Salzburg Suggestions
to visit - besuchen
Very often when folks are traveling to Salzburg or Vienna - they ask us if we have a suggestion. We have an email that we save and update over time for each city. However, I thought, I would write one for each on the blog so it is there.
I will start with Salzburg - since I already have so many posts of Vienna - the city we all love so much.
Salzburg is a lovely city. Stephan grew up outside of Salzburg and went to middle and high school in the city. He spent endless hours walking through the streets and found his love for coffeehouses there.
So - I am writing some of our suggestions:
Coffeehouses:
Restaurants:
St. Peter Keller - one of the oldest restaurants
Krimplstätter Restaurant - Mozart ate there
The Heart of Joy - vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options
I know - we are not writing too many food suggestions - our apologies - we spend most of our time eating my mother in laws amazing food.
Things to See:
Walk the old part of town
Sound of Music Tour: Haven't been but I have heard it is fun
Hellbrun Castle: Go - especially in warm weather :)
Painted Egg Store in Downtown Salzburg: It is unique to Salzburg. Just worth walking in. And a little bit of history - was owned by the same person for years, same staff for years and when the person retired, rather than sell it a corporation, the staff got together and own it.
Summer Toboggan : Just do it - too fun not to do once
Main Castle: Lovely walk up the mountain with little shops along the way, or take the people mover up or down the mountain - fun and nice view.
The one thing on our list that the girls and I haven't done is visit the salt mines. I will keep you posted if we get there - but it is something you should consider. (Salz - is salt in German - thus Salzburg). :)
Beer Garden:
Augustiner Beer Garden: We hosted a meal there the night before we got married. We've gone back many times. The girls love the spiral cut radishes.
Grocery Stores/Drug Stores: BillaPlus is our favorite - it is a chain and can be found around Austria. Spar is also good. Billa and DM are the local drugstores for more health and beauty products.
Thrift Shops: Keep an eye out for thrifting. Humana is M's favorite locale.
As for hiking in Salzburg area - we are so used to walking out Stephan's parent's house and heading to waterfalls and trails by them - that we really do not know many other locales.
With that said - these are must see lake towns (with trails and amazing swimming):
Fuschlsee - great walking trail around the lake - with amazing swimming. There is a small fish smoking restaurant by the water at the foot of the castle. The castle has an amazing view (you can get coffee or ice cream on the veranda overlooking the lake - that is where we had our wedding reception :)
Wolfgansee is another lake in the region that is really amazing.
And finally - this site has some hiking suggestions. https://www.moonhoneytravel.com/best-salzburg-hikes-austria/
I also need to shout out - specifically this summer as tourist numbers are down - go to Hallstatt if you can. It is on the UNESCO list. The Disney cartoon Frozen design is based on this town. (Though I am sure the locals are tired of hearing "Let It Go." It is so popular in China - that they have a replica of the town. Under 800 people live there but with tourists it can get to10K a day. We haven't been in about 10 years because of the crowds, but we might try to go there in summer as we have heard the tourist numbers are down and would be nice to see.. It truly is spectacular.
Gollinger waterfalls: beautiful waterfall with hiking trails.