Parks & Gardens

On the right bank of the river, laid out by Fischer von Erlach, the baroque Mirabell Gardens, off Makartplatz, are the finest in Salzburg. Now a public park, they're studded with statues and reflecting pools. Von Erlach also designed some of the marble balustrades and urns. There's a natural theater as well. For the best view of the gardens and also of Salzburg, pause at the top of the steps where Julie Andrews and her seven charges showed off their singing voices in The Sound of Music. As you wander in the gardens, be sure to visit Zwerglgarten, the bastion with fantastic marble baroque dwarfs and other figures. It's located by the Pegasus Fountains in the lavish garden west of Schloss Mirabell. From the garden, you have an excellent view of the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The marble statues make Mirabell Gardens virtually an open-air museum. The gardens are open daily from 7am to 8pm. In summer, free brass band concerts are held Wednesday at 8:30pm and Sunday at 10:30am.