In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Mirabell Gardens, the Angel Staircase and the Marble Hall are free, the Marble Hall on set weekdays. Nonnberg Abbey church is free, and the nuns sing at 6:45 every morning. St Peter’s Abbey church and cemetery are free; the catacombs are €2. The squares, Getreidegasse and the Residenzplatz fountain cost nothing, and so does the Sound of Music gazebo in the Hellbrunn park. The Cathedral is not free: it is €7. The Mönchsberg lift (€4.80 return) and the fortress grounds need tickets too. Mozart’s Birthplace is €18. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Old Town, Mozart and Mirabell Gardens walking tourad is from €40 (GetYourGuide).
What is free
| Place | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mirabell Gardens | Daily from about 6:00 to dusk | The Hedge Theatre and Dwarf Garden are closed in winter |
| Mirabell Angel Staircase and Marble Hall | Monday to Saturday; the Marble Hall on set weekdays | The palace is closed on Sundays |
| Nonnberg Abbey church | Daily about 6:45 to dusk | The nuns sing at 6:45 |
| St Peter’s Abbey church | Daily 8:00 to 20:00 | Closed to visitors during services |
| St Peter’s Cemetery | April to September 6:30 to 20:00; October to March 6:30 to 18:00 | Step-free through the abbey courtyard |
| Sound of Music gazebo, Hellbrunn park | Daily 6:30 to 21:00 | The trick fountains cost €16.50 |
| The old town squares and Getreidegasse | Always |
Mirabell Gardens and the Marble Hall
Free · gardens from about 6:00 to dusk · Mirabellplatz
The gardens are the free sight to start with: the Pegasus fountain, the figure groups of the Large Parterre and the steps where Maria and the children finish “Do-Re-Mi”. The Angel Staircase leads up to the Marble Hall, open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday about 8:00 to 16:00 and Tuesday and Friday 13:00 to 16:00, never during events. Mirabell Palace and Gardens has the hours and the closed Orangery garden.
Nonnberg Abbey
Free · church and cemetery daily from about 6:45 to dusk · Nonnberggasse 2
A nunnery founded between 711 and 715. The church, a Romanesque basilica consecrated in 1009, has a late-Gothic winged altar, frescoes from the mid-12th century and the rock tomb of St Erentrudis in the crypt. The nuns sing at 6:45 every morning (7:00 on Sundays and holidays), and sung Vespers are at 17:00 from Monday to Saturday, 16:30 on Sundays and holidays and 16:00 the day before a holiday. From November to February, listeners register by email to stift.nonnberg@aon.at by the day before. The church is closed to visitors during services.
Nonnberg Abbey church and its red spire, with the fortress behind. Photo: Manfred Werner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Maria von Kutschera was a novice here, and the film’s opening scene and the “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria” courtyard are Nonnberg, according to Panorama Tours. Reach it from Kaigasse by the Nonnbergstiege steps or from Nonntal by a narrow lane. A path also leads here from the fortress.
St Peter’s Abbey and the catacombs
Church and cemetery free · catacombs €2 · St Peter-Bezirk
The tourist board describes St Peter’s as the oldest monastery in the German-speaking world, founded in the seventh century; the present church is 12th century in origin, with Romanesque to Rococo elements, and open daily 8:00 to 20:00. Mozart wrote his “Dominikus Mass” for the abbot in 1769, aged 13. The cemetery around the late-Gothic St Margaret’s Chapel is older than the abbey, according to the tourist board.
St Peter’s Cemetery below the Mönchsberg cliff, with the catacombs in the rock above. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The catacombs are rock chambers in the cliff above the cemetery. The tourist board says they were early Christian meeting places rather than burial places. They cost €2 (ages 6 to 18 €1.50), and are open daily from May to September 10:00 to 12:30 and 13:00 to 18:00, and from October to April 10:00 to 12:30 and 13:00 to 17:00. They are closed on 1 January, 24 to 26 December and 31 December, are not step-free and admit no dogs. The Salzburg Card gives one free entry. The abbey’s museum is part of the DomQuartier ticket.
The squares and Getreidegasse
Free · always
The old town’s squares are free to cross at any hour: the Residenzplatz, with a fountain 15 metres high built from 1658 to 1661; the Domplatz; the Mozartplatz; and the Alter Markt. Getreidegasse is the street of wrought-iron guild signs high above the shop fronts and of passage courtyards, such as the one from No. 3 to the Universitätsplatz. Mozart’s Birthplace is No. 9. The tourist board says the name has nothing to do with grain. The Franziskanerkirche and the Kollegienkirche are free churches among the squares. The old town walk links them in order.
