The best sights and travel tips for visiting the City of Mozart in winter
The City of Mozart is worth a trip at any time of year, but Salzburg looks particularly beautiful in winter. When the streets and passages of Salzburg are romantically decorated for Advent and the Christmas season, and the snow-covered mountains of the country around Salzburg form a magical backdrop, this is the perfect time for a trip to the City of Mozart. Enjoy its music, culture and nature, and discover our Top 10 sights in Salzburg in winter!
The Cathedral Quarter is the centre of Baroque art and a unique cultural highlight at the heart of the City of Salzburg. More than 400 years ago the rich and powerful Prince Archbishops built this masterpiece in the Italian style and created a Baroque jewel which now has UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status. The Cathedral and the Residence, together with the Benedictine Monastery of St. Peter, form the present-day Cathedral Quarter, where there are five museums to be discovered. For centuries the Residence served as the seat of government, a place of residence for the Prince Archbishops, and as a place of ceremonial entertainment. History comes to life in its magnificently furnished state rooms, and you can take a tour which will give you impressive views of the Old Town. Treat yourself to an exciting historic expedition through the former power centre of the Prince Archbishops with its unique architecture and art treasures dating from the past 1300 years!
The Haus der Natur in Salzburg presents nature from its most exciting perspective. Here, not only are prehistoric dinosaurs from long-forgotten periods brought to life, but also science and technology come face to face. Go on a journey through the seven seas of the world, be amazed at the creatures that inhabit the oceans, or leave the planets behind and immerse yourself in space. A special experience for families and children, the popular “Museum at Night” tours take place in winter, when you can explore the dark, mysterious passages of the Museum by torchlight. If the Museum itself looks too technical, you can explore the adjacent Aquarium with its richly varied underwater world. Feeding the sharks and piranhas will give you an interesting close-up perspective, and the Science Center also offers a multitude of exciting and educational experiments. The Haus der Natur is an adventure for the whole family!
The cultural city of Salzburg offers museums that appeal to all interests. Whether you opt for the Neue Residenz (New Residential Palace), the Panorama Museum, the Toy Museum, the Fortress Museum, the Cathedral Excavations Museum, the Museum der Moderne or another of the city’s many museums – a visit to the “treasure houses” of Salzburg is a journey into the world of nature, art and technology. The magnificently renovated Neue Residenz is one of the six exhibition spaces of Salzburg Museum, presenting valuable works of art and providing information about the artistic and cultural history of the city and province of Salzburg. This museum has special character of its own – modern, exciting, interactive and entertaining. Like the permanent “Mythos Salzburg” exhibition, the continually changing exhibitions provide the ultimate in cultural enjoyment. In the Salzburg Museum in the Neue Residenz, valuable works of art, interesting content and multimedia presentations combine to form an impressive whole, showing that a modern museum can be both informative and entertaining.
The Gaisberg is the mountain where the people of Salzburg go for leisure and recreation and to enjoy the views, and is only about ten minutes away from the city. At 1,287 metres above sea level, Salzburg’s local mountain is a popular nearby recreational area offering innumerable options for winter outings. In addition to tobogganing, the snow-covered high plateau is also excellent for cross-country skiing. Depending on the snow situation, the marked cross-country skiing trail is between three and five kilometres long, and is perfect for classic cross-country skiing. The Gaisberg is well worth a trip on sunny days. The Gaisberg circular walking route lasts about one hour and guarantees wonderful far-reaching views over the city and towards the foothills of the Alps. You can get there by car or by bus from the stop in Mirabellplatz, bus route number 151, and if you have a “Salzburg Card” the bus trip to the Gaisberg is free.
The numerous meadows, woodlands and viewpoints of the Mönchsberg, in the centre of Salzburg’s Old Town just by the Festungsberg, has unforgettable walks and experiences to offer. As a nearby place of recreation, it is very popular with the local population as well as with tourists. The Mönchsberg is the perfect place for enjoying an extraordinary view over the city. From the top you can see not only the Old Town, the churches and the Cathedral, but also the New Town, the Salzach river and the surrounding mountains. The modern 60-metre long Mönchsberg lift will take you from the Anton-Neumayr-Platz valley station directly to the Mönchsberg and the Museum der Moderne in just a few seconds. Of course there are also many other paths that will take you on to the Mönchsberg by foot. Discover the numerous trails in the Mönchsberg nature reserve and enjoy the splendid panoramic view from the Mönchsberg over the City of Salzburg.
