buses, valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours from first use. The 2026 prices are €35, €41 and €44 from 1 November to 31 December, and €38, €45 and €49 from 1 April to 31 October. Is the Salzburg Card worth it? has the sums.
- A 24-hour card pays back with three paid sights. The fortress (€19.20), Mozart’s Birthplace (€18) and the DomQuartier (€12) cost €49.20 against €35 or €38.
- Two sights barely pay back. The fortress and Mozart’s Birthplace cost €37.20, which is €2.20 more than the €35 card and €0.80 less than the €38 one.
- The bus cover is worth nothing if you sleep in Salzburg, because overnight guests ride free on the Guest Mobility Ticket. It is worth €5.20 to a day visitor.
- The card does not cover the Cathedral, which charges a reduced €5.50 to card holders.
Free things worth a line
Free things to do in Salzburg has the hours. The ones that cost nothing:
- Mirabell Gardens, open from about 6:00 to dusk, with the Pegasus fountain and the Dwarf Garden.
- Nonnberg Abbey, where the nuns sing at 6:45 every morning.
- St Peter’s Abbey church and cemetery. The catacombs above the cemetery are €2.
- The squares of Residenzplatz, Domplatz and Mozartplatz, and the Getreidegasse.
- The Sound of Music gazebo in the Hellbrunn park, open 6:30 to 21:00.
The overnight tax
Salzburg charges €3.50 per person per night, collected by the hotel or rental with the bill. It includes the mobility fee that pays for the Guest Mobility Ticket, described below. Whether a booking site’s total includes it depends on the site.
Getting around, free for overnight guests
A guest who stays the night in the province of Salzburg gets the Guest Mobility Ticket at check-in, from the hotel or rental, as a PDF or a wallet pass. It covers city buses and trolleybuses, regional buses, the S-Bahn and regional trains in the province for the whole stay, and children under 6 travel free (Salzburg tourist board). It does not cover the fortress funicular, the Mönchsberg lift, the Schafbergbahn or the Wolfgangsee ships. Salzburg public transport has the rules.
The Marko-Feingold-Steg footbridge over the Salzach, below the Mönchsberg. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
For a day visitor, the 1-hour ticket is €2.60 and the 24-hour ticket €5.20 from a machine or the Salzburg Verkehr app; a bus driver sells the 24-hour ticket for €6.40 on regional buses and not on trolleybuses. Two 1-hour tickets cost the same as the 24-hour one.
Getting in from the airport
Salzburg airport to the city compares the options.
| Way | Price | Time and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trolleybus 2 to the Hauptbahnhof | €2.60 for a 1-hour ticket; free with the Guest Mobility Ticket | 21 to 23 minutes, every 15 or 20 minutes, from Terminal 1 |
| Bus 10 to the centre | The same ticket | Monday to Saturday, about every 15 minutes. The route is diverted through Mülln while the Neutor tunnel is closed |
| Taxi | Around €12 into the centre, according to the tourist board | 15 to 20 minutes to the station. Taxis take cards |
- There is no train to the airport.
- Munich and Vienna are about 1 hour 43 minutes and 2 hours 25 minutes by train from the Hauptbahnhof.
Entry rules for Austria
Austria is in the Schengen area, so the 90 days count across every Schengen country you visit.
| Citizen of | Visa | Passport | At the border |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | None for up to 90 days in any 180 | Issued less than 10 years before you arrive, and valid for at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area | Fingerprints and a photo taken at your first entry |
| United States | None for up to 90 days in any 180 | Valid for at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area, and issued less than 10 years ago | Fingerprints and a photo taken at your first entry |
| Canada | None for up to 90 days in any 180 | Valid for at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area, and issued less than 10 years ago | Fingerprints and a photo taken at your first entry |
| Australia | None for up to 90 days in any 180 | Valid for at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen area, and issued less than 10 years ago | Fingerprints and a photo taken at your first entry |
| EU citizens | None | Valid passport or national ID card | No registration |
The photo and fingerprints are the EU’s Entry/Exit System, which replaces passport stamps for non-EU visitors and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. It costs nothing and needs nothing before you travel (EU). The ETIAS travel authorisation, a €20 online form for visa-free visitors, is not yet required: the EU says ETIAS is not in operation and will announce the start date several months ahead (ETIAS).
Germany has border controls on all its land borders, including the Austrian one, from 16 September 2026 to 15 March 2027. The bus to Berchtesgaden and the train to Munich cross it, so carry a passport or national ID card on those trips.
