Things To Do in Salzburg

The Old Town lies between the left bank of the Salzach River and the ridge known as the Mönchsberg, which rises to a height of 503m (1,650 ft.) and is the site of Salzburg's casino. The main street of the Old Town is Getreidegasse, a narrow thoroughfare lined with five- and six-story burghers' buildings. Most of the houses along the street date from the 17th and 18th centuries. Mozart was born at no. 9. Many of the houses display lacy-looking wrought-iron signs over carved windows.

You might begin your explorations at Mozartplatz, with its outdoor cafes. From here you can walk to the even more expansive Residenzplatz, where torchlight dancing is staged every year, along with outdoor performances.

In Mozart's Footsteps

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756, son of an overly managerial father, Leopold Mozart, whose controlling power he eventually fled. Amadeus was a child prodigy, writing musical notes at the age of 4, before he could even shape the letters of the alphabet. By the time he'd reached the ripe old age of 6, he was performing at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna before assembled royalty and aristocrats.

For a time he pleased the audiences of Vienna, but he once complained that the audiences in his hometown of Salzburg were rather wooden and no more responsive than "tables and chairs." Ironically, while Salzburg today pays great tribute to Mozart -- many merchants live solely off his reputation -- he was not appreciated here in his lifetime and often struggled to make ends meet. In spite of the success of The Magic Flute in 1791, his career ended in obscurity.

Mozart's image is everywhere in Salzburg. In the heart of town, Mozartplatz bears his name, with a statue of the composer erected in 1842, the first recognition of his birth he'd received in the town since his death.

A music academy in Salzburg is named after Mozart, and, of course, his music dominates the Salzburg Festival. Too bad he couldn't have been more honored during his lifetime. He died in Vienna on December 5, 1791, and the body of the 35-year-old musical genius was carried in a pauper's hearse to a common grave in the cemetery of Vienna's St. Marx. Today, if his grave site had been better marked, it would be a world-class memorial.

You can visit Mozart Geburtshaus (Birthplace), Getreidegasse 9 (tel. 0662/844313; www.gasthofschorn.at). He lived here until he was 17 -- that is, when he was in Salzburg at all and wasn't touring such cities as Prague or Vienna. There are three floors of exhibition rooms, which include the Mozart family apartment. The main treasures are the valuable paintings (such as the well-known oil painting Mozart and the Piano, left unfinished by Joseph Lange) and the original instruments: the violin Mozart used as a child, his concert violin, and his viola, fortepiano, and clavichord. It's open daily from 9am to 6pm. Admission is 5.50€ ($8.80) for adults and 1.50€ ($2.40) for children.

You can also visit the restored Mozart Wohnhaus, Makartplatz 8 (tel. 0662/87422740), where the composer lived from 1773 to 1780. Damaged in World War II air raids, the house reopened in 1996, honoring the year of Mozart's 240th birthday. In 1773, the Mozart family vacated the cramped quarters of Mozart's birthplace for this haunt on Makartplatz. In the rooms of these former apartments, a museum documents the history of the house, life, and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There's a mechanized audio tour in six languages with musical samples. The museum is open June to September daily 9am to 5pm and October to May daily 9am to 6pm. Admission is 6.50€ ($10) for adults, 5.50€ ($8.80) for students, and 1.50€ ($2.40) for children.

Mozart aficionados will want to stop by the International Mozarteum Foundation's Mozart Audio & Film Museum, Makartplatz 8 (tel. 0662/883454). Here is a collection of 11,000 audio and 1,000 video titles, all concerned with Mozart's compositions. There are also sections devoted to the work of contemporary Salzburg composers. You can watch and listen to eight video and 10 audio stations, and there's a large-scale screen for groups. The museum, which is free, is open Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 9am to 1pm and Wednesday and Thursday 1 to 5pm.

