In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Buy the All-inclusive ticket: €19.20 with the funicular, €14.50 if you walk up. The Basic ticket (€15.50 or €12) leaves out the Prince’s Chambers and the Magic Theatre, which are the reason to go inside. Walking up takes 15 to 20 minutes and saves €4.70 on All-inclusive. The funicular is shut 9 to 13 November 2026, when the museums and indoor areas are closed too, and 11 January to 14 March 2027, when only the funicular is shut; no online tickets are sold in either period. An online ticket avoids the ticket window, not the funicular queue. The fortress is open every day. The fortress’s own shop is tickets.festung-hohensalzburg.at; the GetYourGuide “Official ticket”ad costs the same. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Best of Mozart fortress concertad is from €43 and the concert with dinnerad from €84 (GetYourGuide).
Tickets and prices
Prices are the fortress’s own, from its ticket page and the funicular operator’s price list. Online tickets are valid for six months and need no exchange. Children from 6 to 14 pay the child price.
Hohensalzburg Fortress from the north-east. Photo: Andreas Stiasny, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Ticket | Adult | Child 6 to 14 | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-inclusive with funicular | €19.20 | €7.30 | Funicular up and down, the grounds, four museums, the Prince’s Chambers and the Magic Theatre |
| All-inclusive on foot | €14.50 | €5.60 | The same, walking up and down |
| Basic with funicular | €15.50 | €6.30 | Funicular, the grounds and four museums; no Prince’s Chambers, no Magic Theatre |
| Basic on foot | €12 | €4.90 | The same, walking |
Both tickets include the courtyards, bastions and chapel, the Fortress Museum, the Rainer Regimental Museum, the Marionette Museum and the Armoury. The Prince’s Chambers are the Golden Hall, the Golden Parlour and the Bedchamber on the third floor of the Hoher Stock, built in 1501 and 1502 for Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach.
- The step up to All-inclusive costs €3.70 with the funicular and €2.50 on foot.
- Walking saves €3.50 on Basic and €4.70 on All-inclusive.
- Cheaper windows: the funicular company sells a Panorama Ticket of €12.80 with the funicular and €10.10 on foot, covering the courtyards, bastions and chapel. It is on sale from May to September 8:30 to 10:00 and 18:00 to 19:40, from October to April 16:00 to 16:40, and in December 17:00 to 17:40.
- After the fortress closes, a funicular-only ticket is €6.30.
- The Salzburg Card is the ticket itself, with no exchange, and covers the funicular up and down and the Prince’s Chambers once. The ICOM card and the Salzburg Family Pass are not accepted.
Where to buy
Buy from the fortress’s shop first. GetYourGuide’s listing is the fortress operator’s own official ticket at the same €19.20, exchanged for a ticket at the cashier desk. The fortress’s online button says “skip the line”. That means the ticket window; the funicular and the museums have limited capacity and can still queue, and the fortress advises buying online to avoid waiting. Searches for fortress tickets return resale sites with the fortress’s name in the web address that are not the operator.
Tours worth paying for
The fortress has no audio guide, only boards in German, English and Italian, and its public guided tours are announced on its site. The best-reviewed products are evening concerts, which include the funicular.
The fortress ticket on GetYourGuide
From €19.20 · valid 1 day · 4.6 stars from 2,799 reviews
Salzburg: Hohensalzburg Fortress Admission Ticketad is sold by Salzburger Burgen & Schlösser, the fortress’s operator. It costs the same as the All-inclusive ticket and carries no benefit the fortress’s own online ticket lacks. The funicular is included only if you pick a funicular option.
Best of Mozart fortress concert
From €43 · 1.5 hours · 4.6 stars from 1,205 reviews
Salzburg: Best of Mozart Fortress Concertad is run by Salzburger Festungskonzerte. The Salzburger Mozart Ensemble plays Eine kleine Nachtmusik, a piano quartet and a clarinet quintet in one of the fortress’s halls, and the funicular ride up and down is included. The concert starts at 20:30 from May to October and at 20:00 in the other months. The dress code is smart casual, with no shorts or sleeveless shirts. The Golden Hall, used from 1 May to 31 October, has many steps and no lift.
Concert with dinner
From €84 · 4.6 stars from 1,987 reviews
Salzburg: Best of Mozart Fortress Concert and Dinnerad adds a three-course dinner in the fortress’s Panorama Restaurant before the same concert, with the funicular included. Dinner starts at 18:00 from September to April and at 18:30 from May to August; the concert follows at 20:00 or 20:30. The VIP menu ends with Salzburger Nockerl, the sweet soufflé. Mozart concerts in Salzburg compares the fortress concerts with the Mirabell and dinner concerts.
