Base for trip in Salzburg area?

I would also suggest you save time to head south into Tirol and the Austrian Alps. It's essentially the same mountains as Switzerland but easier to travel in--and cheaper.
We especially love to get up on the mountainside and travel from village to village.
You didn't say whether you would be visiting Italy first. Our favorite road trip of all times is going north out of Venice--going past Udine. Then you go north and cross the Austrian border close to Lienz, Austria. North of there is the Grossglockner High Alpine Highway--the second highest mountains in Europe. The scenery is the most breathtaking I've ever seen. The road ends just south of Zell-am-See--which is northeast of Innsbruck. You can also take the trip from the north to the south--turning west in Lienz and going through Cortina to the Motorway that goes north through the Brenner Pass into Innsbruck.

It depends what you want out of your home base: kitchen facilities? access to multiple restaurants? evening window shopping? evening cow watching? Nightlife? We live in a suburban/rural area, but when we travel enjoy city conveniences, but a car can be problematic. City folk tend to love the opposite: country markets, kitchen and cooking, hearing cow bells, some isolation. Both styles have their charm. Perhaps suburban Salzburg is the middle path if you have nearby public transportation into the city, but an easy parking and escape to the countryside with your car You have a choice of many options, be it town or country in the Salzkammergut and Alps . There is no one right answer, but think about what is best for you and your travel style. I suspect you will have a wonderful trip no matter what you choose.

Near Salzburg is Dachstein mountain where you can take the tram to the Ice Caves and Five Fingers with great views of the lakes and towns.Bad Ischl has the hunting lodge of Emperor Franz Joseph and is a nice town to explore.St Wolfgang has a cog rail that goes up a mountain to nice views and hiking as well as the boat ride that stops at the different towns around the lake like St Gilgen and Strobl.
Mike

I forgot to add that I have stayed in St Wolfgang three times and love it.
Mike

Hi Doug,

I'd base near Berchtesgaden. We love Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. We've also stayed and liked Schonau am Konigssee. From these we have done day trips to Salzburg, Bad Reichenhall, Konigssee, Rossfeld Panorama Road, St. Gilgen, spent an afternoon cruising the Wolfgangsee, St. Wolfgang, Hallstatt, Zell am See and Herrenchiemsee, Hallein, Werfen, etc.

The Grossglockner and the mountains around it, while beautiful, are not even close to being the second highest in Europe. I wish David would stop posting this false information.

Paul

great idea to stay in that area. we were there last week. both in berchtesgaden and ramsau am dachstein, and have toured the area before. don't discount the area around either. we loved the small towns around ramsau. IMO it rivals switzerland ( where we are at the moment) and SO much cheaper and easier to get around, considering you have a car. to get back into salzburg is not far. when staying in berchtesgaden we used the park and ride to visit salzburg ( as parking in salzburg is not great)

so consider the idea of staying somewhere outside salzburg.
hallstatt is very nice but you can do it in a few hours, if not doing the salt mine tour ( we have stayed there on a previous trip) also it is FULL of tourists.
in austria, we had a summer card, from our accomodation, which gave us free access to der dachstein cable car etc. it is a must do.
hope this helps

Salzburg and St. Gilgen. Salzburg is obvious. St. Gilgen is the laid back alternative to St. Wolfgang.

Thanks for all the replies. A little more information.

We are flying into and out of Rome, but have been there three times already so have no plans to visit there. We will rent and return our car from the airport there. We will most likely go directly from Rome towards Austria. We arrive at the airport 9:50 am. So will spend the day driving north. We will spend time in the Tuscany area at the end of our two weeks.

What are we looking for in accommodations? We love antiques so prefer older, more "quaint" places to stay. Kitchen facilities are not a priority. We are not concerned about nightlife, and enjoy finding more local places to eat.

I would love to spend time in the area around the Grossglockner Alpine Road. Also have heard the Dolomites, Alpe di Siusi s a great place for hiking.

At this point we have made no definitive plans for staying anywhere except flying in and out of Rome. We will have 13 nights to explore I total.