Salzburg Austria what to do in one or two days?
Salzburg Austria
Since I like the flamboyant Baroque architecture, Salzburg Austria is a beautiful town for me. It even holds an enviable spot on the Unesco World Heritage list – that’s how beautiful it is.
Exploring Salzburg, I concluded that it’s an excellent weekend destination for two. It isn’t that children are not allowed, but somehow the entire town reminds me of having butterflies in stomach, formal crinolines, balls, and it’s as if I can hear light classical music in the background.
Since I decided not to enter every museum and listen to all Mozart concerts, one or two days in Salzburg were more than enough to enjoy myself.
It was a rainy April when I visited, although if you take into account that out of 365 days of the year, they have rain for 140, the chances are slim that you won’t have at least one rainy day. However, it’s best to visit it in May, June, September, and October.
That means that now is the right time to spend a weekend in Salzburg.
Salzburg’s pride
People from Salzburg take the most pride in the fact that one of the most famous composers was born in this town – Mozart.
Nobody knows where Mozart was buried (because he died in poverty) or what exactly he looked like. Every portrait of his is different. What we know for sure is that he was not the handsomest of men 🙂 which doesn’t even matter…I am just mentioning his “beauty” in the context of an interesting story his sister told about him – she couldn’t believe how such beautiful music comes from such an ugly head 🙂 Sisters are the best! 🙂
She was as talented as Mozart but less famous.
The most important figure in Mozart’s life was his father. If it hadn’t been for him, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wouldn’t be so famous today. Money and court connections advanced the talent Mozart had.
However, since the town was not so kind to Mozart during his life, people from Salzburg are trying to make up for it.
Another not less important person for today’s world is Christian Doppler – a mathematician and physicist who was also born in Salzburg.
You know how it goes…Doppler effect…the best explanation for that is…the noise that the engine of an approaching car makes is different from the one we hear when it’s moving away.
Or when we say…we are going to the Doppler machine…it’s a type of a medical check-up.
So that Doppler we all know was born right here:
Salzburg Austria what to do in one day?
A little bit of walking
- Through a magical garden – Mirabell garden or as the Austrians call it Mirabellgarten
Mirabellgarten is one of the most popular and beautiful gardens in the world. So it is not strange to me at all that some of the scenes from the film “The Sound of Music” were filmed right there.
Isn’t it beautiful?
It’s full of marble monuments, too
And beautiful fountains. I was absolutely enchanted.
- Visit the Old town
Actually, everything is located here…the promenade, various stores, restaurants and pastry shops…To be short and clear – all the most famous sights of Salzburg.
- Visit Mozart’s birth house (Mozart Geburtshaus)
and also the house he lived in since he was 15. Both of them are museums now.
- Walk by the river Salzach and lock away your love
People are soooo in love…so many locked loves
Then we made a small break from history and museums with a few bites
A little bit of food…
- At the town (green) market (Grünmarkt)
This is the best way to taste all flavours of Salzburg, so do not miss this location. It is located in the Old town in front of the Kollegienkirche (the University church)
Bacon
A little bit of sweets…
- We tried the ORIGINAL (Mozart chocolate) MOZARTKUGELN, too
Please, don’t call them Mozart Balls…they are not anybody’s balls 🙂
All those Mozartkugeln we have been eating so far are fake. The real Mozartkugeln are made only in one place and that is Salzburg Austria. There is only one shop where the original Mozartkugeln are handmade. They are considerably more expensive than in supermarkets, but it was worth trying them at least once in my life.