You have to make an appointment to visit the Mozarteum, Schwarzstrasse 26 (tel. 0662/8894030). This is the center of the International Mozarteum Foundation, an edifice in Munich Jugendstil architecture, built from 1910 to 1914. The jewel on the second floor is the library -- a Bibliotheca Mozartiana -- with approximately 12,000 titles devoted to Mozart. The Viennese Hall seats 200 people and provides an intimate atmosphere for concerts and conferences. The wing at Schwarzstrasse 28 houses the larger concert hall, where up to 800 guests enjoy concerts held throughout the year. The highlight is the celebratory festival Mozartwoche, which commemorates Mozart's birthday (Jan 27) with 10 days of concerts and operas. It's open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

In the garden stands the Magic Flute House, a little wood structure in which Mozart composed The Magic Flute in 1791. It was shipped here from the Naschmarkt in Vienna. In 1971, the Mozarteum was designated as the College of Music and the Performing Arts.

Mozart Cycle Path

A new cycle path, named for hometown boy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, now runs from the city of Salzburg through the Salzburg Lake District and on to Bavaria and its lakes, such as Ciemsee, before ending at Berchtesgaden, near Hitler's former vacation retreat. The route stretches more than 410km (255 miles) and is primarily flat, with just a few hills along the way. It's ideal for families. Salzburg tourist offices will provide trail maps.

Especially for Kids

Of all the attractions we've reviewed, those that children will most like include the Glockenspiel, Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mönchsberg, and, on the outskirts, the Hellbrunn Zoo. Kids will also enjoy the Salzburger Marionetten Theater.

The annual cultural events, which reach their peak at the Salzburg Festival, overshadow any after-dark amusements such as dance clubs and beer halls. Clubs come and go in Salzburg fairly rapidly.

It's said that there's a musical event -- often a Mozart concert -- staged virtually every night in Salzburg. To find out what's playing, visit the Salzburg tourist office, Mozartplatz 5 (tel. 0662/889870; www.2.salzburg.info), or get a free copy of Offizieller Wochenspiegel, a monthly pamphlet listing all major and many minor local cultural events; it's available in most hotels. The annual Mozart Week is in January.

Free Concerts & Special Events -- Free concerts are frequently presented by students in the Mozarteum, Schwarzstrasse 26 (tel. 0662/8894030; bus: 1 or 5). In summer, free brass-band concerts are performed in the Mirabell Gardens on Wednesday at 8:30pm and, depending on the venue, either Saturday or Sunday at 10:30am; Sunday chamber-music concerts are held throughout the city at major landmarks such as the Residenz.

The second-most famous music festival in Salzburg is the Osterfestspiele (Easter Festival), which features high-quality operas and concerts performed in the Festspielhaus. Some, but not all, of the music focuses on works associated with the resurrection of Christ as interpreted by the great 18th- and 19th-century composers. Established by Herbert von Karajan in the 1960s, the festival requires that spectators purchase tickets to the opera and each of the three concerts associated with the event. Prices for the series are anything but cheap: They range, per person, from 90€ to 720€ ($144-$1,152). For information and ticket purchases, contact the Osterfestspiele, Herbert von Karajan Platz 9, A-5020 Salzburg (tel. 0662/8045361; www.osterfestspiele-salzburg.at; bus: 1).

Christmas Eve in Salzburg is unforgettable. Traditionally, in the little chapel of Oberndorf, north of Salzburg, "Silent Night" is performed. Franz Gruber wrote the melody to that song here when he was an organist in the early 19th century.

Buying Tickets -- If you don't want to pay a ticket agent's commission, you can go directly to the box office of a theater or concert hall. However, many of the best seats might have already been sold, especially those at the Salzburg Festival. Despite the availability of ticket outlets in any of the below-mentioned theaters, many visitors head for the larger umbrella ticket agency, Salzburger Ticket Office, Mozartplatz 5 (tel. 0662/840310), which is affiliated with the city of Salzburg and adjacent to Salzburg's main tourist office. Open Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm (to 7pm in midsummer) and Sunday 10am to 6pm, it's the single best source for cultural information and ticket sales in town, usually with tickets to virtually every musical event in the city on sale -- except, of course, to those events that are sold out long in advance.

Curiously, though Salzburg is known as a city of music and culture, it has no famed local troupes. However, it does attract visiting guest artists with blue-chip credentials in the world of performing arts.