The Hellbrunn park and the gazebo
Free · daily 6:30 to 21:00 · Hellbrunn
The palace park is open all year, with the Sound of Music gazebo in it. Bus 25 runs from the Hauptbahnhof. The trick fountains, the palace exhibition and the Sound of Music museum are separate tickets; the Hellbrunn page has them.
Free walking tours
Leo’s Free Walking Tour runs about 100 minutes, tip-based, from the Mirabell Gardens entrance, via Getreidegasse, the Residenzplatz and St Peter’s. Look for the salmon-pink backpack. Salzburg walking tours compares them with the paid ones.
What looks free and is not
- Salzburg Cathedral: €7 for adults. It has charged since 23 October 2021. The DomQuartier page has the hours and Music at Noon.
- The Mönchsberg lift: €3.40 one way, €4.80 return. The paths on the Mönchsberg are free.
- The fortress: it needs a ticket, from €12 on foot, or €10.10 for the Panorama Ticket in its set windows. The fortress page has the prices.
- Mozart’s Birthplace: €18.
- The Salzburg Museum’s main building: closed, and the open sites charge €5 to €8. Best museums in Salzburg lists them.
Tours worth paying for
A walking tour gives the stories to go with the free route. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.
Old Town, Mozart and Mirabell Gardens walking tour
From €40 · 2 hours · 4.7 stars from 752 reviews
Salzburg: Old Town, Mozart, & Mirabell Gardens Walking Tourad is run by Rosotravel Austria Tours & Experiences. It is the cheapest rated group walk.
What to see
- Nonnberg Abbey at 6:45. The nuns’ morning song, before anything else is open.
- Mirabell Gardens. Free, early.
- Getreidegasse and the squares. Daylight, any day.
- St Peter’s Cemetery and the abbey church. Quiet, and in the old town.
- Hellbrunn’s park. For the gazebo.
The order that works: Mirabell in the morning, cross the river for Getreidegasse and the squares, finish at St Peter’s, and keep Nonnberg for the next day’s 6:45 or the evening Vespers. What to skip: the Dwarf Garden and Hedge Theatre in winter.
Practical information
- Getting there: all of the above except Hellbrunn are within walking distance of each other in the old town and the new town across the Salzach.
- Winter: the Hedge Theatre and Dwarf Garden are closed, and the Nonnberg listeners must register.
- The one thing that ruins a visit: reaching Nonnberg for the nuns’ morning song after 6:45.
What to book in Salzburg has the closed days for every sight. Things to do in Salzburg ranks the paid sights against these. Salzburg with kids picks the free ones for families. Sound of Music locations in Salzburg separates the real places from the studio sets. Best views in Salzburg has the free hill paths, and the right bank walk links the Mirabell Gardens, St Sebastian’s Cemetery, the Kapuzinerberg and the Steingasse, all free. For a bed, see where to stay in Salzburg.
Common questions
What is free in Salzburg?
The Mirabell Gardens, the Angel Staircase and the Marble Hall on its visiting days, Nonnberg Abbey church, St Peter's Abbey church and cemetery, the old town squares, the Sound of Music gazebo in the Hellbrunn park and the Mönchsberg paths.
Is Salzburg Cathedral free?
No. It charges a €7 conservation contribution for adults, €3.50 for ages 14 to 18 and nothing up to 13. A Salzburg Card reduces it to €5.50.
What time do the nuns sing at Nonnberg Abbey?
At 6:45 every morning, and at 7:00 on Sundays and holidays. Sung Vespers are at 17:00 from Monday to Saturday and 16:30 on Sundays and holidays. From November to February, listeners must register by email the day before.
Are the St Peter's catacombs free?
No: they cost €2. The abbey church and St Peter's Cemetery are free.
Is the Mönchsberg lift free?
No. It is €4.80 return or €3.40 one way, and free with the Salzburg Card. The paths on the Mönchsberg are free to walk.
Is there a free walking tour in Salzburg?
Yes, a tip-based one: Leo's Free Walking Tour runs for about 100 minutes and meets at the entrance to the Mirabell Gardens, with a salmon-pink backpack.