The rules above come from the UK, Canadian and Australian government travel pages, the EU’s passport rule for visa-free visitors and its guidance for EU citizens. For official safety advice, see the UK Foreign Office and US State Department pages for Austria.
Day trips
Day trips from Salzburg compares every trip by public transport and by tour. Many close for the winter between 1 and 9 November 2026.
- Hallstatt: about 2 hours each way, by bus 150X to Bad Ischl, a train to Hallstatt station and the ferry. The half-day tour from Salzburg takes 5.5 hours in total.
- The Eagle’s Nest and Berchtesgaden: bus 840 reaches Berchtesgaden in 49 to 55 minutes. The Eagle’s Nest is open to 8 November 2026 and shut until about mid-May 2027.
- Hallein salt mine: the regional train takes 19 to 24 minutes, and the mine is €35.
- The Eisriesenwelt ice cave and Hohenwerfen: the train to Werfen takes 38 to 46 minutes. The cave closes on 1 November and the castle on 2 November.
- The lakes and Wolfgangsee: bus 150X reaches St Gilgen in 42 minutes. The Schafbergbahn and the lake ships stop on 1 November.
- Munich and Vienna are train days: see Salzburg from Munich and Salzburg from Vienna for the same trip the other way round, and Hallstatt from Vienna.
Tours, food, drink and when to go
The Sound of Music tour comparison sets Panorama Tours, Bob’s Special Tours and the bike tour side by side, and Salzburg walking tours and the hop-on hop-off bus cover the rest. Where to eat in Salzburg lists the restaurants, the coffee houses and the beer halls and gardens have a page each, and Salzburg food tours compares the guided ones. Best time to visit Salzburg gives the weather by month, with the Salzburg Christmas markets 2026, Salzburg New Year’s Eve 2026 and the Salzburg Festival 2027 for the dates that change a visit.
Plan the trip
- Where to sleep: where to stay in Salzburg compares the areas, and hotels near Salzburg Hauptbahnhof lists the ones beside the station.
- Getting there and about: Salzburg airport to the city and Salzburg public transport.
- When to go: best time to visit Salzburg, the Salzburg Christmas markets 2026, Salzburg New Year’s Eve 2026 and the Salzburg Festival 2027.
- The sights: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence, the DomQuartier and the Cathedral, Hellbrunn and Mirabell each have a guide. Best museums in Salzburg covers the rest, and is the Salzburg Card worth it? runs the sums.
- Themes: Sound of Music locations, Mozart concerts, the old town walk, the right bank walk and the best views.
- Free and family: free things to do in Salzburg gathers what costs nothing, and Salzburg with kids sorts it by age.
- How many days: 3 days in Salzburg builds the plan round the bookings and the closed days, and things to do in Salzburg lists the rest.
- Day trips: day trips from Salzburg, with Hallstatt, the Eagle’s Nest, the lakes, Hallein and Werfen.
- Onward by train: Munich and Vienna are on the same main line.
Itineraries
Day-by-day plans for a first visit.
Which ticket to buy
The official ticket, the tours that include entry, and which sells out first.
Tickets
Hohensalzburg Fortress Tickets: Prices and Hours
Hohensalzburg sells four tickets from €12 to €19.20, and the Basic ones leave out the Prince's Chambers and the Magic Theatre. Prices with and without the funicular, hours, the funicular closures on 9 to 13 November 2026 and 11 January to 14 March 2027, and the concerts worth booking.
Tickets
Mozart's Birthplace Salzburg: Tickets and Prices
Mozart's Birthplace and the Mozart Residence cost €18 each or €25 for both, valid for 48 hours. The Mozarteum says tickets from other sellers will not be accepted. Prices for every age, hours, early closing days and which tours pass the houses.
Tickets
DomQuartier Salzburg Tickets: Prices, Hours, Closures
The DomQuartier costs €12 instead of €15 until the Residenzgalerie reopens in autumn 2027, and it is closed on Tuesdays. Prices for every age, hours, what the route covers, the Cathedral's separate €7 entry, Music at Noon and the Date with Mozart concerts.
Tickets
Hellbrunn Trick Fountains: Tickets, Hours, Season
Hellbrunn's trick fountains cost €16.50, with the palace exhibition and the Folklore Museum on the same ticket, and they are open only from 28 March to 1 November 2026. Prices for every age, hours by month, bus 25, how wet you get and the free Sound of Music gazebo.
