Salzburg

Likes & Dislikes

Likes

1. Aimlessly walking in the streets of the old town and repeatedly enjoying the yummy ice creams

2. The more interesting part of the city is easily accessible on foot, Salzburg has the ideal size for visitors

3. The monument buildings are in excellent condition

4. Hellbrunn

5. The town is meticulously clean

6. It is the most beautiful city in Austria, although Innsbruck is a strong contender

7. The view from Mönschberg

8. It's full of history

9. The locals are more cordial than the Viennese

10. A romantic place for lovers

Dislikes

1. The Mirabell Garden is a bit boring

2. A lot of beggars (none of them are Austrians)

3. Hotels are overpriced

4. The extremities of the Mozart business (e.g., kitschy souvenirs)

5. The weather is often very windy and/ or foggy

6. Terrible parking difficulties and traffic jams in summer

7. Innsbruck is more scenic than Salzburg.

Opinions

“Wherever you look in this city, you won’t see any building or other construction which in any way offends the eye, or that doesn’t fit perfectly and authentically next to the surrounding structures. Salzburg has strict cityscape protection regulations, meaning that it is obligatory for businesses opening in the city center to use signage, which would have been appropriate for bourgeois merchants a few hundred years ago. I really enjoyed seeing the signs for a certain fast-fashion brand and a fast-food restaurant chain (I won’t name either, since I don’t agree with their business policies) since it was clear how seriously they’d taken the regulations. I’d recommend that everyone heading for the house where Mozart was born looks up, and marvel at how every brand, no matter how big or how trendy, fulfills this obligation with care and creativity.” (2018)

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“I’m afraid Salzburg just didn’t do it for me. They ask a small fortune for entry to the few tourist attractions that exist, and somehow the overall picture never really won me over. One good thing was the huge parking lot in the city center, built into a cliff, and the view from the fortress was attractive (which it had to be, given the €15 entry fee).”

Salzburg - h.p. photo

Practicals

Transport

Walking is the best way to discover Salzburg. There are many pedestrian zones in the city center.

The second best way is to get a bike, especially if you want to visit other places than the city center. There is an excellent system of bike trails.

Traffic in Salzburg is terrible, plus public buses don't always run according to the schedule.

StadtBus

Electric minibus without a driver. It runs in the old town and seats 15 people. Exciting (and safe) to try it.

Salzburg - Electric minibus without driver It runs in the old town and seats 15 people. - text: This is how the future travels - h.p. photo

Salzburg - horse-drawn carriages - z.h. photo

Food

Salzburg - breaded chicken breast stuffed with IDR (I don't remember) - j.k. photo

Salzburg - traditional Tafelspitz (boiled veal) - c.p. photo

Salzburg - With this trade-sign, McDonald's adapts in style to this city. - m.z. photo

Salzburg - warm apple strudel on the hot vanilla sauce - c.l. photo

Shopping

Most of the shops close up at noon until 2 PM.

Salzburg - shopping street - h.p. photo

Salzburg - one of the shops selling original, hand-made Mozart Kugel - m.b. photo

Public safety

In Salzburg, public safety is still good, but the trend is not for the better (2020).

The area around the central train station is somewhat risky at night, as sometimes drug-related gangs tend to argue with each other with smaller knives and broken bottles.

(Turkish and Afghan young men sometimes express hatred for each other in bloody fights. The tourist notices little of this.)

The local police discreetly avoid the area around the railway station so as not to disturb drug sales.

In public transportation, solo female passengers are often verbally harassed by guys who still have not adapted to the host country. In a PC-free phrasing: young, male chauvinistic pigs from Afghanistan think that the refugee status entitles them to abuse the host population's patience.

Salzburg - child-friendly police officer - n.w. photo

Health

Tap water is drinkable and even healthy. It comes from the mountains.

Others

1. In Salzburg, tipping in the service industry is by no means compulsory. Waiters are well paid and are not dependent on tips. Most Austrians simply round up the cheque amount to the nearest Euro.

Salzburg - Mozart square - f.m. photo

Background

Salzburg - j.k. photo

Destination in brief

Salzburg is located in the middle of Austria, close to the German border. The city is the center of the province also called Salzburg.

Population (in 2020): 150,000

Average net monthly salary (in 2020): 2070 Euro

Main attractions: the old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cathedral, Mozart's birthplace, Unresberg, the castle of Hellbrunn, the Franziskanerkirche

Nowadays

Salzburg is the most expensive place to live in Austria, besides Vienna. However, consumer prices in Vienna are about 10% higher than in Salzburg.

People

Salzburg - women in traditional dirndl dress - m.a. photo

Salzburg - m.z. photo

Tourist etiquette

1. Greeting Salzburg-way: It’s not Guten Tag, it’s Grüss Gott.

2. Do not speak too loud in public places, restaurants, cafes, museums. In Salzburg, who speaks too loud is either a tourist or a drunk.

Gastronomy

Salzburg - Salzburger Nockerl (a sweet soufflé, served as a dessert) - l.c. photo

Attractions

Mozart's birthplace

Salzburg - Mozart's birthplace - s.f. photo