What to Do and Where to See

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to selecting the things they want to do. To help you decide, we have broken down our suggestions into different categories.

Dinner & Other Concerts

There are various venues in Salzburg that put on Dinner Concerts. The most popular are:-

  • Mozart Dinner Concert – This is held in St. Peter Stiftkulinarium and features musicians in period dress
  • Fortress Dinner Concert – You first have dinner in the Panorama Restaurant with views over the city. This is followed by a concert in one of the Fortress Rooms
  • Sound of Music Dinner Show – This is held in Sternbrau in the heart of the Old Town and features songs from both the Sound of Music and Mozart arias

Other regular concerts are held in:-

  • The Residenz
  • The Mozarteum
  • Mirabell Palace

See below for more details and locations.

Regular Salzburg Concerts

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Other Events Throughout the Year

There a lots of events organised in Salzburg across the whole year. We have highlighted the up and coming events in the calendar below.

Salzburg Events

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Museums

Click on the Museum Name for More Information

Salzburg Fortress

Set inside the medieval fortress that dominates Salzburg you will find 3 museums:-

  • The Castle Museum: Artefacts from 1000 years of history including weapons, coins, ceramics and fully furnished castle kitchen
  • Puppet Museum: Explore the world of puppets including exhibits from the famous Salzburg Puppet Theatre
  • Rainer Regiment: Preserving the memory of the Salzburg House regiment formed in 1652

Mozart Birthplace

No 9 Getreidegasse is where Mozart was born in 1756. Here you will find the museum that celebrates his early life in original rooms.

Mozart Residence

The Mozart family moved to this house across the river at No 8 Makartplatz in 1773. This museum has Mozart’s fortepiano and many original documents and portraits.

DomQuartier Salzburg

This is actually 5 museums in one and comprises the Cathedral, the State Rooms of the Residenz Palace, the Residenz Gallery, St Peter’s museum and the Salzburg Museum of Baroque Art. Entrance to the complex is in Residenzplatz.

Salzburg Museum

In addition to artifacts relating to the history of the Prince-Archbishops this museum also has chamber dedicated to the arhaeology and middle ages. There are also visiting exhibitions during the year. The museum is in the Neue Residenz building in Residenzplatz.

Panorama Museum

This houses the spectacular panorama painting that stretches 26 metres around a central viewing platform. It depicts Salzburg as it was in the 19th century. Telescopes allow visitors to take a closer look at individual areas of the painting. There are also other large scale paintings by Hubert Sattler captured unusual views of cities and landscapes around the world.

Cathedral Excavations

This is only open during July and August but enables you to see the foundations of the earlier cathedrals together with Roman mosaic floors and finds discovered in the cathedral area.

 What to Do if its Raining

Unfortunately it rains in Salzburg quite a lot! Take a look at our Salzburg Weather page that not only gives you an up to date forecast but also looks at what you can expect each month.

So what do you do if its raining?

One of the best things to do on a rainy day is to tour the Fortress (Hohensalzburg). There is lots to do inside the fortress and you should allow about 3 hours to tour the various rooms and have a good look around. Access is via the funicular railway from Kapitalplatz behind the Cathedral.

Another good standby is the Natural History Museum (Haus der Natur) but be aware it will be very busy on a rainy day.  It includes dinasaurs, an aquarium, reptile zoo and many more exhibits.

Mozart fans should visit the two museums, his birthplace  and the residence where he lived until he moved to Vienna.

There are lots of other museums in Salzburg – see the list here

If you want to travel a bit further afield where it is not raining, then consider a trip to the Salzburg Lake District or Bertchesgarten.

What to Do in Winter

Winter in Salzburg can be a magical place with snow almost always expected in the city at some point. Exactly when varies from year to year but you may be lucky and have snow whilst you are visiting the Christmas Markets.

Be aware that it can be very cold in Salzburg so dress accordingly. In the evenings it can get down to -15c.  Check out our guide to Salzburg Weather that gives an idea of the weather throughout the year.

During late November to Christmas there are several Christmas Markets in Salzburg:-

  • Residenzplatz – the main Christmas Market
  • Stern – A lovely market in the squares outside Sternbrau
  • Fortress – A market in the courtyard of the Hohensalzburg.
  • Mirabell  – A small market just outside the beautiful Mirabell Gardens

A trip to the Christmas Market at Hellbrunn is really worth it but expect to pay an entrance fee at the weekends.

The Fortress and all of the museums are open as usual throughout the winter and provide ample things to do. There are also lots of cafes in the City where you can have a hot chocolate (with rum is delicious).

If you decide to go up the Untersberg mountain – please be aware that it can be very dangerous if you wander from the designated pathe.