Conquer the castle<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The city\u2019s most iconic symbol (well, besides maybe Mozart\u2019s hair) deserves its place atop the list of things to do in Salzburg. Boasting a prime position perched above the patchwork of domes and spires that make up Salzburg\u2019s Old Town, Hohensalzburg is one of the largest \u2014 and most scenic \u2014 medieval fortresses in Europe. There\u2019s plenty to see inside, including stately apartments plastered in gold and a 200-pipe organ known as the Salzburg Bull, but the biggest draw is that view over the city and the Alps beyond. A cable car zooms up to the top every 10 minutes, but you can save a few euros (add inject some much needed exercise to your backpacking trip) by taking the footpath instead.<\/p>\n
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\ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@malyushev<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n If you can name a more scenic beer garden than the Stieglkeller<\/a> terrace, then we\u2019ll buy you a pint there. Sandwiched between the castle above and the roofs of the old town below, the Stieglkeller has been brewing beer in the heart of Salzburg for more than 500 years \u2014 and giving visitors the perfect excuse to re-hydrate on the climb up to or down from Hohensalzburg. The beer hall inside oozes character, but the al fresco terrace is where you want to be on a warm summer\u2019s day, gazing over the medieval Salzburg skyline with a cold Stiegl in your hand.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@tata186<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Even if you don\u2019t know the first thing about classical music, you can\u2019t escape Mozart in Salzburg. His face adorns boxes of chocolate and bottles of fragrance. He has bridges and plazas and golden delicious apples named after him. His portrait is literally woven into the carpet of the Meininger Hostel<\/a>. Even his skull is preserved by the Mozarteum foundation. Apparently the man himself didn\u2019t really like his home town, and moved to Vienna at the first opportunity. But that hasn\u2019t stopped long lines of tourists flocking to the house he was born in on Getreidegasse, the home he grew up in on Makartplatz, and the Mozarteum concert hall near the Mirabell gardens. Prepare for queues if you plan on ticking them off.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@reiseuhu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Besides one single bomb that pierced the dome of the Salzburg Cathedral in 1944, the city\u2019s historic centre dodged most of the damage during World War Two, which makes this UNESCO Heritage Listed Old Town one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe<\/a>. The cathedral appears on every list of what to see in Salzburg \u2014 it\u2019s impossible to miss the huge central dome \u2014 and it\u2019s joined by dozens of other beautiful baroque churches, as well as the historical museums that occupy the Residenz Palace.<\/p>\n But one of the best things to do in Salzburg is to just stroll down Getreidegasse \u2014 a narrow pedestrian street lined with high-end boutiques that might not suit a backpacker\u2019s budget<\/a>, but certainly make for fun window-shopping.<\/p>\n Down a passageway near Mozart\u2019s birthplace (the huge gold building at number nine) lies the legendary Schatz Konditorei<\/a> pastry shop \u2014 perfect for travellers who prefer souffl\u00e9 to symphonies.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@anikinearthwalker<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t seen the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic before coming to Salzburg, watch it. If you have, watch it again. Salzburg comes alive when you know you\u2019re following in the dance steps of Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp family. The \u2018Do Re Mi\u2019 scene particularly puts the city on centre stage, as Maria uses the steps of the Mirabell gardens as a musical scale. The grounds of this lavish 17th century palace are stunning in their own right, with the Hohensalzburg castle supplying the backdrop to immaculately curated flower beds, vine tunnels, lush lawns and hedge mazes. But they\u2019re extra fun when you can spy shots from The Sound of Music, such as the Pegasus fountain and the Zwerglgarten \u2014 a collection of 300-year-old gnome statues that resemble various mutations of the Hunchback of Notre Dame.