What to see
The fortress has stood above the old town for about 900 years. Allow time for the walk up, and for the grounds, which stay open after the museums close.
The Festungsbahn funicular car beside its upper station. Photo: Oleksandr Dede, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The way up. The footpath climbs about 100 metres in 15 to 20 minutes. The funicular, which opened in 1892 and ran on water power then, leaves every ten minutes.
- The grounds and the view. The courtyards and bastions have a 360-degree view over the old town to the mountains. This part is in every ticket, and it is the whole visit on the Panorama Ticket.
- The Prince’s Chambers and the Magic Theatre. Late-Gothic state rooms with a Golden Hall and a Golden Parlour, and a multimedia show of music, light and video in the same rooms. All-inclusive tickets only.
- The museums. The Fortress Museum, the Rainer Regimental Museum, the Marionette Museum and the Armoury are in both tickets. The Marionette Museum and the Armoury are the quick ones.
- The path across the Mönchsberg. A track leads from the fortress to the Museum der Moderne and its restaurant, and another to Nonnberg Abbey.
The order that works: the view first, while you are fresh, then the Prince’s Chambers, then the museums. What to skip: the Basic ticket, and the funicular on the way down if you are walking anyway. Families: the Fortress Games are a trail with seven stations; pick up the game set in the Paradise Garden.
The Golden Hall in the Prince’s Chambers. Photo: Gryffindor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Hours and practical information
| Area | Hours |
|---|---|
| Fortress | January to April 9:30 to 17:00; May to September 8:30 to 20:00; October to December 9:30 to 17:00 |
| Easter and Advent weekends | 9:30 to 18:00 |
| 24 December | 9:30 to 14:00 |
| Funicular | Every ten minutes |
The fortress is open 365 days, and the last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The tower musicians play on Sundays from 11:45 to 12:00.
- Closures: the funicular is shut 9 to 13 November 2026 and 11 January to 14 March 2027. In November the museums and indoor areas are shut as well, so a ticket for those dates buys the view only. In the 2027 closure the indoor areas are open and you walk up.
- Getting there: the funicular valley station is at Festungsgasse 4, in the old town. Cars and coaches cannot reach the fortress. The Guest Mobility Ticket does not cover the funicular.
- Bags and dogs: dogs ride the funicular on a lead with a muzzle, and cannot enter the museums or the Prince’s Chambers, even in a bag. Bicycles are not allowed on the funicular.
- Photography: indoors without flash, for private use. Drones are banned.
- Access: the interior is not step-free. A lift in the bell tower reaches the courtyard, the Armoury, the Kuenburg Bastion and the Marionette Museum.
- The one thing that ruins a visit: arriving on 9 to 13 November expecting the museums, or buying Basic and finding the Prince’s Chambers closed to you.
Day trippers from Munich and Vienna get the same prices there in a day plan. What to book in Salzburg has the closed days for every sight. Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence sell only through the Mozarteum, and the DomQuartier is closed on Tuesdays. Is the Salzburg Card worth it? has the sums with the fortress in them. Best views in Salzburg sets the fortress against the Mönchsberg and the Untersberg, and the old town walk ends beside the funicular. Salzburg with kids has the fortress games, and free things to do in Salzburg has what costs nothing. For a bed, see where to stay in Salzburg.
Common questions
How much are Hohensalzburg Fortress tickets?
The All-inclusive ticket is €19.20 with the funicular and €14.50 if you walk up. The Basic ticket is €15.50 with the funicular and €12 on foot. Children aged 6 to 14 pay €7.30, €6.30, €5.60 and €4.90 for the same four tickets.
What does the Basic ticket leave out?
The Prince's Chambers, the late-Gothic state rooms built in 1501 and 1502, and the Magic Theatre, the multimedia show in the same rooms. Both tickets include the grounds, the Fortress Museum, the Rainer Regimental Museum, the Marionette Museum and the Armoury.
Is the Hohensalzburg funicular closed?
Yes, from 9 to 13 November 2026 and from 11 January to 14 March 2027. In November the walking path and outdoor areas stay open and the museums and indoor areas are closed. In the 2027 closure everything but the funicular is open. No online tickets are sold in either period.
How long is the walk up to the fortress?
About 15 to 20 minutes on a path that climbs about 100 metres, partly gravelled and steep in places.
Does the Salzburg Card cover the fortress?
Yes. It works directly as the ticket, with the funicular up and down, the museums and the Prince's Chambers, and needs no reservation or exchange. The free entry can be used once.
Can I buy a fortress ticket on GetYourGuide?
Yes. The listing is the fortress operator's own official ticket and costs €19.20, the same as the All-inclusive ticket on the fortress site. It is exchanged for a ticket at the cashier desk.
