Salzburg walking tours compared: the free 100-minute old town tour, 2-hour walks from €40, a 2.5-hour tour at €45 and private walks

💡 The Short Version: Start with Leo’s free walking tour: 100 minutes in English from the entrance to the Mirabell Gardens, with a tip for the guide. For a paid group walk, the 2-hour old town, Mozart and Mirabell walk is from €40 (4.7 from 752 reviews); the 2.5-hour tour is from €45 (4.2 from 1,146). No walk includes an entry ticket: Mozart’s houses sell only through the Mozarteum, €18 each or €25 for both. Private walks are priced per group, about €280 for up to 8 on Bob’s Special Tours. Fräulein Maria’s bike tour is €50 and runs from April to October. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices in euros. Or book now: the old town walkad is from €40 and the 2.5-hour walking tourad from €45 (GetYourGuide).

The tours compared

The free tour

Leo’s Free Walking Tour · 100 minutes · English · book a date

The tour is run by a licensed local guide, Alpine City Walks e.U. It walks the old town: Getreidegasse, the Mirabell Gardens, Residenzplatz and St Peter’s Monastery, with stories about Mozart, the prince-archbishops and the film. The meeting point is the entrance to the Mirabell Gardens, by the statues with outstretched arms, opposite the Theatercafé, and the guide wears a salmon-pink backpack. The operator also runs private walks of 1.5 to 2 hours on request.

The Florian fountain on the Alter Markt in Salzburg’s old town. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Paid group walks

Old Town, Mozart and Mirabell Gardens

From €40 · 2 hours · up to 25 people · English and Chinese

Rosotravel’s walkad follows the film’s trail through the Mirabell Gardens, then the old town past Mozart’s Birthplace, the Residence and the Cathedral. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. It is the cheaper of the two paid group walks here.

2.5-hour walking tour

From €45 · 2.5 hours · English and German

MELODY Salzburg Tours&Travel’s walkad starts at Mirabell Palace and passes the Mozart Residence at Makartplatz. It crosses the Marko-Feingold-Steg to the old town, Getreidegasse and Mozart’s Birthplace, visits one or two churches and ends with an optional view from the Mönchsberg. The listing prices the optional view at €4 a person; the lift’s own prices are €3.40 one way and €4.80 return. The “fast-track entry” label on the listing buys nothing: the walk is outdoors and includes no entry.

The nave of the Kollegienkirche, the university church on Universitätsplatz. Photo: Gryffindor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Private walks

Bob’s Special Tours prices by the group, for up to 8 people: the 2.5-hour city highlights walk is about €280, the 3-hour version with the fortress about €415, and “In Mozart’s Footsteps”, 3 hours, about €345. These suit a family or a group of friends; for a couple, the group walks cost far less.

On two wheels

Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours · €50 adult, €25 ages 13 to 17, €20 under 12 · about 3.5 hours

The bike tour leaves from Mirabellplatz 4 at 9:30 daily from April to October, with a 16:30 departure as well from June to August, and does not run from November to March. The Sound of Music tour comparison sets it beside the coach tours.

Doing it yourself

The old town walk is a self-guided route from Getreidegasse to Nonnberg with a map and the opening days, and the right bank walk goes from Mirabell Palace up the Kapuzinerberg to the Steingasse. Mirabell Palace and Gardens has the hours of the garden where the free tour starts, and Sound of Music locations in Salzburg lists the film places to see alone. The walks above add a guide, not access: Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence are €18 each or €25 for both at the Mozarteum’s own shop, the Cathedral is €7 and the DomQuartier €12 and shut on Tuesdays.

Before you go

• The one thing that ruins a walk: meeting at the wrong place. Leo’s tour starts at the Mirabell Gardens entrance; the 2-hour and 2.5-hour tours give the meeting point in the booking confirmation.
• The Mirabell Gardens are open daily from about 6:00 to dusk, though the palace is closed on Sundays.
• Which to book: Leo’s free tour for the cheapest introduction; the 2-hour walk for a paid guide; a private walk for a group.

What to book in Salzburg lists the closed days, and Mozart’s Birthplace and Residence covers the tickets. Is the Salzburg Card worth it? has the sums, and the hop-on hop-off bus is the other way to cover the ground. Best food tours in Salzburg compares the guided eating tours. Where to stay in Salzburg compares the areas.