Tickets
Best Museums in Salzburg: Prices and Closed Days
The Salzburg Museum's main building on Mozartplatz is closed for renovation, with no reopening date. What is open instead: the Orangery panorama, the Toy Museum and the Folklore Museum, plus the Museum der Moderne and the Haus der Natur. Prices, closed days and the Salzburg Card.
Tickets
Sound of Music Tour Salzburg: Operators Compared
The Original Sound of Music Tour runs twice a day, 4 hours, from €70 on Panorama Tours' site and from €75 on GetYourGuide. Bob's small-group tour is from €80, and Fräulein Maria's bike tour €50 from April to October. What each includes, where they start and which to pick.
Tickets
Salzburg Card: Is It Worth It? The Sums
The Salzburg Card is €35, €41 and €44 for 24, 48 and 72 hours from 1 November 2026, and €38, €45 and €49 from April to October. The fortress, Mozart's Birthplace and one more paid sight pay back the 24-hour card. The sums, what it covers, and why it is worth nothing for transport to overnight guests.
Tickets
Salzburg Walking Tours: Free and Paid Compared
Leo's free walking tour takes 100 minutes from the Mirabell Gardens. Paid group walks are from €40 for 2 hours and €45 for 2.5 hours, and none includes the sights' entry tickets. Private walks and the €50 bike tour, what each covers and which to book.
Tickets
Salzburg Hop-On Hop-Off Bus: Is It Worth It?
Salzburg's hop-on hop-off bus has one yellow line with ten stops, from €31 for 24, 48 or 72 hours. The stop at Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz is not served from 14 September 2026. Bus 25 reaches Hellbrunn for €2.60. The Salzach boat is €19 for 40 minutes.
Day trips from Salzburg
Out and back in a day, with the tours compared against going on your own.
Day trip
Day Trips From Salzburg: Train, Bus or Tour
Berchtesgaden is 49 to 55 minutes from Salzburg by bus 840, Hallein 19 to 24 minutes by train, Werfen 38 to 46 and Hallstatt about two hours each way. Each trip compared with its tour, the Königssee and the Grossglockner, and the sights that close between 1 and 9 November 2026.
Day trip
Hallstatt Day Trip From Salzburg: Bus, Train or Tour
Hallstatt is about 2 hours from Salzburg by bus 150X, the REX 70 train and a ferry. Panorama Tours' 5.5-hour half-day tour is €80 on its site and from €85 on GetYourGuide, with 2.5 hours in the village. The route, the last connections back, parking, the salt mine at €49 and the winter hours.
Day trip
Eagle's Nest From Salzburg: Tour, Bus, Season
The Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) is open until 8 November 2026 and shut until about mid-May 2027. From Salzburg, bus 840 reaches Berchtesgaden in 49 to 55 minutes. The €34.70 bus and lift ticket, the 30-minute rule, the Königssee boat at €23.40 and Panorama's tour at €100.
Day trip
Wolfgangsee From Salzburg: St Gilgen and Schafberg
Bus 150X reaches St Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee in 42 minutes and St Wolfgang in about 1 hour 10 minutes from Salzburg. The Schafbergbahn is €61 up and down, and it and the lake ships stop on 1 November 2026; the Advent rides go only to the Schafbergalm. Mondsee and the Sound of Music tour.
Day trip
Hallein Salt Mine From Salzburg: Tickets and Train
The Salzwelten salt mine at Hallein is 19 to 24 minutes from Salzburg by train and costs €35 with the Celtic Mountain. The mine's own shuttle is €69 on Fridays and Saturdays, and GetYourGuide sells the ticket at €35. Hours to January 2027, the 90-minute tour, the slides and the 10°C chill.
Day trip
Eisriesenwelt From Salzburg: Ice Cave and Castle
The Eisriesenwelt ice cave is open 1 May to 1 November 2026 and Hohenwerfen castle to 2 November. Werfen is 38 to 46 minutes from Salzburg by train. The cave and cable car are €41 online, the castle from €13.90, and the cave means 1,400 steps at 0°C.
Where to stay
Areas and hotels, chosen for a visitor rather than a resident.
Where to stay
Where to Stay in Salzburg: Areas and Hotels
For a first visit, stay in the old town or just over the Staatsbrücke on the right bank: the Domplatz, Getreidegasse and Mozart's Birthplace are on foot. The Salzburg areas compared, with the dates that fill hotels, the tourist tax, what the governments say about safety, and the hotels in each with addresses, star grades and Michelin Keys.