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@dklaffke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n 17th century prince-archbishop Markus Sittikus relied on more than just his ridiculous rhyming name to make his guests laugh. Schloss Hellbrunn<\/a> was Sittikus\u2019 summer palace, where he thrilled (or royally pissed off) his visitors with elaborate trick fountains he booby-trapped the property with. Hop on a guided tour for the full Sittikus experience of this exotic Italianate villa, where only the sadistic guide knows where to stand to avoid the splash and takes perverse pleasure in squirting their unsuspecting victims. Highlights include the mechanical theatre, where 200 water-powered figurines dance to distract you from the impending splashdown, and an outdoor dining table with water jets built into the seats (avoid volunteering for the guide\u2019s demonstration unless you feel like explaining a very embarrassing trouser stain for the rest of the day). Oh, this is also where you\u2019ll find the gazebo where Liesl von Trapp sung \u2018Sixteen Going On Seventeen\u2019 in The Sound of Music. Buses take about half an hour from the city centre.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@hans-2<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Visiting the biggest tavern in Austria is one of the top things to do in Salzburg. Occupying an old monastery on the other side of the M\u00f6nchsberg mountain, the Augustiner Br\u00e4ust\u00fcbl Tavern<\/a> accommodates 1400 people in its enormous beer garden, as well as four separate beer halls inside, pouring pints from wooden barrels like it has since 1621 and serving old-school Austrian fare from a row of market stalls. Pauli Stubm<\/a>, just beneath the Stieglkeller, and Zum Eulenspiegel<\/a>, near the Salzach river, are two other famous purveyors of the venerable Wiener schnitzel.<\/p>\n Entering this hole in the side of the Hochkogel mountain feels like stepping into Narnia. Found in Werfen 40km south of Salzburg, Eisriesenwelt<\/a> \u2014 World of the Ice Giants in English \u2014 is a limestone cave coated in ice and more than 40km deep, carved by thousands of years of erosion and chilly winter winds. There\u2019s a cable car then a gentle walk to reach the entry, and the views of the Alps are almost as dazzling as the icy wonderland you\u2019re about to delve into. Eisriesenwelt is only accessible with a guide, a gas lantern and a warm jacket \u2014 temperatures are below freezing, of course, otherwise all those mesmerising natural ice sculptures would just be puddles.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@frnetz<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n St Peter\u2019s Abbey hosts Mozart concerts and the Stiftskeller restaurant, considered the oldest in Europe. But the jewel in its ancient crown is the 1300-year-old cemetery out the back, which features catacombs dating back even further. This eerie graveyard is also where the Von Trapps hid on their escape from the Nazis in The Sound of Music \u2014 the scene was filmed in Hollywood, sure, but these millennia-old tombstones were the inspiration. Bring your camera to the real thing, especially when the spooky old graves are blooming with flowers in the warmer months.<\/p>\n Salzburg\u2019s loftiest panorama is from Hohensalzburg castle. Problem is, your pics don\u2019t have the castle in them. For that perfect snap of the city, head up M\u00f6nchsberg instead. A web of walking trails wind up to this plateau of meadows that frames a view of the famous fortress, the forest of churches and the winding Salzach river, with alpine peaks in the distance. M\u00f6nchsberg is also home to the Museum der Moderne<\/a>, the city\u2019s hottest contemporary art museum and one of the best things to do in Salzburg, and the M32<\/a> restaurant, which is on the pricy side but rewards spenny travellers with Old Town vistas through its floor-to-ceiling windows.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@malyushev<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Across the border in Germany, only 25km from Salzburg, sits alpine terrain so quintessentially German that Adolf Hitler had his HQ there. Obersalzburg was where Hitler built his summer home Berghof, as well as the mountaintop Kehlsteinhaus (the Eagle\u2019s Nest in English), which the F\u00fchrer was actually too scared to visit because it sat so high in the clouds. Berghof was destroyed in the war and has been replaced by an excellent museum<\/a> detailing the area\u2019s sombre history, while the Eagle\u2019s Nest<\/a> is a dizzying mountainside bus ride and elevator trip up the Kehlstein peak. The creepiness of the old Nazi hide-out is offset by the tacky tourist eatery it now houses, and you won\u2019t pay much attention to the building when you\u2019re gawking at the Alps from a height of 1834m anyway.