Salzburg Festival with 4 kids ........ bad idea?

A trip to the Salzburg Marionnette Theatre would be great for the kids. I saw them many,many years ago on a vacation in Austria and they performed the full length version of The Magic Flute to a superb recording. You really did forget you were watching puppets. They do a shortened version which would probably work for your kids. They also do the Sound of Music. Check out the theatre's website for more info.

We stayed in the wonderful little town of Kukhl which is an easy train ride to Salzburg but you are so close to the wonderful rural, out of doors. Are you talking about this August 2017????

Thanks for the suggestion on the Marionnette Theatre. We are looking into it.
Also the town of Kuchl seems to be within 25 minutes from Salzburg, and the pictures look amazing!

Yes, we are talking this August 1. I am airline employee, so we use travel benefits which can be a bit of a gamble in July/August. But the flights look wide open for next week, we just decided to go for it.

Thanks,

Bill

There is no reason not to visit Salzburg during the Festival with children. However, unless your children have experience with live classical music concerts, this is not an ideal way to introduce them to opera and symphony music. It is also often difficult to get any tickets at all to this very famous festival.

I'm an adult, but I hated the marionettes because of the canned opera music (Tales of Hoffman) that drove the performance. That is a very personal reaction that should not be a deciding factor for your family. Does your 6 year old have the patience for that, however?

Austria and Salzburg are very children friendly. For example, almost all restaurants have children menus and many will deliver to your table paper and pencils to keep them entertained while your servings are being prepared. Festival time means that the city is much more crowded than usual (usually it is not crowded at all), but there will be plenty to do for all the family. I loved the marionettentheater, I also suggest the toy museum (near the tunnel bored in the rock), and - if you have a car - the open air museum at Grossgmain. Also the water tricks at Hellbrunn could do, if your children (or you) aren't easily offended by practical jokes.

From Salzburg, the Ludwig castle at Herrenchiemsee is about 45 minutes driving. Getting to the castle involves a ferry, an optional horse cart ride or a walk in a park, and there is a small gauge train sometimes with steam engines by the ferry pier; the museum visit is short and children love the day. Go there on a clear day and leave very early to board the 9am ferry and beat the crowds.