Salzburg for three and half days...what not to miss

with a car, a short drive to berchtesgaden for spectacular scenery at eagle nest, lake konigsee and the rossfeld panoramam rd, just to name a few.

I particularly enjoyed the gardens at Hellbrunn, and wandering the Old Town area and touring Mozart's Gebursthaus. I was there on a Sunday and most local shops were closed--touristy ones were open--and was thrilled to discover a handcraft fair going on along the river, much more interesting things to buy than the usual tourist offerings, if you like that sort of thing.

Christa..I love that sort of thing. Will there be enough open on Sunday for us to find things to do on our own or do you think we should we book a tour?

Or perhaps head out of town to some of the suggested sights.

Glennlorrainer...I think I spelled that right , I apologize if I didn't, when I start typing on my iPad I cannot see the posts and doing so on then treadmill is even more of a challenge...😀

How long do you think it would take to get to the Eagles Nest? I would love to see the view from up there and the surrounding area.

I was there on a long day trip by train from Vienna, so for me the best way to see outlying sites was to do the HoHo bus tour, allowed me to explore Hellbrunn (the gardens have spectacular fountains) and see the area outside the old town, of course there's a focus on Sound of Music sites, which wasn't my main focus but not entirely bad, either. With a car you have so many more options, I'd personally want to see Berchtesgaden.

The fountains at Hellbrunn are definitely worth a visit...take the tour and "experience" them...I've never seen anything quite like it...they are truly unique in the world.
Take the funicular up to the fort above the city for amazing views.
Also ride the elevator up inside the mountain to the Museum on the Monchsberg for an even better view of all the spires of the town at your feet and the river running through.
If you can catch a concert that's held in the Salzburger Cathedral do it...
We took a tour of the river by boat and that was quite fun!
Of course, there are the obligatory Sound of Music sites all throughout the city...
Rick recommends a small cafe up against the cliffs below the fortress called Pauli Stubm...it has cozy Bavarian interiors and a beautiful outdoor seating area with vines above your head on the trellis - we had a very pleasant time there with great food to eat and a cold beer!

we have stayed in Berchtesgaden and driven into salzburg a few times, ( we will be there again in May- can't wait) the drive is very straight forward and takes about 30min. pick a good day to go up the mountain.( eagles nest) do yourself a favour and do a search on the topic at the top of the screen, as it has been covered many times before. the area around berchtesgaden has a lot to offer.

hope this helps.

Go to Augustinerbrau for a great beer hall. You can walk the river path - it's just north of town on the west side of the river.

Your all so awesome!!!! Cannot wait to see Salzburg and I know it's too short of a visit but maybe it will keep me wanting more 😀I am going to print this all out and share with travel buddies.

Thanks for the time frame on the drive 30 mins is short to get to the Eagles nest area.

Just a thought ...we will be traveling to Salzburg from Garmisch....should we visit the Eagles nest and Berchtesgaden
on the way to Salzburg?

its about 2.30 hours drive, so it would be possible. but with so much to experience in and around berchtesgaden if you can devote a whole day there would be better?

Great..then we will save it for a whole day. Thanks!

You could also drive out to Wolfgangsee - explore St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen, and soak in the beauty of the lakes area.

Check out the Salzburg Card. We thought it was a good value and planned our 3 day visit around it. It also includes public transportation if you choose to leave the car behind. We did the cable car in the morning and Hellbrunn that afternoon, riding the bus. Visited a brewery (even included a freebie gift back then), took a boat ride, and visited many places, lots of Mozart stops. A beautiful city to walk. Have a safe trip.

Thanks everyone...sorry if it seems I have been away from the tropic for a while. I have been busy helping my daughter get a house ready to move into and I work for a CPA firm somAprilmis a little nuts. I really appreciate all the tips....and I am saving them so I can reference them on the trip. We are staying adjacent to Mirabell Gardens and I am very excited about the possiblity of walking through there several times during our stay.

What places to dine do you recommend?

We were in Salzburg for 4 days in 2013; headed back in 2 months for another 4 days as part of a larger Salzkammergut trip. It is by far our favorite town so far; walkable and charming with plenty to see in the area.

If you choose to head out of town for a day (and I think this is advisable on a Sunday), Konigssee and the Eagle's Nest near Berchtesgaden make a fantastic day trip. They both take some time to meaningfully enjoy, so plan on a long but wonderful day. At Konigssee, park and walk to the boat/shopping area. You can buy a ticket for a boat ride that will take you to 2 stops: St. Bartholoma and Salet. This place gets busy, so getting there early will ensure you don't have to wait in a long line to embark on the boat ride. The lake is crystal clear, and although most boat tours are in German, you'll still get an appreciation for the scenery. They stop the boat and play a trumpet midway through the lake tour, and the sound echoes off the nearby Alps. It's pretty great. The St. Bartholoma stop is home to a baroque church, a casual place serving steckerlfisch, and a sit-down beer garden. I believe the second stop has some hiking trails that lead to the Obersee (we're doing that portion on this upcoming trip).

If you elect to go to Eagle's Nest, I'd advise going on a tour through the Berchtesgaden tourist office. I think we paid about 50 euro/person. The tour provides bus access to the documentation center (the museum and tour of a portion of Hitler's bunkers) plus a full historical account of the significance of the homes on the hillside leading up to the documentation center (many of them were occupied by Nazi Party leaders and Hitler had a home on the mountain before it was destroyed). The museum itself contains information pretty much all in German, so we would have been out of luck had we elected to do this portion on our own. The tour also included the bus ride and tour of Eagle's Nest and a discussion of its history, with about 30 minutes on our own to poke around. I must say that I'm a big proponent of this tour because, in our view, going it alone up there doesn't provide much historical context.

In Salzburg, be sure to check out the Augustiner beer hall. It's classic Salzburg, and the food is delicious and reasonably priced. Enjoy!!!