<\/p>\n Red Bull Salzburg might be despised by rival fans for being a franchise of a fizzy drink empire rather than a proper football club, but there\u2019s no doubting their status as Austria\u2019s finest football team, no matter who\u2019s paying the bills. Founded as Austria Salzburg in 1933 before Red Bull bought them in 2005, the club hasn\u2019t lost the Austrian Bundesliga title since 2013, which only fuels the hatred. They play champagne (or should that be energy drink?) football at the shiny new Red Bull Arena if you feel like catching a game, or you could support the third-division Austria Salzburg \u2014 a phoenix club built by fans who refused to go along with the corporate Red Bull takeover \u2014 at the Max Aicher Stadion instead. The season runs August to May with a winter break over December and January.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@markusunger<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n A football club isn\u2019t Red Bull\u2019s only plaything in Salzburg. Hangar-7<\/a> is where Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz houses his collection of planes, helicopters, Formula One race cars, motorbikes, the historical fleet of Flying Bulls aircraft, even the contraption that local lad Felix Baumgartner used to dive from the stratosphere back to earth in 2012. The hangar itself is a masterpiece too, made of 1200 tonnes of steel and 1764 panes of glass at Salzburg Airport.<\/p>\n Every summer since 1920, the streets of the city have been awash with classical music for the annual Salzburg Festival<\/a>. This celebration of opera, music and theatre will be especially big for the 100th anniversary in 2020, with hundreds of events between July 18th<\/sup> and August 30th<\/sup> certain to sell out months in advance. And as you\u2019d expect for such a gorgeous Old Town, the city\u2019s Christmas markets<\/a> are also one of the top things to do in Salzburg. The highlight (or nightmare) is the terrifying Krampus and Perchten tradition, when terrifying half-goat, half-demon creatures charge through the streets on December 6th<\/sup>, making little kids query whether Christmas presents are a worthwhile reward for such psychological torture.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf7\u00a0@julianhochgesang<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Fittingly for Austria\u2019s most enchanting city, Salzburg has many great options for backpackers. Yoho International Youth Hostel<\/a> earns top reviews for its on-site bar and restaurant, its daily screenings of The Sound of Music (a guaranteed crowd pleaser) and its prime location between Salzburg\u2019s central railway station and the Old Town. Most of Salzburg\u2019s other hostels are located north of the Hauptbahnhof \u2014 the wrong direction for access to the Old Town \u2014 but JUFA Salzburg City<\/a> is a notable exception, only 10 minutes\u2019 stroll from Mozartplatz. Make sure you\u00a0check out all of our hostels in Salzburg<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n Tom Smith is an Australian writer living in Manchester. Obsessed with sport and travel, Tom has watched cricket in Cardiff, football in Fortaleza, baseball in the Bay Area, and there\u2019s still plenty more to tick off the bucket list yet. Read more of his work\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udf1f\u00a0Snow sports, schnitzel and strudel – 12 of the best things to do in Innsbruck<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udf1f\u00a010 things to do in Vienna on a budget<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n
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Then quench your thirst with a beer<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Meet Mozart<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Stroll through the Old Town<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Channel The Sound of Music<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Splash down at Europe\u2019s cheekiest palace<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Tuck into an authentic Austrian schnitzel<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Explore the world\u2019s largest ice cave<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Hide in an ancient cemetery<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Scale M\u00f6nchsberg<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Take a day trip to Hitler\u2019s Eagle\u2019s Nest<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Watch Austria\u2019s top football club<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Hang out at Hangar-7<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Get festive<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Book a brilliant hostel<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
For help finding your perfect hostel, download the Hostelworld app and get ready to meet the world!<\/h3>\n
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