Salzburg is a city of churches, and for centuries it was an important power centre of the Catholic Church. Not for nothing is Salzburg referred to as the “Rome of the North”. For more than 1,100 years Salzburg was a Papal State and the Prince Archbishops were ecclesiastical and political rulers with power and money who exercised a direct influence on Rome. Take yourself on a journey through time and visit the abbey church of Nonnberg, St. Cajetan’s Church, the Cathedral and the Catacombs of St. Peter’s. The route of the churches tour will take you on to the Franciscan Church, the Kollegienkirche, the Trinity Church and the Loreto Church. Each church has an interesting history of its own to tell, and is also a place of quietness and reflection. On the churches tour you can look at these imposing structures, each offering something different, and also be reminded of the magnificence and power of the Prince Archbishops. The actual walking time is a maximum of one and a half hours over a distance of 2.5 kilometres.
Experience Salzburg in Advent. The Salzburg Christkindlmarkt is one of the oldest and most beautiful Christmas markets in the world. Its origins reach back into the 15th century. It still takes place in the heart of the Old Town, around the Cathedral, lending the city in Advent a truly reflective and idyllic atmosphere with its sparkling lights and the decorated Christmas tree. When Advent comes to the City of Mozart at the end of November, the Christmas markets open and a period of fairy-tale beauty begins. Let yourself fall under the spell of the world-famous Advent Market, the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt and many other Christmas markets such as the Hellbrunn Adventzauber Market in front of Hellbrunn Palace. Visit the Salzburg Christmas Museum on Mozartplatz and feel the magic and joy of the City of Mozart.
Combine your cultural holiday in Salzburg with all the advantages of a skiing holiday. The free daily Ski Shuttle will take you into the snowy mountains of the surrounding area. The “Snow Space Salzburg” skiing area has won international awards and offers an easy way of combining your city holiday with winter sports. Let the bus transfer take you from the city centre directly to the skiing area and bring you back again at the end of the day. Many skiing areas are also easily reached by car within an hour. The City of Salzburg offers excellent connections to the international transport network. Take advantage of what the city has to offer in terms of sightseeing, restaurants and shopping, and enjoy a perfect combination of culture and winter sport. Snow Space Salzburg has over 120 kilometres of beautifully prepared pistes, with snow blowers operating throughout the area, ultra-modern lifts and cable cars and also rustic ski huts including après-ski.
New Year’s Eve in Salzburg is a truly special experience. If you would like to spend New Year’s Eve and the New Year period in the Old Town, the City of Mozart offers a unique range of unforgettable New Year experiences. A brilliant firework display, the best live music, an exuberant party atmosphere and the popping of champagne corks make the City of Mozart a popular destination for seeing in the New Year. The unforgettable backdrop of the Old Town and the Hohensalzburg Fortress in a sea of light will enchant any visitor, making New Year’s Eve and New Year in the City of Salzburg an unforgettable experience during a winter or skiing holiday. Neither should we forget the famous New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day concerts in the Grosses Festspielhaus or the Mozarteum. Our concierge service will be happy to arrange your New Year’s Eve celebration according to your wishes.
The Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation invites you to the international music city of Salzburg for the Mozart Week which takes place every year around Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthday. The Mozart Week is a series of concerts that pay homage to the rich heritage of Mozart in the form of a wonderful birthday festival. The Mozarteum Foundation , which was formed in 1880, protects Mozart’s music for the future and engages well known artistes and the best orchestras every year. The Mozart Week is a festival with an international reputation, attracting the best artistes in the world and a huge international public. The stars and artistes, all undisputed and recognised masters of their respective instruments and celebrated interpreters of Mozart’s works, will guide you carefully and enthusiastically through Mozart’s masterpieces. Experience the ultimate in classical music pleasure and discover what makes Mozart’s music so special in the concert halls of the internationally famous Mozart Festival!
Experience Salzburg in winter and discover the best sights in the City of Mozart! Book your apartment or accommodation, as an alternative to staying in a hotel!