Although they are more expensive, you always have to wait in a line 🙂
And the original looks like this:
and it has nothing to do with the ones in red-golden wraps that you can buy everywhere
Much more traditional and famous sweets
- Since we’re talking about the originals… here you can find the only original and the symbol of Austria, Sacher cake
At the Sacher cake stop, Nesh and I had a real adventure. Since Sacher hotel has two sides, and two entrances as well…we chose one…but of course, it was the wrong one, as it turned out after we were previously traumatized 🙂
So we entered the one and only door that we found…and…momentarily froze…
I will not describe how luxurious the venue was or what it looked like…I’ll just tell you that in the same moment he looked at me, and I looked at him and then we compared ourselves with the exclusive and sparkly evening gowns and tuxedoes and we concluded that we didn’t belong there after all…or something wasn’t right in the least.
This is where we tried to go in:
And it was actually here:
So, you need to try Sacher cake at the Sacher hotel, but the entrance is on the main street.
Of course, I tried everything there:
And also the cake that I did not expect to look like the way it did…I like juicy ones, and this one looked a bit dry…I was 100% certain that it was as fresh as possible…because the customers sitting at the tables around us would not let that to be any different.
No lies, no cheating…Sacher cake in its original form is a lot drier than what we are used to.
I also tried the Sacher coffee and the chocolate liqueur
After the break and the sugar rush…
And a walk once more…but this time up the hill…
- We climbed the hill called Mönchsberg where, besides having lunch at a fancy restaurant (M32)…we also had a magnificent view over the entire Salzburg…it was as good as it gets 🙂 My recommendation is that you get here for the view over Salzburg, and not at the Salzburg Fortress where climbing by a cable car is considerably more expensive.
and a little bit to the right…there’s more of the right side, I just don’t have a picture 🙂
Then we came down, walked a bit more through the Old town, Getreidegasse
- And so we get to the Salzburg cathedral (DomQuartier) and pass through it
We got there after those 200 years it had been closed for tourists…to use the opportunity before another 200 years of closure come. Who can wait for that?
- We walked through the squares around the Cathedral (Residenz Palace, New Residence etc.)
- Also take a ride in the carriage
or
- Win a street chess game
And now, again it’s time for a break and more food before the last climb up the hill that you can do or you don’t have to…
And some more food
What and where to eat?
You should not move from the Old town…that’s where the restaurants are. In the walking or the shopping zone, and in the passages you can find a lot of restaurants.
The Austrian cuisine is not the best in the world, but you should definitely enjoy some dishes.
What you need to try as traditional dishes are Salzburg steak (similar to the Vienna steak or Tyrolean style Veal Milanese, but filled with mushrooms), dumplings with spinach or meat that are usually served with a soup, and you should not miss the pork ribs either.
If you haven’t tried it yet, use the opportunity and try Kaiserschmnarrn. You will wonder where it has been all your life 🙂
Spätzle (spaetzle), that is Käsespätzle, which is basically pasta with cheese (Emmentaler).
Some of the restaurants we’ve been to:
And the one the Austrians are crazy for, you will recognize it if you stare into the picture long enough
Another and the last climb…
If you are willing to do another climb, then there’s the cable car that takes you to Hoensalcburg or Salzburg Fortress or as the Austrians call it Festung Hohensalzburg
Or if you opt for the best ice cream, you can find it right here in Salzburg Austria
Also everything else for the second day
If you’re staying for a longer period of time, then you also have these options:
- Sporer – wine and liqueur cellar made according to the recipe from 1927. They are famous for their orange punch.
- Augustine Beer Garden – if you like a little bit of beer and not a regular one…it was made by the monks 🙂
- The Sound of Music – a Salzburg tour…so you can have fun like Julie Andrews 🙂
- St. Peter’s cemetery – it’s one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world and it looks nothing like the ones in Serbia – it has avenues, wrought iron and beautiful flower alleys and mausoleums.
- Museums and theatres (the Puppet theatre – Marionette)
- The Zoo (people over 19 pay 11 euros, 15 to 19 7 euros and children up to 14 pay 4,5 euros) while you’re there visit the mountain Hellbrunn as well
- You can also go to dinner made according to the recipes from the 18th century while listening to Mozart music.
On the end, I wish you a happy trip and I’m looking forward to hearing about your experiences!