Where to stay
Hotels Near Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, by Distance
Hotels near Salzburg Hauptbahnhof by straight-line distance, from the Hotel Salzburg-Hauptbahnhof at 120 m to the Mirabell hotels at a kilometre, with the hotels' own walking times, the trolleybuses to the old town and airport, and why a station hotel is not an old-town hotel.
Airport transfers
From the airport to the centre, every option priced and timed.
Getting around
Tickets, passes and the transport a visitor actually uses.
What's on, month by month
Festivals, holidays and closures that change a visit.
Events
Salzburg Festival 2027: Dates and How to Get Tickets
Salzburg Festival 2027 runs from 16 July to 29 August, with Whitsun from 14 to 17 May. The programme is expected in early December, tickets are ordered by a deadline and then allocated, not sold first come first served. Dates, the ticket office, Jedermann in rain, the Easter Festival and Mozart Week.
Events
Salzburg Christmas Markets 2026: Dates and Hours
Salzburg's Christmas markets in 2026: the Christkindlmarkt on the Domplatz from 19 November to 1 January, Hellbrunn's Adventzauber, the fortress market, Mirabellplatz and the Sternadvent, with the organisers' hours, the free-transport Saturdays, the Adventsingen and Silent Night at Oberndorf.
Events
Salzburg New Year's Eve 2026: Programme and Hours
Salzburg on 31 December 2026: the free Altstadtsilvester on the Kapitelplatz from 14:00 to 1:00, the midnight firework from Hohensalzburg, the private firework ban, the St. Peter and Mozart Dinner Concert galas, the night buses, and the sights shut on 1 January.
Food and drink
Where to eat, what to order and when to book.
Food and drink
Where to Eat in Salzburg: What the Sources Agree On
Where to eat in Salzburg: the places that 25 English and German publishers name most, from the Augustiner Bräustübl and St. Peter Stiftskulinarium to Café Tomaselli and Ikarus, with the Michelin stars, Gault&Millau Hauben, hours, the Nockerl and the places that have changed.
Food and drink
Best Coffee Houses in Salzburg: Hours and Cakes
The Salzburg coffee houses that the lists name most: Café Tomaselli on the Alter Markt, Café Bazar on the Salzach, Café Sacher and Café Fürst, with the hours from each café's own site, the Sacher-Torte and the Original Salzburger Mozartkugel.
Food and drink
Augustiner Bräustübl Salzburg: Hours and Beer Halls
Salzburg's beer halls and gardens: the Augustiner Bräustübl in Mülln from 15:00 with beer from wooden barrels and cash only, Sternbräu, the Stiegl-Keller below the fortress, Augustiner Braugasthof Krimpelstätter and Die Weisse, with each house's own hours.
Food and drink
Salzburg Food Tours and Cooking Classes Compared
Salzburg food tours compared on price, length, meeting point and what you eat: the Apple Strudel and Salzburger Nockerl class from €60, the Stiegl brewery tour from €22.90 on the brewery's own site, the Mozartkugel workshop from €65 and the wine tasting from €38.
Walks
Self-guided routes, stop by stop.
Walk
Salzburg Old Town Walk: A Self-Guided Route
A self-guided walk through Salzburg's old town from Mozart's Birthplace on Getreidegasse to Nonnberg Abbey: the Residenzplatz fountain, the DomQuartier, the Cathedral and St Peter's Abbey. A map, the Google Maps route, every price and opening time, and which day each stop is shut.
Walk
Salzburg Kapuzinerberg Walk: Self-Guided Route and Map
A self-guided walk on Salzburg's right bank, 2.9 km from Mirabellplatz to the Mozartsteg: the Mozart Residence, the Linzergasse, St Sebastian's Cemetery, the Kapuzinerberg and the Steingasse. A map, every price and opening time, and the day each stop is shut.
More guides
Guide
Salzburg Mozart Concerts: Prices, Venues and Times
Salzburg Mozart concerts compared: the Mirabell Marble Hall at €46 and €42 with the dinner package at €89, the fortress concert from €43, the Mozart Dinner Concert in St. Peter from €85, Date with Mozart at €28, Music at Noon at €12 and Mozart Week from 21 to 31 January 2027.
Guide
Best Time to Visit Salzburg: Weather by Month
The best time to visit Salzburg by month, on GeoSphere Austria's 1991 to 2020 normals: June to August are the wettest months, July the warmest at 20.0°C, and December the darkest. With sunrise and sunset, the dated events from November 2026 to October 2027 and what closes for winter.