The Salzburg Festival

One of the premier music attractions of Europe, the Salzburg Festival celebrates its 87th season in 2007. Composer Richard Strauss founded the festival, aided by director Max Reinhardt and writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

An annual event is Hofmannsthal's adaptation of the morality play Jedermann (Everyman), performed in German and staged outside the cathedral in Domplatz. Concerts are usually conducted in the Rittersaal of the Residenz Palace (Mozart conducted here) and in the marble salon of Mirabell Palace (Mozart's father, Leopold, conducted here). The Salzburger Marionetten Theater also presents performances. Ballet performances are usually given by the Vienna State Opera Ballet with the Vienna State Opera Chorus and the Vienna Philharmonic. International soloists are invited annually, and the London Symphony or the Berlin Philharmonic is also likely to be invited.

Festival tickets, however, are in great demand, and there never are enough of them. Don't arrive expecting to get into any of the major events unless you've already purchased tickets. Travel agents can often get tickets for you, and you can also go to branches of the Austrian National Tourist Office at home or abroad. Hotel concierges, particularly at the deluxe and first-class hotels of Salzburg, always have some tickets on hand, but expect to pay outrageous prices for them, depending on the particular performance you want to attend. At first-night performances of the major productions, remember that evening dress is de rigueur.

Subject to many exceptions and variations, and without agent commissions, drama tickets generally run 30€ to 200€ ($48-$320). Opera tickets can begin as low as 45€ ($72), ranging upward to 300€ ($480).

For festival details, contact the Salzburg Festival box office, Hofstallgasse 1, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria (tel. 0662/8045; www.salzburgfestival.at).

Theater

Although the Salzburger Landestheater, Schwarzstrasse 22 (tel. 0662/8715120; www.theater.co.at; bus: 3, 5, or 6), doesn't always play for summer visitors, you can see its regular repertoire of operas (not just Mozart) and operettas if you're in Salzburg from September to mid-June. You might see a thrilling performance of Verdi's Traviata. Opera tickets usually range from 25€ to 64€ ($40-$102). In July and August, Salzburg Festival performances are held here.

Salzburger Marionetten Theater, Schwarzstrasse 24 (tel. 0662/8724060; www.marionetten.at; bus: 3, 5, or 6), presents shows from Easter to September, as well as special shows at Christmas and during Mozart Week, the last week of January. The puppets perform both opera (usually Mozart) and ballet, to the delight of adults and children alike. Founded in 1913, the theater continues to be one of the most unusual and enjoyable theatrical experiences in Salzburg. You might forget that marionettes are onstage -- it's that realistic. Tickets are 20€ to 40€ ($32-$64).

The Club & Music Scene

The best alternative music spot is Rockhouse, Schallmooser Hauptstrasse 46 (tel. 0662/884914; www.rockhouse.at; bus: 1 or 4), which also has a cafe. Local and European bands are booked to play this tunnel-like venue, which offers everything from blues and funk to jazz and techno pop. Sometimes groups from the United States or even Africa appear here. The structure itself is from the 1840s, having once been a wine cellar and ice-storage depot. Cover is 9€ to 30€ ($14-$48), depending on the act. Call to see what's happening at the time of your visit.

There's something disheveled and disorganized about the Republic Cafe, Anton Neumayr Platz 2 (tel. 0664/841613; www.republic-cafe.at; bus: 2), but it's a hotbed of countercultural activities in Salzburg. It defines itself as a cross between a bar and a cafe, with a "radical performance space." Its nerve center is a battered street-level bar and cafe, open Sunday to Thursday from 8am to 1am, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 4pm. You can hang out at the bar, chatting with hard-rock music fans, rave participants, and all kinds of grunge musicians, and ordering mugs of beer costing 3€ to 4€ ($4.80-$6.40). Radiating from the cafe are several performance spaces which might or might not be booked by local jazz ensembles, avant-garde theater groups, performance artists, or nihilist poets, depending on the week's schedule. Frankly, there's a lot that's slipshod and disorganized about this place, but part of its charm derives from a haphazard schedule and its own sense that it's a cauldron for artistic-statements-in-the-making.