Guide
Mirabell Palace and Gardens Salzburg: Free Entry, Hours
Mirabell Palace and its gardens are free. The gardens open from about 6:00 to dusk, the Marble Hall only on set weekdays, and the palace is shut on Sundays. The Pegasus fountain, the Dwarf Garden, the Orangery garden closed until December 2026 and the concerts held in the hall.
Guide
Free Things to Do in Salzburg (and What Is Not Free)
What costs nothing in Salzburg: the Mirabell Gardens and Marble Hall, Nonnberg Abbey where the nuns sing at 6:45, St Peter's Abbey church and cemetery, the squares and the Sound of Music gazebo. Hours, and what looks free and is not: the Cathedral at €7, the lift and the fortress.
Guide
Salzburg Viewpoints: Mönchsberg, Fortress, Untersberg
Salzburg's viewpoints with prices and hours: the Mönchsberg lift at €4.80 return, Hohensalzburg Fortress from €12, the DomQuartier's Cathedral terrace at €12 and the Untersberg cable car at €34. Which close, and when: the Untersberg shuts 2 November to 13 December 2026.
Guide
Salzburg With Kids: What to Book and Skip
Salzburg with children: the zoo at €17, the trick fountains at €16.50, the Haus der Natur, the Toy Museum for ages 0 to 10, the fortress games and the Marionette Theatre. Child prices, the ages at which tickets start, what is shut in winter and how to sort it by weather.
Guide
Sound of Music Locations in Salzburg: What Is Real
Where The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg: the Mirabell Garden, Nonnberg Abbey, the Residenzplatz fountain, Schloss Leopoldskron and the Hellbrunn gazebo. Which are free, which need a bus or a tour, and what was rebuilt in a studio, from the St Peter's cemetery scene to the ballroom.
Guide
Things to Do in Salzburg: Prices and Closed Days
Salzburg's sights with the price and the closed day for each: the fortress from €12, Mozart's Birthplace at €18, the DomQuartier at €12, the Cathedral at €7, Hellbrunn at €16.50 and the free Mirabell Gardens. Which are shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, and which close for the winter.
Plan your trip
The rules and costs that apply to every city on the site.
Common questions
What should I book in advance for Salzburg?
A Sound of Music tour, which runs twice a day and sells out in the season, and any concert. The fortress sells an online ticket that avoids the ticket window but has no timed slot. Mozart's Birthplace and Residence sell only through the Mozarteum. The DomQuartier, the Cathedral, Hellbrunn and the Museum der Moderne sell tickets on the day.
Which Hohensalzburg Fortress ticket should I buy?
The All-inclusive ticket: €19.20 with the funicular, €14.50 on foot. The Basic ticket is €15.50 with the funicular and €12 on foot, and it leaves out the Prince's Chambers and the Magic Theatre.
Can I buy Mozart's Birthplace tickets from a third-party seller?
No. The International Mozarteum Foundation says tickets from other providers will not be accepted at its museums. A ticket is €18 for each house or €25 for both, valid for 48 hours.
Is Salzburg Cathedral free?
No. It has charged a conservation contribution since 23 October 2021: €7 for adults, €3.50 for ages 14 to 18, free to 13. A Salzburg Card reduces it to €5.50 and does not waive it.
Is public transport free in Salzburg?
For anyone who stays the night in the province. The Guest Mobility Ticket, issued by the hotel or rental at check-in, covers city buses, regional buses and trains in the province of Salzburg. It does not cover the fortress funicular, the Mönchsberg lift, the Schafbergbahn or the Wolfgangsee ships.
Which Salzburg sights are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?
On Mondays the Museum der Moderne and the Toy Museum are closed. On Tuesdays the DomQuartier is closed. The Mirabell Palace and its Angel Staircase are closed on Sundays, and the Cathedral opens at 13:00 on Sundays.
Is there a tourist tax in Salzburg?
Yes: €3.50 per person per night, collected by the hotel or rental with the bill. It includes the mobility fee that pays for the Guest Mobility Ticket.
How do I get from Salzburg airport to the centre?
Trolleybus 2 runs to the Hauptbahnhof in 21 to 23 minutes on a €2.60 one-hour ticket. A taxi into the centre is around €12, according to the tourist board.
Do I need a visa to visit Salzburg?
Not for a stay of up to 90 days in any 180 if you hold a UK, US, Canadian or Australian passport. The passport must have been issued less than 10 years before you arrive, with 3 months left after the day you leave the Schengen area. Non-EU visitors are registered in the Entry/Exit System at the border with fingerprints and a photo. ETIAS is not yet required.